The Rebalancing Act

In 10th-century China, society was unbalanced and required correction under the Song Dynasty. There was a widening disparity between the rich and the poor, and as a result, the state lacked economic stability. The social structure, of which farmers were the foundation, threatened to collapse on itself. The emperor, the crucial link between the people and the heavens, bore the responsibility of navigating through these times of economic hardship. His social responsibility was to restore a sense of financial solidity within the state. The Song emperors imposed an advanced system of taxation that funded a game-changing crop loans initiative, upon the advice of promoted reformists, that redistributed wealth in Chinese society, thereby fulfilling their imperial obligation to maintain economic stability.

The Song government levied taxes on the people in a successful effort to generate revenue for the government which they put to good use to close the wealth gap that existed in the state. In a system where the rich paid more than the poor, the government recognized the economic disparity and thus enacted this system. In a memorial to the emperor, regarding a future crop loan initiative, advisor Wang Anshi proposed that government “reserves be made interchangeable with the proceeds of the land tax…so that conversion of cash and grain be permitted whenever convenient.” The government incentivized farmers to deposit crops in the federal reserve that they could draw upon in case of disaster. Both parties benefitted as the government expanded its reserve to be well-equipped in case of a calamity, and the farmer received a rebate of sorts and needed to pay less in taxes. The expansion of the reserve was like a damage control that made the state more economically secure, while the tax recognized the plight of farmers and collected money that they put to good use.

The emperors, equipped with the tax money they had collected, combatted the economic hardships of farmers by instituting a new support system of crop loans. Historians reference the suffering peasants regularly in their writing about the Dynasty: farmers struggled while worsening social stratification persisted.  Cheng Hao, a Song scholar, wrote of the situation that “day by day the poor scatter and die from starvation and there are countless persons without sufficient food and clothing.” The Song governed during a time of tremendous financial hardship for the common man. As such, the emperor enacted the Green Sprouts Program. This flexible program allowed farmers to take loans from the government that they paid back when economically convenient. Wang Anshi remarked that through this program, “the poor get loans from the government at a lower rate of interest, and the people are thereby saved from poverty.” This Green Sprouts initiative bailed out farmers and restored economic stability among the peasants. The financial security of the people was a crucial aspect of the imperial obligation of the emperor. By installing a program of crop loans to aid struggling farmers, he fulfilled this obligation. The well-conceived tax system collected money from wealthier merchants that the government redirected to the poorer substratum of the population with the Green Sprouts Program.

Finally, the intent of the Song rulers was demonstrated best by the emperor's elevation of qualified reformists who helped mitigate financial damage. Reinvigorated classic Confucian principles came to the foreground of political ideologies to re-establish prosperity. With this in mind, Emperor Shenzhong appointed Wang Anshi, a proponent of radical Neo-Confucian reform, to help run the government. Cheng Yi, a Song philosopher, wrote in an address to Emperor Renzong, successor to Shenzhong, that “good government in the empire depends upon obtaining worthy men; misgovernment in the empire derives from a failure to obtain worthy men.” The notion that the emperor governs as well as his adviser's advice holds in the instance of Shenzhong. Without the reformist Wang Anshi, institutions such as the Green Sprouts Program would never have existed, and farmers would never have benefitted. The emperor was responsible for surrounding himself with qualified advisors who helped him govern well and fulfill his imperial obligation. Perhaps he had another responsibility, to appoint competent literati to help him govern well. Emperor Shenzhong elevated Neo-Confucian reformers into positions of power to help him fulfill his imperial duties.

The Song emperors successfully mended the divide in their society and ultimately fulfilled their imperial obligation to support a faltering economy. By imposing a wealth-based tax system, they remained sensitive to the hardships of the farmers while financing the alleviation of their suffering. The Green Sprouts Program for crop loans was how the government lifted peasants out of poverty. Surrounded by competent advisors, the emperors effectively redistributed wealth across the society, funding the peasants with merchant money and restoring balance in a deteriorating economy. Song emperors took action and demonstrated strong leadership that benefited the entirety of society, not just the rich and powerful. Their good governance during a time of economic fragility brought the state back from the brink of collapse. These lessons are especially pertinent today, as a similar wealth gap unbalances societies in a modern context. Perhaps the Song were a shining example, that good government and effective leadership can restore stability in the face of ruin.