1
金制，榷貨之目有十，曰酒、曲、茶、醋、香、礬、丹、錫、鐵，而鹽為稱首。 貞元初，蔡松年為戶部尚書，始複鈔引法，設官置庫以造鈔、引。 鈔，合鹽司簿之符。 引，會司縣批繳之數。 七年一厘革之。 初，遼、金故地濱海多產鹽，上京、東北二路食肇州鹽，速頻路食海鹽，臨潢之北有大鹽濼，烏古裏石壘部有鹽池，皆足以食境內之民，嘗征其稅。 及得中土，鹽場倍之，故設官立法加詳焉。 然而增減不一，廢置無恆，亦隨時救弊而已。 益都、濱州舊置兩鹽司，大定十三年四月，並為山東鹽司。 二十一年滄州及山東各務增羨，冒禁鬻鹽，朝論慮其久或隳法，遂並為海豐鹽使司。 十一月，又並遼東等路諸鹽場，為兩鹽司。 大定二十五年，更狗濼為西京鹽司。 是後惟置山東、滄、寶坻、莒、解、北京、西京七鹽司。
Under Jin law, ten commodities were subject to state monopoly: wine, yeast mash, tea, vinegar, incense, alum, cinnabar, tin, and iron, with salt foremost among them. Early in the Zhenyuan era (1153–1156), Revenue Minister Cai Songnian revived the note-and-certificate system and set up official offices and treasuries to issue notes and transport permits. The note corresponded to the Salt Commission's ledger tally. The transport permit recorded the quantities approved and remitted by the commission and county offices. In the seventh year the system was revised in detail. Originally, in the former Liao and Jin coastal regions salt was plentiful. The Upper Capital and the two Northeast circuits relied on Zhao Prefecture salt; the Supin circuit used sea salt. North of Linhuang lay the Great Salt Marsh, and the Ughurishilei tribe had salt ponds—enough to supply the population within the borders, and the state had levied tax on them. After the Jin seized the Central Plains, the number of salt works doubled, and the government accordingly set up offices and enacted more detailed regulations. Yet rates rose and fell without uniformity, and offices were created or abolished without fixed pattern; changes were made only to remedy abuses as circumstances required. Yidu and Binzhou had formerly had separate salt commissions; in the fourth month of Dading 13 (1173) they were merged into the Shandong Salt Commission. In Dading 21 (1181) the Cangzhou and Shandong salt offices each reported surplus receipts, yet merchants violated the ban on private salt sales. Court officials feared the regulations would erode over time, and the offices were therefore merged into the Haifeng Salt Commissionerate. In the eleventh month the salt works of Liaodong and other circuits were likewise consolidated into two salt commissions. In Dading 25 (1185) the Gouluo Marsh works were reorganized as the Western Capital Salt Commission. Thereafter only seven salt commissions remained: Shandong, Cang, Baodi, Ju, Jie, Beijing, and Western Capital.
2
山東、滄、寶坻斤三百為袋，袋二十有五為大套，鈔、引、公據三者俱備然後聽鬻。 小套袋十，或五、或一，每套鈔一，引如袋之數。 寶坻零鹽較其斤數，或六之三，或六之一，又為小鈔引給之，以便其鬻。 解鹽斤二百有五十為一席，席五為套，鈔引則與陝西轉運司同鬻，其輸粟於陝西軍營者，許以公牒易鈔引。 西京等場鹽以石計，大套之石五，小套之石三。 北京大套之石四，小套之石一。 遼東大套之石十，皆套一鈔，石一引。 零鹽積十石，亦一鈔而十引。
In Shandong, Cang, and Baodi, three hundred jin formed one sack and twenty-five sacks one large set; merchants could sell salt only when they held the note, transport permit, and official receipt together. A small set comprised ten sacks, or five, or one; each set required one note, with transport permits issued in the same number as sacks. Baodi retail salt was sold in fractional amounts—half a sack or one-sixth of a sack—and small notes and permits were issued accordingly to ease retail trade. Jie salt was measured at two hundred fifty jin per mat and five mats per set. Notes and permits were sold through the Shaanxi Transport Commission, and grain delivered to Shaanxi military camps could be exchanged for notes and permits on presentation of an official dispatch. Salt from the Western Capital and related works was counted in shi: five shi per large set and three per small set. At Beijing, a large set was four shi and a small set one shi. In Liaodong a large set was ten shi, with one note per set and one transport permit per shi. Retail salt totaling ten shi likewise received one note and ten permits.
3
其行鹽之界，各視其地宜。 山東、滄州之場九，行山東、河北、大名、河南、南京、歸德諸府路，及許、亳、陳、蔡、潁、宿、泗、曹、睢、鈞、單、壽諸州。 莒之場十二，濤洛場行莒州，臨洪場行贛榆縣，獨木場行海州司候司、朐山、東海縣，板浦場行漣水、沐陽縣，信陽場行密州，之五場又與大鹽場通行沂、邳、徐、宿、泗、滕六州。 西由場行萊州錄事司及招遠縣，衡村場行既墨、萊陽縣，之二場鈔引及半袋小鈔引，聽本州縣鬻之。 寧海州五場皆鬻零鹽，不用引目。 黃縣場行黃縣，巨風場行登州司候司、蓬萊縣，福山場行福山縣，是三場又通行旁縣棲霞。 甯海州場行司候司、牟平縣，文登場行文登縣。 寶坻鹽行中都路，平州副使于馬城縣置局貯錢。 解鹽行河東南北路，陝西東、及南京河南府、陝、鄭、唐、鄧、嵩、汝諸州。 西京、遼東鹽各行其地。 北京宗、錦之末鹽，行本路及臨潢府、肇州、泰州之境，與接壤者亦預焉。
Salt distribution zones were set according to local conditions. The nine Shandong and Cangzhou salt works supplied Shandong, Hebei, Daming, Henan, Nanjing, and Guide circuits, as well as Xu, Bo, Chen, Cai, Ying, Su, Si, Cao, Sui, Jun, Shan, and Shou prefectures. Ju Prefecture had twelve salt works: Taoluo served Ju; Linhong served Ganyu; Dumu served Haizhou's registrar office, Qushan, and Donghai; Banpu served Lianshui and Muyang; Xinyang served Mizhou. These five, together with the major salt works, also supplied Yi, Pi, Xu, Su, Si, and Teng prefectures. The Xiyou works supplied Laizhou's registrar office and Zhaoyuan County; the Hengcun works supplied Jimo and Laiyang. These two issued full and half-sack notes and permits, allowing local prefectural and county authorities to sell salt. All five Ninghai Prefecture works sold retail salt without requiring transport permits. The Huangxian works served Huangxian; Jufeng served Dengzhou's registrar office and Penglai; Fushan served Fushan County. These three also supplied the neighboring county of Qixia. The Ninghai Prefecture works served its registrar office and Muping County; the Wendeng works served Wendeng County. Baodi salt was marketed in the Zhongdu circuit, and the Pingzhou vice commissioner established a treasury bureau at Macheng County to hold receipts. Jie salt was marketed in the Hedong North and South circuits, eastern Shaanxi, Nanjing Henan Prefecture, and Shan, Zheng, Tang, Deng, Song, and Ru prefectures. Western Capital and Liaodong salt each circulated within its respective region. Beijing salt from the Zong and Jin frontier was sold within its home circuit and in Linhuang Prefecture, Zhao Prefecture, and Taizhou, including adjacent border areas.
4
世宗大定三年二月，定軍私煮鹽及盜官鹽之法，命猛安謀克巡捕。 三年十一月，詔以銀牌給益都、濱、滄鹽使司。 十一年正月，用西京鹽判宋俁言，更定狗濼鹽場作六品使司，以俁為使，順聖縣令白仲通為副，以是歲入錢為定額。 四月，以烏古裏石壘民饑，罷其鹽池稅。 十二年十月，詔西北路招討司猛安所轄貧及富人奴婢，皆給食鹽。 宰臣言：「去鹽濼遠者，所得不償道裏之費。」 遂命計口給直，富家奴婢二十口止。
In the second month of Dading 3 (1163), Emperor Shizong enacted statutes against military private salt-boiling and theft of government salt, ordering meng'an-muke units to patrol and apprehend offenders. In the eleventh month an edict authorized silver plaques for the Yidu, Bin, and Cang salt commissionerates. In the first month of Dading 11 (1171), on the recommendation of Western Capital salt assessor Song Yu, the Gouluo Marsh works were elevated to a sixth-rank commissionerate. Song Yu was appointed commissioner and Shunsheng magistrate Bai Zhongtong vice commissioner, with that year's receipts fixed as the annual quota. In the fourth month, famine among the Ughurishilei people led the court to abolish the salt-pond tax in their territory. In the tenth month of Dading 12 (1172) an edict directed that the poor and the slaves and servants of wealthy households under meng'an jurisdictions of the Northwest Pacification Commission all receive rations of salt. The chief ministers said, "For households far from the salt marsh, the salt received does not cover the cost of transport." The court therefore ordered payment by head count, capping wealthy households' slaves and servants at twenty persons.
5
十三年二月，並榷永鹽為寶坻使司，罷平、灤鹽錢。 滄州舊廢海阜鹽場，三月，州人李格請複置，詔遣使相視。 有司謂：「是場興則損滄鹽之課，且食鹽戶仍舊，而鹽貨歲增，必徒多積而不能售。」 遂寢其議。 三月，大鹽濼設鹽稅官。 複免烏古裏石壘部鹽池之稅。 二十一年八月，參知政事梁肅言：「寶坻及傍縣多闕食，可減鹽價增粟價，而以粟易鹽。」 上命宰臣議，皆謂：「鹽非多食之物，若減價易粟，恐久而不售，以至虧課。 今歲糧以七十余萬石至通州，比又以恩、獻等六州粟百余萬石繼至，足以賑之，不煩易也。」 遂罷。 十二月，罷平州椿配鹽課。 二十三年七月，博興縣民李孜收日炙鹽，大理寺具私鹽及刮鹹土二法以上。 宰臣謂非私鹽可比，張仲愈獨曰：「私鹽罪重，而犯者猶眾，不可縱也。」 上曰：「刮鹼非煎，何以同私？」 仲愈曰：「如此則渤海之人恣刮鹼而食，將侵官課矣。」 力言不已，上乃以孜同刮鹼科罪。 後犯則同私鹽法論。
In the second month of Dading 13 (1173) the Yong salt monopoly was merged into the Baodi commissionerate, and the Ping and Luan salt surcharges were abolished. Cangzhou had long since closed the Haifu salt works. In the third month a local man named Li Ge petitioned to reopen them, and the throne dispatched inspectors to survey the site. The responsible agencies replied, "Reopening this works would cut into Cangzhou's salt revenue. Salt-consuming households are unchanged, yet annual salt output keeps rising—the surplus would simply accumulate unsold." The proposal was therefore shelved. In the third month a salt-tax officer was appointed at the Great Salt Marsh. The salt-pond tax for the Ughurishilei tribe was again remitted. In the eighth month of Dading 21 (1181) Vice Grand Councilor Liang Su proposed, "Baodi and neighboring counties suffer food shortages. Lower salt prices, raise grain prices, and let people exchange grain for salt." The emperor ordered the chief ministers to deliberate. They agreed that salt was not a staple food: cutting its price to trade for grain risked prolonged unsold stock and lost revenue. This year over seven hundred thousand shi of grain had reached Tongzhou, and more than a million shi from En, Xian, and four other prefectures had followed—enough for relief without a salt-for-grain exchange. The plan was dropped. In the twelfth month Pingzhou's apportioned salt levy was abolished. In the seventh month of Dading 23 (1183) Li Zi of Boxing County gathered sun-dried salt. The Court of Judicial Review charged him under both the private-salt statute and the statute on scraping salty soil, applying the heavier penalty. The chief ministers held that sun-dried salt was not the same as illicit boiled salt, but Zhang Zhongyu alone argued, "Private-salt offenses are grave, yet violations remain common—we cannot be lenient." The emperor replied, "Scraping alkali is not boiling salt—how can it be punished like private salt?" Zhongyu replied, "If we allow that, Bohai people will scrape alkali freely for food and erode government revenue." Zhongyu pressed his argument relentlessly, and the emperor finally sentenced Li Zi under the scraping-alkali statute. Repeat offenders were thereafter punished under the private-salt statute.
6
十一月，張邦基言：「寶坻鹽課，若每石收正課百五十斤，慮有風乾折耗。」 遂令石加耗鹽二十二斤半，仍先一歲貸支償直，以優灶戶。
In the eleventh month Zhang Bangji noted that if Baodi's full levy of one hundred fifty jin per shi were collected, wind-drying losses would be a concern. The court added an allowance of twenty-two and a half jin per shi and advanced one year's compensation in loans to benefit saltern households.
7
二十四年七月，上在上京，謂丞相烏古論元忠等曰：「會甯尹蒲察通言，其地猛安謀克戶甚艱。 舊速頻以東食海鹽。 蒲與、胡裏改等路食肇州鹽，初定額萬貫，今增至二萬七千。 若罷鹽引，添灶戶，庶可易得。」 元忠對曰：「已嘗遣使咸平府以東規畫矣。」 上曰：「不須待此，宜亟為之。」 通又言：「可罷上京酒務，聽民自造以輸稅。」 上曰：「先灤州諸地亦嘗令民煮鹽，後以不便罷之，今豈可令民自沽耶？」 二十五年十月，上還自上京，謂宰臣曰：「朕聞遼東，凡人家食鹽，但無引目者，既以私治罪。 夫細民徐買食之，何由有引目。 可止令散辦，或詢諸民，從其所欲。」 因為之罷北京、遼東鹽使司。 二十八年，尚書省論鹽事，上曰：「鹽使司雖辦官課，然素擾民。 鹽官每出巡，而巡捕人往往私懷官鹽，所至求賄及酒食，稍不如意則以所懷誣以為私鹽。 鹽司苟圖羨增，雖知其誣亦複加刑。 宜令別設巡捕官，勿與鹽司關涉，庶革其弊。」 五月，創巡捕使，山東、滄、寶坻各二員，解、西京各一員。 山東則置於濰州、招遠縣，滄置於深州及寧津縣，寶坻置於易州及永濟縣，解置於澄城縣，西京置於兜答館，秩從六品，直隸省部，各給銀牌，取鹽使司弓手充巡捕人，且禁不得於人家搜索，若食鹽一斗以下不得究治，惟盜販煮則捕之，在三百里內者屬轉運司，外者即隨路府提點所治罪，盜課鹽者亦如之。
In the seventh month of Dading 24 (1184), while at the Upper Capital, the emperor told Chancellor Wugulun Yuanzhong and others, "Huining prefect Pu Ch'a Tong reports that meng'an-muke households in his jurisdiction are in severe distress. They had formerly relied on sea salt from east of Supin. The Puyu, Huligai, and related circuits used Zhao Prefecture salt, with an initial quota of ten thousand strings now raised to twenty-seven thousand. If transport permits were abolished and more saltern households added, salt might become easier to obtain." Yuanzhong replied, "We have already sent envoys east of Xianping Prefecture to survey the matter." The emperor said, "Do not wait for that report—act at once." Tong also proposed abolishing the Upper Capital wine monopoly and letting residents brew privately while paying tax. The emperor objected, "We once let people boil salt in Luanzhou and elsewhere, then abolished it as unworkable. How could we now let them sell wine on their own?" In the tenth month of Dading 25 (1185), returning from the Upper Capital, the emperor told his ministers, "I hear that in Liaodong any household salt purchased without a transport permit is treated as a private-salt offense. Ordinary people buy salt in small amounts for daily use—how could they possess official permits? Simply allow retail distribution, or ask the people and follow their preference." The court accordingly abolished the Beijing and Liaodong salt commissionerates. In Dading 28 (1188) the Ministry discussed salt policy. The emperor said, "Salt commissionerates collect revenue for the state, yet they have long harassed the populace. Whenever salt officials toured their districts, patrolmen often concealed government salt on their persons, demanding bribes and hospitality wherever they went. At the slightest provocation they would plant the salt they carried and accuse locals of dealing in private salt. Salt offices, eager to inflate reported surpluses, punished victims even when they knew the charges were fabricated. Separate patrol officers should be appointed with no ties to the salt offices, so these abuses might be ended." In the fifth month the court created salt patrol commissioners: two each for Shandong, Cang, and Baodi, and one each for Jie and Western Capital. Shandong commissioners were stationed at Weizhou and Zhaoyuan; Cang at Shenzhou and Ningjin; Baodi at Yizhou and Yongji; Jie at Chengcheng; Western Capital at Doudaguan. They held sixth-rank posts reporting directly to the ministry, each with a silver plaque, and drew archers from the salt offices as patrolmen. Household searches were forbidden; possession of less than one dou for household use was not prosecuted; only theft, trafficking, and illicit boiling were targeted. Cases within three hundred li fell under the Transport Commission; beyond that, circuit surveillance offices had jurisdiction. Theft of revenue salt was punished likewise.
8
章宗大定二十九年十月，上朝隆慶宮，諭有司曰：「比因獵，知百姓多有鹽禁獲罪者，民何以堪？ 朕欲令依平、灤、太原均辦例，令民自煎，其令百官議之。」 十二月，戶部尚書鄭儼等謂：「若令民計口定課，民既輸幹辦錢，又必別市而食，是重費民財，而徒增煎販者之利也。 且今之鹽價，蓋昔日錢幣易得之時所定，今日與向不同，況太平日久，戶口蕃息，食鹽歲課宜有羨增，而反無之，何哉？ 緣官估高，貧民利私鹽之賤，致虧官課爾。 近已減寶坻、山東、滄鹽價斤為三十八文，乞更減去八文，歲不過減一百二十餘萬貫，官價既賤，所售必多，自有羨餘，亦不全失所減之數。 況今府庫金銀約折錢萬萬貫有奇，設使鹽課不足，亦足補百有餘年之經用，若量入為出，必無不足之患。 乞令平、灤幹辦鹽課亦宜減價，各路巡鹽弓手不得自專巡捕，庶革誣罔之弊。」 禮部尚書李晏等曰：「所謂幹辦者，既非美名，又非良法。 必欲杜絕私煮盜販之弊，莫若每斤減為二十五文，使公私價同，則私將自己。 又巡鹽兵吏往往挾私鹽以誣人，可令與所屬司縣期會，方許巡捕，違者按察司罪之。」 刑部尚書郭邦傑等則謂：「平、灤瀕海及太原鹵地可依舊幹辦，餘同儼議。」 御史中丞移剌仲方則謂：「私煎盜販之徒，皆知禁而犯之者也。 可選能吏充巡捕使，而不得入人家搜索。」 同知大興府事王翛請每斤減為二十文，罷巡鹽官。 左諫議大夫徒單鎰則以幹辦為便。 宰臣奏：「以每斤官本十文，若減作二十五文，似為得中。 巡鹽弓手可減三分之一，鹽官出巡須約所屬同往，不同獲者不坐。 可自來歲五月一日行之。」 上遂命寶坻、山東、滄鹽每斤減為三十文，已發鈔引未支者准新價足之，餘從所請。
In the tenth month of Dading 29 (1189), Emperor Zhangzong held court at Longqing Palace and told the officials, "On a recent hunt I learned how many commoners have been convicted under the salt laws—how can the people endure this? I wish to follow the Ping, Luan, and Taiyuan model of apportioned levies and let the people boil their own salt. Have the officials deliberate on this." In the twelfth month Revenue Minister Zheng Yan and others argued, "If households pay a per-capita fixed levy, they would pay the apportioned surcharge and still have to buy salt on the market—doubling the people's burden while benefiting only illicit producers. Moreover, current salt prices were set when currency was plentiful; conditions differ today. After long peace the population has grown, so salt revenue should have risen—yet it has not. Why? Because official prices are too high, the poor prefer cheap private salt, and government revenue suffers. We have already cut Baodi, Shandong, and Cang salt to thirty-eight wen per jin. We ask to cut another eight wen—at most 1.2 million strings less per year. Lower official prices would boost sales and yield surplus revenue, offsetting much of the reduction. The treasury now holds gold and silver worth well over a hundred million strings. Even if salt revenue fell short, it could cover routine expenses for more than a century. Matching expenditure to income, there would be no shortfall. We also ask that Ping and Luan apportioned salt levies be reduced, and that circuit salt-patrol archers no longer conduct searches on their own authority, to end false accusations." Rites Minister Li Yan and others said, "The apportioned levy is neither honorable in name nor sound in practice. To end private boiling and smuggling, cut the price to twenty-five wen per jin so official and illicit prices align—private salt would then disappear on its own. Salt patrolmen often concealed private salt to frame suspects. Require them to coordinate with local registrar offices and counties before conducting patrols, with the surveillance commission punishing violators." Punishments Minister Guo Bangjie and others held that coastal Ping and Luan and Taiyuan's brine lands could keep the apportioned levy, but agreed with Yan's proposals elsewhere." Censor-in-chief Yila Zhongfang said, "Private boilers and smugglers know the law yet break it deliberately. Appoint capable officials as patrol commissioners, but forbid household searches." Daxing vice prefect Wang Xiao proposed cutting the price to twenty wen per jin and abolishing salt-patrol officials." Left remonstrance grandee Tudi Mo argued that the apportioned levy was preferable." The chief ministers reported, "With an official cost of ten wen per jin, a retail price of twenty-five wen seems a fair middle course. Salt-patrol archers could be cut by one-third. Salt officials on inspection must be accompanied by local subordinates; cases made without such accompaniment would not stand. These measures could take effect on the first day of the fifth month of the coming year." The emperor ordered Baodi, Shandong, and Cang salt cut to thirty wen per jin. Notes and permits already issued but not yet redeemed would be honored at the new price. Other recommendations were adopted as proposed."
9
十二月，遂罷西京、解鹽巡捕使。 時既詔罷幹辦鹽錢，十二月以大理司直移剌九勝奴、廣甯推官宋扆議北京、遼東鹽司利病，遂複置北京、遼東鹽使司，北京路歲以十萬餘貫為額，遼東路以十三萬為額。 罷西京及解州巡捕使。
In the twelfth month the Western Capital and Jie salt patrol commissioners were abolished. After an edict abolished apportioned salt levies, in the twelfth month Court of Judicial Review clerk Yila Jiushengnu and Guangning investigating officer Song Yi reviewed the Beijing and Liaodong salt offices. The court restored both commissionerates, fixing Beijing's annual quota at just over one hundred thousand strings and Liaodong's at one hundred thirty thousand. The Western Capital and Jiezhou patrol commissioners were abolished.
10
明昌元年七月，上封事者言河東北路幹辦鹽錢歲十萬貫太重，以故民多逃徙，乞緩其征督。 上命俟農隙遣使察之。 十二月，定禁司縣擅科鹽制。 二年五月，省臣以山東鹽課不足，蓋由鹽司官出巡不敢擅捕，必約所屬同往，人不畏故也。 遂詔，自今如有盜販者，聽鹽司官輒捕。 民私煮及藏匿，則約所屬搜索。 巡尉弓兵非與鹽司相約，則不得擅入人家。 三年六月，孫即康等同鹽司官議：「軍民犯私鹽，三百里內者鹽司按罪，遠者付提點所，皆征捕獲之賞於販造者。 猛安謀克部人煎販及盜者，所管官論贖，三犯杖之，能捕獲則免罪。 又濱州渤海縣永和鎮去州遠，恐藏盜及私鹽，可改為永豐鎮與曹子山村，各創設巡檢，山東、寶坻、滄鹽司判官乞升為從七品，用進士。」 上命猛安謀克杖者再議，餘皆從之。 尚書省奏：「山東濱、益九場之鹽行于山東等六路，濤洛等五場止行於沂、邳、徐、宿、滕、泗六州，各有定課，方之九場，大課不同。 若令與九場通比增虧。 其五場官恃彼大課，恐不用力，轉生奸弊。」 遂定令五場自為通比。 舊法與鹽司使副通比，故至是始改焉。
In the seventh month of Mingchang 1 (1190), a memorialist reported that Hedong North circuit's apportioned salt levy of one hundred thousand strings per year was crushing households and driving migration. He asked that collection be eased. The emperor ordered envoys dispatched during the agricultural slack season to investigate. In the twelfth month the court forbade registrar offices and counties from imposing salt levies on their own authority. In the fifth month of year two provincial ministers reported that Shandong salt revenue fell short because salt officials on patrol would not arrest offenders alone and had to coordinate with subordinates, so violators had no fear. An edict followed: henceforth salt officials might arrest salt thieves and smugglers immediately. For private boiling and concealed salt, officials had to coordinate with local subordinates to conduct searches. Patrol guards and archers could not enter households without coordinating with the salt office. In the sixth month of year three Sun Jikang and salt officials proposed that private-salt offenses within three hundred li be judged by the salt office, cases beyond referred to surveillance offices, and capture rewards levied on producers and traffickers. Meng'an-muke offenders who boiled, trafficked, or stole salt were ransomed by their supervising officials; three offenses brought corporal punishment, but capturing other offenders earned exemption. Yonghe Town in Binzhou's Bohai County lay far from the prefectural seat and was suspected of harboring smugglers. The court renamed it Yongfeng Town and Caozishan Village, each with a new inspector post, and promoted Shandong, Baodi, and Cang salt assessors to seventh rank, filled by jinshi graduates. The emperor ordered further deliberation on corporal punishment for meng'an-muke offenders; all other proposals were adopted. The Ministry reported that salt from Shandong's nine Bin and Yi works supplied six circuits, while Taoluo and four other works supplied only Yi, Pi, Xu, Su, Teng, and Si prefectures. Each had fixed quotas, but the major works' quotas differed greatly from the five smaller works. If the five works were judged against the nine major works for surplus and deficit. Officials of the five works, shielded by the larger quotas, might slacken and breed corruption. The court ruled that the five works would compare performance only among themselves. Under the old law they had been judged together with the commissioner and vice commissioner; only now was that changed.
11
五年正月，八小場鹽官左蓽等，以課不能及額，繳進告敕。 遂遣使按視十三場再定，除濤洛等五場系設管勾，可即日恢辦，乃以蓽所告八場，從大定二十六年制，自見管課，依新例永相比磨。 戶部郎中李敬義等言：「八小場今新定課有減其半者，如使俱從新課，而舊課已辦入官，恐所減錢多，因而作弊，而所收錢數不復盡實附曆納官。」 遂從明昌元年所定酒稅院務制，令即日收辦。
In the first month of year five eight minor-works salt officials including Zuo Bi surrendered their commissions because they could not meet their quotas. Envoys inspected all thirteen works and reset quotas. Taoluo and four other works with established superintendents could resume immediately. The eight works Bi had reported followed the Dading 26 rule: from current managed quotas they would forever be judged for surplus and deficit under the new standard. Revenue section director Li Jingyi warned that some of the eight minor works had quotas cut by half. If all switched to the new quotas while old quotas had already been paid in, the shortfall might invite fraud and incomplete recording of receipts. The court followed the Mingchang 1 wine-tax bureau rule and ordered immediate collection.
12
十一月，以舊制猛安謀克犯私鹽酒麴者，轉運司按罪，遂更定軍民犯私鹽者皆令屬鹽司，私酒麴則屬轉運司，三百裏外者則付提點所，若逮問犯人而所屬吝不遣者徒二年。
In the eleventh month the court revised jurisdiction: military and civilian private-salt cases went to the salt office; private wine and yeast to the transport commission; cases beyond three hundred li to surveillance offices. Supervisors who refused to deliver suspects faced two years' penal servitude.
13
十二月，尚書省議山東、滄州舊法每一斤錢四十一文，寶坻每一斤四十三文，自大定二十九年赦恩並特旨，減為三十文，計減百八十五萬四千餘貫。 後以國用不充，遂奏定每一斤複加三文為三十三文。 至承安三年十二月，尚書省奏：「鹽利至大，今天下戶口蕃息，食者倍於前，軍儲支引者亦甚多，況日用不可闕之物，豈以價之低昂而有多寡也。 若不隨時取利，恐徒失之。」 遂複定山東、寶坻、滄州三鹽司價每一斤加為四十二文。 解州舊法每席五貫文，增為六貫四百文。 遼東、北京舊法每石九百文，增為一貫五百文。 西京煎鹽舊石二貫文，增為二貫八百文，撈鹽舊一貫五百文，增為二貫文，既增其價，複加其所鬻之數。 七鹽司舊課歲入六百二十二萬六千六百三十六貫五百六十六文，至是增為一千七十七萬四千五百一十二貫一百三十七文二分。 山東舊課歲入二百五十四萬七千三百三十六貫，增為四百三十三萬四千一百八十四貫四百文。 滄州舊課歲入百五十三萬一千二百貫，增為二百七十六萬六千六百三十六貫。 寶坻舊入八十八萬七千五百五十八貫六百文，增為一百三十四萬八千八百三十九貫。 解州舊入八十一萬四千六百五十七貫五百文，增為一百三十二萬一千五百二十貫二百五十六文。 遼東舊入十三萬一千五百七十二貫八百七十文，增為三十七萬六千九百七十貫二百五十六文。 北京舊入二十一萬三千八百九十二貫五百文，增為三十四萬六千一百五十一貫六百一十七文二分。 西京舊入十萬四百一十九貫六百九十六文，增為二十八萬二百六十四貫六百八文。
In the twelfth month the Ministry noted that Shandong and Cangzhou had charged forty-one wen per jin and Baodi forty-three. After the Dading 29 amnesty and special edict cut the price to thirty wen, revenue fell by more than 1.854 million strings. Later, because state finances were strained, the court restored three wen per jin, setting the price at thirty-three wen. In the twelfth month of Cheng'an 3 the Ministry argued that salt revenue was vital: the population had grown, consumption doubled, and military stores drew heavily on salt. As a daily necessity, demand would not shrink because of price. If the state did not adjust prices with the times, revenue would simply be lost. Shandong, Baodi, and Cangzhou salt prices were raised to forty-two wen per jin. Jie salt rose from five strings per mat to six strings four hundred wen. Liaodong and Beijing salt rose from nine hundred wen per shi to one string five hundred wen. Western Capital boiled salt rose from two strings per shi to two strings eight hundred wen; scooped salt from one string five hundred to two strings. Prices and sale volumes were both raised. Combined annual revenue for the seven salt commissions rose from 6,226,636.566 strings to 10,774,512.1372 strings. Shandong revenue rose from 2,547,336 strings to 4,334,184.4 strings. Cangzhou revenue rose from 1,531,200 strings to 2,766,636 strings. Baodi revenue rose from 887,558.6 strings to 1,348,839 strings. Jie revenue rose from 814,657.5 strings to 1,321,520.256 strings. Liaodong revenue rose from 131,572.87 strings to 376,970.256 strings. Beijing revenue rose from 213,892.5 strings to 346,151.6172 strings. Western Capital revenue rose from 100,419.696 strings to 280,264.608 strings.
14
四月，宰臣奏：「在法，猛安謀克有告私鹽而不捕者杖之，其部人有犯而失察者，以數多寡論罪。 今乃有身犯之者，與犯私酒麴、殺牛者，皆世襲權貴之家，不可不禁。」 遂定制徒年、杖數，不以贖論，不及徒者杖五十。
In the fourth month chief ministers reported that meng'an-muke who reported private salt but failed to arrest offenders were beaten, and supervisors were punished according to the number of undetected offenses in their units. Yet offenders now included hereditary noble houses guilty of private salt, private wine and yeast, and illegal slaughter—such cases could not go unchecked. The court fixed terms of penal servitude and strokes of the rod without ransom; lesser offenses received fifty strokes.
15
八月，命山東、寶坻、滄州三鹽司，每春秋遣使督按察司及州縣巡察私鹽。
In the eighth month Shandong, Baodi, and Cangzhou were ordered to dispatch envoys each spring and autumn to supervise surveillance commissions and local officials in policing private salt.
16
泰和元年九月，省臣以滄、濱兩司鹽袋，歲買席百二十萬，皆取於民。 清州北靖海縣新置滄鹽場，本故獵地，沮洳多蘆，宜弛其禁，令民時采而織之。
In the ninth month of Taihe 1 provincial ministers reported that Cang and Bin salt offices requisitioned 1.2 million mats yearly for salt sacks, all levied on the populace. A new Cang salt works in Jinghai County north of Qingzhou lay on former imperial hunting grounds rich in marsh reeds. The court relaxed the ban so residents could gather and weave reeds seasonally.
17
十一月，陝西路轉運使高汝礪言：「舊制，捕告私鹽酒麴者，計斤給賞錢，皆征于犯人。 然鹽官獲之則充正課，巡捕官則不賞。 巡捕軍則減常人之半，免役弓手又半之，是罪同而賞異也。 乞以司縣巡捕官不賞之數，及巡捕弓手所減者，皆征以入官，則罪賞均矣。」 詔從之。 三年二月，以解鹽司使治本州，以副治安邑。 十一月，定進士授鹽使司官，以榜次及入仕先後擬注。
In the eleventh month Shaanxi transport commissioner Gao Ruli noted that informants on private salt, wine, and yeast received rewards by weight, all levied on offenders. Salt officials who seized contraband counted it toward official revenue and received no reward; patrol officers likewise went unrewarded. Patrol soldiers received half a civilian's reward, and corvée-exempt archers half again—equal crimes, unequal rewards. He asked that unrewarded amounts for county patrol officials and reduced rewards for patrol archers be levied to the state instead, equalizing treatment. An edict approved the proposal. In the second month of year three the Jie salt commissioner governed the prefecture and the vice commissioner Anyi County. In the eleventh month the court assigned jinshi graduates to salt commissionerate posts by examination rank and seniority.
18
四年六月，以七鹽使司課額七年一定為制，每斤增為四十四文，時桓州刺史張煒乞以鹽易米，詔省臣議之。
In the sixth month of year four the seven salt commissionerates received seven-year fixed quotas and the price rose to forty-four wen per jin. Huanzhou prefect Zhang Wei petitioned to trade salt for grain, and provincial ministers were ordered to deliberate.
19
六月，詔以山東、滄州鹽司自增新課之後，所虧歲積，蓋官既不為經畫，而管勾、監同與合幹人互為奸弊，以致然也。 即選才幹者代兩司使副，以進士及部令史、譯人、書史、譯史、律科、經童、諸局分出身之廉慎者為管勾，而罷其舊官。
An edict in the sixth month blamed accumulated deficits at Shandong and Cangzhou on officials' failure to plan and on collusion among superintendents, supervisors, and clerks since the quota increase. Capable replacements were named for both commissionerates' leaders. Jinshi graduates and honest clerks from various bureaus became superintendents, and the former officials were dismissed.
20
十月，西北路有犯花鹼禁者，欲同鹽禁罪，宰臣謂：「若比私鹽，則有不同。」 詔定制，收鹼者杖八十，十斤加一等，罪止徒一年，賞同私礬例。 五年六月，以山東、滄州兩鹽司侵課，遣戶部員外郎石鉉按視之，還言令兩司分辦為便。 詔以周昂分河北東西路、大名府、恩州、南京、睢、陳、蔡、許、潁州隸滄鹽司，以山東東西路、開、濮州、歸德府、曹、單、亳、壽、泗州隸山東鹽司，各計口承課。 十月，簽河北東西大名路按察司事張德輝言：「海壖人易得私鹽，故犯法者眾，可量戶口均配之。」 尚書省命山東按察司議其利便，言：「萊、密等州比年不登，計口賣鹽所斂雖微，人以為重，恐致流亡。 且私煮者皆無籍之人，豈以配買而不為哉！」 遂定制，命與滄鹽司皆馳驛巡察境內。
In the tenth month Northwest Circuit offenders of the floral-alkali ban sought punishment equal to private-salt crimes. Chief ministers replied that the offenses differed. An edict fixed penalties: collecting floral alkali brought eighty strokes, with one added degree per ten jin, capped at one year penal servitude; rewards followed the private-alum precedent. In the sixth month of year five, because Shandong and Cangzhou salt offices encroached on each other's revenue, Revenue Section director Shi Xuan inspected them and recommended splitting their jurisdictions. An edict assigned Zhou Ang to split jurisdictions: Cang salt office took Hebei East and West, Daming, Enzhou, Nanjing, and Sui, Chen, Cai, Xu, and Ying; Shandong took Shandong East and West, Kai and Pu, Guide, and Cao, Shan, Bo, Shou, and Si, each with per-capita quotas. In the tenth month acting surveillance commissioner Zhang Dehui argued that coastal residents easily obtained private salt, producing many offenders, and proposed apportioning salt quotas by household. The Ministry asked Shandong surveillance officials to assess the plan. They replied that Lai, Mi, and other prefectures had suffered poor harvests; per-capita salt quotas, though small, would burden people and risk causing migration. Private boilers were mostly unregistered people—apportioned purchase would not stop them. Regulations were issued ordering both commissionerates to patrol their territories by express courier.
21
六年三月，右丞相內族宗浩、參知政事賈鉉言：「國家經費惟賴鹽課，今山東虧五十余萬貫，蓋以私煮盜販者成党，鹽司既不能捕，統軍司、按察司亦不為禁，若止論犯私鹽者之數，罰俸降職，彼將抑而不申，愈難制矣！ 宜立制，以各官在職時所增虧之實，令鹽司以達省部，以為升降。」 遂詔諸統軍、招討司，京府州軍官，所部有犯者，兩次則奪半月俸，一歲五次則奏裁，巡捕官但犯則的決，令按察司御史察之。
In the third month of year six Right Chancellor Zong Hao and Vice Grand Councilor Jia Xuan warned that state finances depended on salt revenue, yet Shandong was short over five hundred thousand strings because smugglers formed gangs that salt, pacification, and surveillance offices failed to suppress. Punishing only reported offenders would encourage concealment. They proposed tracking each official's actual surplus or deficit during tenure, reported by the salt office to the ministry for promotions and demotions. An edict held pacification commissioners and capital officials accountable: two offenses cost half a month's salary; five in a year required imperial review. Patrol officers faced immediate punishment for any offense, overseen by surveillance commissioners and censors.
22
四月，從涿州剌史夾谷蒲乃言，以萊州民所納鹽錢聽輸絲綿銀鈔。 七年九月，定西北京、遼東鹽使判官及諸場管勾，增虧升降格，凡文資官吏員，諸局署承應人、應驗資歷注者，增不及分者升本等首，一分減一資，二分減兩資，遷一官，四分減兩資，遷兩官，虧則視此為降。 如任回驗官注擬者，增不及分升本等首，一分減一資，二分減一資、遷一階，四分減兩資、遷兩階，虧者亦視此為降。
In the fourth month, on Zhuozhou prefect Jiagu Punai's proposal, Laizhou residents were allowed to pay salt levies in silk, cotton, silver, or paper notes. In the ninth month of year seven promotion scales were set for Western Capital, Beijing, and Liaodong salt assessors and superintendents. Civil officials meeting quota advanced within grade; shortfalls of one-tenth cost one qualification, two-tenths two qualifications and one rank, four-tenths two qualifications and two ranks, with demotions for deficits. For officials reviewed after their term: meeting quota advanced within grade; one-tenth short cost one qualification, two-tenths one qualification and one step, four-tenths two qualifications and two steps, with demotions for deficits.
23
十二月，尚書省以盧附翼所言，遂定制灶戶盜賣課鹽法，若應納鹽課外有餘，則盡以申官，若留者減盜一等。 若刮鹼土煎食之，采黃穗草燒灰淋鹵，及以酵粥為酒者，杖八十。 八年七月，宋克俊言：「鹽管勾自改注進士諸科人，而監官有失超升縣令之階，以故怠而虧課，乞依舊為便。」 有司以泰和四年改注時，選當時到部人截替，遂擬以秋季到部人注代。 八年七月，詔沿淮諸榷場，聽官民以鹽市易。
In the twelfth month, following Lu Fuyi's proposal, the Ministry regulated saltern households' diversion of quota salt: surplus beyond the owed quota had to be reported; retaining it brought punishment one degree lighter than theft. Scraping alkali soil to boil salt, gathering yellow-spike grass to leach brine, or brewing wine from fermented gruel brought eighty strokes. In the seventh month of year eight Song Kejun argued that appointing jinshi graduates as salt superintendents had removed supervisors' path to county magistrate, making them slack and costing revenue; he asked to restore the old system. Agencies noted that at the Taihe 4 reshuffle, current arrivals at the ministry had been chosen as replacements; autumn arrivals were proposed to succeed them. In the seventh month of year eight an edict allowed officials and commoners to trade salt at Huai River monopoly stations.
24
宣宗貞祐二年十月，戶部言：「陽武、延津、原武、滎澤、河陰諸縣饒鹼鹵，民私煎不能禁。」 遂詔置場，設判官、管勾各一員，隸戶部。 既而，御史台奏：「諸縣皆為有力者奪之，而商販不行。」 遂敕御史分行申明禁約。 三年十二月，河東南路權宣撫副使烏古論慶壽言：「絳、解民多業販鹽，由大陽關以易陝、虢之粟，及還渡河，而官邀糴其八，其旅費之外所存幾何？ 而河南行部複自運以易粟於陝，以盡奪民利。 比歲河東旱蝗，加以邀糴，物價踴貴，人民流亡，誠可閔也。 乞罷邀糴，以紓其患。」 四年七月，慶壽又言：「河中乏糧，既不能濟，而又邀糴以奪之。 夫鹽乃官物，有司陸運至河，複以舟達京兆、鳳翔，以與商人貿易，艱得而甚勞。 而陝西行部每石複邀糴二斗，是官物而自糴也。 夫鹽乃官物，有司陸運至河，複以舟達京兆、鳳翔，以與商人貿易，艱得而甚勞。 而陝西行部每石複邀糴二斗，是官物而自糴也。 夫轉鹽易物，本濟河中，而陝西複強取之，非奪而何？ 乞彼此壹聽民便，則公私皆濟。」 上從之。 興定二年六月，以延安行六部員外郎盧進建言：「綏德之嗣武城、義合、克戎寨近河地多產鹽，請設鹽場管勾一員，歲獲十三萬餘斤，可輸錢二萬貫以佐軍。」 三年，詔用其言，設官鬻鹽給邊用。 四年，李複享言：「以河中西岸解鹽舊所易粟麥萬七千石充關東之用。」 尋命解鹽不得通陝西，以北方有警，河禁方急也。 元光二年內族訛可言，民運解鹽有助軍食，詔修石牆以固之。
In the tenth month of Zhenyou 2 under Emperor Xuanzong the Revenue Ministry reported that Yangwu, Yanjin, Yuanwu, Xingze, and Heyin counties had abundant alkali brine and private boiling could not be suppressed. An edict established salt works with one assessor and one superintendent each, under the Revenue Ministry. Soon the Censorate reported that powerful families had seized control in every county and trade had stalled. Censors were dispatched to proclaim the prohibitions throughout the region. In the twelfth month of year three acting Hedong South vice commissioner Wugulun Qingshou reported that Jiang and Jie people traded salt through Dayang Pass for Shaan and Guo grain, but officials forcibly requisitioned eight-tenths on their return, leaving little after travel costs. The Henan branch office also transported salt itself to exchange for Shaan grain, depriving the people of all profit. Recent drought and locusts in Hedong, combined with forced purchases, had driven prices up and people to flee—a truly lamentable situation. He asked that forced purchases be abolished to relieve the hardship. In the seventh month of year four Qingshou added that Hezhong lacked grain and could not be helped, yet forced purchases seized what little remained. Salt was government property: offices hauled it overland to the river, then shipped it to Jingzhao and Fengxiang to trade with merchants—a difficult and laborious process. Yet the Shaanxi branch office forcibly requisitioned two dou per shi—government goods buying from itself. Salt was government property: offices hauled it overland to the river, then shipped it to Jingzhao and Fengxiang to trade with merchants—a difficult and laborious process. Yet the Shaanxi branch office forcibly requisitioned two dou per shi—government goods buying from itself. Salt transport was meant to aid Hezhong, yet Shaanxi seized it by force—what was that but plunder? He asked that both sides let the people trade freely, benefiting public and private interests alike. The emperor approved. In the sixth month of Xingding 2 Yan'an official Lu Jin proposed salt works at Siwucheng, Yihe, and Kerong near the river in Suide, yielding over 130,000 jin yearly and twenty thousand strings for the army. In year three an edict adopted his proposal and established officials to sell salt for frontier needs. In year four Li Fuxiang proposed using the 17,000 shi of grain formerly exchanged for Jie salt on the river's west bank to supply Guandong. Jie salt was soon barred from Shaanxi because of northern alarms and strict river controls. In Yuanguang 2 imperial clansman Eke reported that civilian transport of Jie salt aided military rations; the court ordered stone walls repaired to secure the route.
25
金榷酤因遼、宋舊制，天會三年始命榷官以周歲為滿。 世宗大定三年，詔宗室私釀者，從轉運司鞫治。 三年，省奏中都酒戶多逃，以故課額愈虧。 上曰：「此官不嚴禁私釀所致也。」 命設軍百人，隸兵馬司，同酒使副合千人巡察，雖權要家亦許搜索。 奴婢犯禁，杖其主百。 且令大興少尹招複酒戶。 八年，更定酒使司課及五萬貫以上，鹽場不及五萬貫者，依舊例通注文武官，余並右職有才能，累差不虧者為之。 九年，大興縣官以廣陽鎮務虧課，而懼奪其俸，乃以酒散部民，使輸其稅。 大理寺以財非入己，請以贖論。 上曰：「雖非私贓，而貧民亦被其害，若止從贖，何以懲後。」 特命解職。 二十六年，省奏鹽鐵酒麴自定課後，增各有差。 上曰：「朕頃在上京，酒味不嘉。 朕欲如中都曲院取課，庶使民得美酒。 朕日膳亦減省，嘗有一公主至，而無餘膳可與。 朕欲日用五十羊何難哉！ 慮費用皆出於民，不忍為也。 監臨官惟知利己，不知利何從來？ 若恢辦增羨者酬遷，虧者懲殿，仍更定並增並虧之課，無失元額。 如橫班只虧者，與餘差一例降罰，庶有激勸。 且如功酬合辦二萬貫，而止得萬七八千，難迭兩酬者，必止納萬貫，而輒以余錢入己。 今後可令見差使內不迭酬余錢，與後差使內所增錢通算為酬，庶錢可入官。 及監官食直，若不先與，何以責廉。 今後及格限而至者，即用此法。」 又奏罷杓欄人。 二十七年，議以天下院務，依中都例，改收曲課，而聽民酤。 戶部遣官詢問遼東來遠軍，南京路新息、虞城，西京路西京酒使司、白登縣、迭剌部族、天成縣七處，除稅課外，願自承課賣酒。 上曰：「自昔監官多私官錢，若令百姓承辦，庶革此弊。 其試行之。」
The Jin wine monopoly followed Liao and Song precedents. In Tianhui 3 monopoly officials were first appointed to one-year terms. In Dading 3 Emperor Shizong ordered the transport commission to prosecute imperial clansmen who brewed wine privately. In year three the province reported that many Central Capital wine households had fled, further eroding revenue quotas. The emperor said this stemmed from officials' failure to enforce the ban on private brewing. He ordered one hundred soldiers under the Horse and Arms Office to join the wine commissioner and vice commissioner's thousand-man patrol, with authority to search even powerful households. If slaves or servants violated the ban, their master received one hundred strokes. The Daxing vice prefect was also ordered to recruit wine households back. In year eight wine commissionerate quotas of fifty thousand strings or more were revised. Salt works under fifty thousand strings continued joint civil-military appointments; other posts went to capable right-office officials with unblemished records. In year nine the Daxing county magistrate, facing a revenue shortfall at the Guangyang town wine bureau and fearing forfeiture of his salary, distributed wine among local households to compel them to pay the tax. The Court of Judicial Review held that the funds had not been embezzled and recommended a redemption penalty. The emperor said, "Even though this was not outright embezzlement, poor people still suffered. If we only impose a redemption fine, how will we deter others?" He specially ordered the official dismissed from his post. In year twenty-six the province reported that since fixed quotas were set for salt, iron, wine, and yeast mash, revenue increases had varied widely. The emperor said, "When I was recently at the Upper Capital, the wine was poor in quality. I want to collect revenue as at the Central Capital yeast bureaus, so the people can obtain good wine. I have even cut back my daily meals. Once when a princess came to visit, I had no extra food to offer her. For me to consume fifty sheep a day—how hard would that be! But knowing that every expense comes from the people, I cannot bring myself to do it. Supervising officials think only of enriching themselves and give no thought to where profit comes from. Reward officials who exceed their quotas with promotion and punish those who fall short with censure. Revise the quotas for surplus and deficit alike, but do not lose the original target. Horizontal-rank officials who consistently run deficits should be demoted and punished like any other appointee, so that incentives actually work. Suppose merit rewards require twenty thousand strings but only seventeen or eighteen thousand can be collected. When two successive rewards are impossible, officials remit only ten thousand and pocket the rest. Henceforth surplus money from the current term that cannot earn a second reward should be combined with increases in the next term when calculating rewards, so the funds actually reach the treasury. As for the salary support of supervising officials, if it is not paid in advance, how can we demand integrity from them? Henceforth all officials who complete their term limits shall follow this rule." The court also memorialized to abolish the ladle-bar keepers. In year twenty-seven the court proposed that wine bureaus throughout the realm, following the Central Capital model, collect yeast-mash quotas instead and allow private retail sale of wine. The Revenue Ministry sent officials to seven sites—the Liaodong Laiyuan garrison, Xinxii and Yucheng in Nanjing circuit, the Western Capital wine commissionerate, Baideng County, the Di'lie tribe, and Tiancheng County—all of which, beyond ordinary tax quotas, volunteered to undertake wine quotas and sell wine themselves. The emperor said, "Supervising officials have long embezzled public funds. If common people undertake the work instead, we may finally cure this abuse. Try it on a trial basis."
26
明昌元年正月，更定新課，令即日收辦。 中都曲使司，大定間，歲獲錢三十六萬一千五百貫，承安元年歲獲四十萬五千一百三十三貫。 西京酒使司，大定間，歲獲錢五萬三千四百六十七貫五百八十八文，承安元年歲獲錢十萬七千八百九十三貫。 七月，定中都曲使司以大定二十一年至明昌六年為界，通比均取一年之數為額。 五年四月，省奏：「舊隨處酒稅務，所設杓欄人，以射糧軍曆過隨朝差役者充，大定二十六年罷去，其隨朝應役軍入，各給添支錢粟酬其勞。 今擬將元收杓欄錢，以代添支，令各院務驗所收之數，百分中取三，隨課代輸，更不入比，歲約得錢三十余萬，以佐國用。」 泰和四年九月，省奏：「在都曲使司，自定課以來八年並增，宜依舊法，以八年通該課程，均其一年之數，仍取新增諸物一分稅錢併入，通為課額。 以後之課，每五年一定其制。」 又令隨處酒務，元額上通取三分作糟酵錢。 六年，制院務賣酒數各有差，若數外賣、及將帶過數者，罪之。 宣宗貞祐三年十二月，御史田迥秀言：「大定中，酒稅歲及十萬貫者，始設使司，其後二萬貫亦設，今河南使司亦五十餘員，虛費月廩，宜依大定之制。」 元光元年，複設曲使司。
In the first month of Mingchang 1 (1190) new quotas were fixed and immediate collection ordered. The Central Capital Yeast Commissionerate collected 361,500 strings annually during the Dading period and 405,133 strings in Chengan 1 (1196). The Western Capital Wine Commissionerate collected 53,467 strings 588 cash annually during the Dading period and 107,893 strings in Chengan 1. In the seventh month the Central Capital Yeast Commissionerate was assessed from Dading 21 through Mingchang 6; totals were compared and a one-year average set as the quota. In the fourth month of year five the province reported that wine tax bureaus had formerly employed ladle-bar keepers drawn from grain-shoot soldiers who had completed court service. In Dading 26 these posts were abolished and court-service soldiers received supplemental pay and grain instead. The proposal was to replace those supplements with the former ladle-bar fees: each bureau would verify collections, take three percent, and remit it with the quota without entering performance comparisons. This would yield roughly three hundred thousand strings a year to support state finances. In the ninth month of Taihe 4 (1204) the province reported that the capital Yeast Commissionerate had exceeded its quota every year for eight years since fixed quotas were set. Following precedent, the eight years' totals should be averaged to one year, and the newly added one-percent tax on various goods folded in as the combined quota. Thereafter quotas would be reset every five years. The court also ordered wine bureaus everywhere to levy three percent of the original quota as mash-yeast fees. In year six the court fixed differing sale limits for each wine bureau; selling beyond quota or transporting excess amounts was punishable. In the twelfth month of Zhenyou 3 (1215) Censor Tian Huixiuyu said that under the Dading system commissionerates were created only when annual wine tax reached one hundred thousand strings, though later the threshold fell to twenty thousand. Henan now had more than fifty commissionerates wasting monthly stipends and should revert to the Dading rule. In Yuanguang 1 (1222) yeast commissionerates were restored.
27
自大定初，以國用不足，設官榷之，以助經用。 至二十三年，以府庫充牣，遂罷之。 章宗明昌五年，以有司所入不允所出，言事者請榷醋息，遂令設官榷之，其課額，俟當差官定之。 後罷。 承安三年三月，省臣以國用浩大，遂複榷之。 五百貫以上設都監，千貫以上設同監一員。
From early in the Dading period, because state revenue was insufficient, officials were appointed to monopolize vinegar production and bolster regular expenditures. By year twenty-three the treasury was full and the monopoly was abolished. In Mingchang 5 (1194) departmental income no longer covered expenditure. Memorialists proposed monopolizing vinegar profits, officials were appointed to do so, and the quota was left for the incoming appointee to set. It was later abolished. In the third month of Chengan 3 (1198) provincial ministers restored the vinegar monopoly because state expenses had grown vast. Quotas of five hundred strings or more received a chief supervisor; quotas of one thousand strings or more also received a vice supervisor.
28
自宋人歲供之外，皆貿易于宋界之榷場。 世宗大定十六年，以多私販，乃更定香茶罪賞格。 章宗承安三年八月，以謂費國用而資敵，遂命設官制之。 以尚書省令史承德郎劉成往河南視官造者，以不親嘗其味，但采民言謂為溫桑，實非茶也，還即白上。 上以為不幹，杖七十，罷之。 四年三月，於淄、密、甯海、蔡州各置一坊，造新茶，依南方例每斤為袋，直六百文。 以商旅卒未販運，命山東、河北四路轉運司以各路戶口均其袋數，付各司縣鬻之。 買引者，納錢及折物，各從其便。
Beyond the tea supplied annually by the Song, all trade took place at monopoly markets on the Song frontier. In Dading 16 (1176) widespread smuggling of incense and tea led the court to revise statutory penalties and rewards. In the eighth month of Chengan 3 (1198) Emperor Zhangzong, saying that tea trade wasted state revenue and enriched the enemy, ordered officials appointed to control it. Ministry clerk Liu Cheng, a Chengde-lang, was sent to Henan to inspect state-made tea. Without tasting it himself, he relied on common report that it was "warm mulberry" and not tea at all, then returned and reported this to the throne. The emperor judged him incompetent, had him beaten seventy strokes, and dismissed him. In the third month of year four workshops were established at Zi, Mi, Ninghai, and Caizhou to produce new tea. Following southern practice each jin was packed in a bag priced at six hundred cash. Because merchants had not yet begun transporting it, the transport commissions of Shandong and the four Hebei circuits were ordered to apportion bags by household population and assign prefectures and counties to sell them. Permit buyers could pay in cash or goods, whichever they preferred.
29
五月，以山東人戶造賣私茶，侵侔榷貨，遂定比煎私礬例，罪徒二年。
In the fifth month private tea production and sale in Shandong, which encroached on monopoly goods, was penalized by the same standard as illicit alum boiling: two years of penal servitude.
30
泰和四年，上謂宰臣曰：「朕賞新茶，味雖不嘉，亦豈不可食也。 比令近侍察之，乃知山東、河北四路悉椿配於人。 既曰強民，宜抵以罪。 此舉未知運司與縣官孰為之，所屬按察司亦當坐罪也。 其閱實以聞。 自今其令每袋價減三百文，至來年四月不售，雖腐敗無傷也。」 五年春，罷造茶之坊。 三月，上諭省臣曰：「今雖不造茶，其勿伐其樹，其地則恣民耕樵。」 六年，河南茶樹槁者，命補植之。 十一月，尚書省奏：「茶，飲食之餘，非必用之物。 比歲下上競啜，農民尤甚，市井茶肆相屬。 商旅多以絲絹易茶，歲費不下百萬，是以有用之物而易無用之物也。 若不禁，恐耗財彌甚。」 遂命七品以上官，其家方許食茶，仍不得賣及饋獻。 不應留者，以斤兩立罪賞。 七年，更定食茶制。 八年七月，言事者以茶乃宋土草芽，而易中國絲錦錦絹有益之物，不可也。 國家之鹽貨出於鹵水，歲取不竭，可令易茶。 省臣以謂所易不廣，遂奏令兼以雜物博易。 宣宗元光二年三月，省臣以國蹙財竭，奏曰：「金幣錢谷，世不可一日闕者也。 茶本出於宋地，非飲食之急，而自昔商賈以金帛易之，是徒耗也。 泰和間，嘗禁止之，後以宋人求和，乃罷。 兵興以來，複舉行之，然犯者不少衰，而邊民又窺利，越境私易，恐因泄軍情，或盜賊入境。 今河南、陝西凡五十餘郡，郡日食茶率二十袋，袋直銀二兩，是一歲之中妄費民銀三十余萬也。 奈何以吾有用之貨而資敵乎？」 乃制親王，公主及見任五品以上官，素蓄者存之，禁不得賣、饋，餘人並禁之。 犯者徒五年，告者賞寶泉一萬貫。
In Taihe 4 (1204) the emperor told his chief ministers, "I have tasted the new tea. The flavor is poor, but is it not still drinkable? I recently had attendants investigate and learned that Shandong and the four Hebei circuits had forcibly apportioned the tea on the people. If the people were coerced, those responsible should be punished. It is not yet clear whether transport commissioners or county officials did this, but their surveillance commission should share the guilt. Investigate the facts and report back. Henceforth reduce the price of each bag by three hundred cash. If it remains unsold until the fourth month of next year, even spoiled tea will not be held against anyone." In the spring of year five the tea workshops were abolished. In the third month the emperor told provincial ministers, "Though we no longer manufacture tea, do not cut down the trees. As for the land, let the people farm and gather firewood as they please." In year six withered tea trees in Henan were ordered replanted. In the eleventh month the Ministry reported, "Tea is a beverage, not a necessity of life. In recent years everyone from court to countryside has competed to drink it, farmers most of all, and tea shops line the market streets. Merchants exchange silk and gauze for tea at an annual cost of no less than one million strings—useful goods traded for something useless. If we do not forbid it, the drain on wealth will only worsen." The court ruled that only households of officials of seventh rank or above might consume tea, and even they could not sell it or give it as gifts. For those who should not possess it, penalties and rewards were fixed by weight in jin and liang. In year seven the tea-consumption regulations were revised. In the seventh month of year eight memorialists argued that tea was merely grass sprouts from Song soil, yet was exchanged for China's silk, brocade, and satin—valuable goods—and this was unacceptable. State salt drawn from brine is inexhaustible year after year; the court should order tea traded for salt instead. Provincial ministers replied that salt alone would not cover enough trade and memorialized to allow barter in miscellaneous goods as well. In the third month of Yuanguang 2 (1223) provincial ministers, citing national crisis and exhausted finances, memorialized that gold, coin, and grain were necessities the state could not do without even for a day. Tea comes from Song territory and is no staple of diet, yet merchants have long exchanged gold and silk for it—a pure waste. During the Taihe period the court once banned it, but lifted the ban when the Song sued for peace. Since warfare resumed the ban was enforced again, yet violations barely declined. Border people, eyeing profit, traded privately across the frontier, risking leaks of military intelligence or entry by bandits. Henan and Shaanxi together comprise more than fifty commanderies. Each consumes roughly twenty bags of tea a day at two taels of silver per bag—more than three hundred thousand taels of silver wasted in a single year. How can we spend our useful goods to enrich the enemy? The court decreed that imperial princes, princesses, and incumbent officials of fifth rank or above might keep existing stocks but could not sell or gift tea; everyone else was forbidden to possess it. Violators received five years of penal servitude; informers were rewarded ten thousand strings in Baoquan notes.
31
諸征商
Commercial Taxes
32
海陵貞元元年五月，以都城隙地賜隨朝大小職官及護駕軍，七月，各征錢有差。 大定二年，制院務創虧及功酬格。 八月，罷諸路關稅，止令譏察。 三年，尚書省奏：「山東西路轉運司言，坊場河渡多逋欠。」 詔如監臨制，以年歲遠近為差，蠲減。 又以尚書工部令史劉行義言，定城郭出賃房稅之制。 五年，以前此河濼罷設官，複召民射買，兩界之後，仍舊設官。 二十年正月，定商稅法，金銀百分取一，諸物百分取三。 章宗大定二十九年，戶部言天下河泊已許與民同利，其七處設官可罷之，委所屬禁豪強毋得擅其利。
In the fifth month of Zhenyuan 1 (1153) Prince Hailing granted vacant capital land to court officials and the imperial guard. In the seventh month each was taxed at differing rates. In Dading 2 (1162) the court regulated startup-deficit and merit-reward scales for wine bureaus. In the eighth month circuit customs duties were abolished, leaving only inspection posts. In year three the Ministry reported that the Shandong West transport commission had found widespread arrears at workshops, ferries, and river crossings. An edict ordered remission scaled by how many years the arrears had accrued, following the supervisor-remission rule. On the proposal of Ministry of Works clerk Liu Xingyi, the court also fixed the system for urban rental-house taxes. In year five, after officials had been withdrawn from Hebei marshlands and the sites opened to public bidding, official management was restored once the two-border arrangement took effect. In the first month of year twenty the commercial tax law was fixed at one percent on gold and silver and three percent on all other goods. In Dading 29 (1189) the Revenue Ministry reported that rivers and lakes nationwide had been opened to shared public use. The seven sites still under official management could be abolished, with local authorities ordered to prevent powerful families from monopolizing the profits.
33
明昌元年正月，敕尚書省，定院務課商稅額，諸路使司院務千六百一十六外，比舊減九十四萬一千餘貫，遂罷坊場，免賃房稅。 十月，尚書省奏：「今天下使司務，既減課額，而監官增虧既有升遷追殿之制，宜罷提點所給賞罰俸之制，但委提刑司，察提點官侵犯場務者，則論如制。」 詔從之。 二年，詔減南京出賃官房及地基錢。 三年，諭提刑司，禁勢力家不得固山澤之利。 又司竹監歲采入破竹五十萬竿，春秋兩次輸都水監，備河防，余邊刀筍皮等賣錢三千貫，葦錢二千貫，為額。 明昌五年，陳言者乞復舊置坊場，上不許，惟許增置院務，詔尚書省參酌定制，遂擬遼東、北京依舊許人分辦，中都等十一路差官按視，量添設院務於二十三處，自今歲九月一日立界，制可。 大定間，中都稅使司歲獲十六萬四千四百四十餘貫，承安元年，歲獲二十一萬四千五百七十九貫。 泰和六年五月，制院務課虧，令運司差監榷。
In the first month of Mingchang 1 the Ministry was ordered to fix commercial tax quotas for wine bureaus. Beyond the 1,616 commissionerate bureaus on all circuits, quotas were cut by more than 941,000 strings compared with earlier levels. Workshops were abolished and rental-house taxes waived. In the tenth month the Ministry reported that with bureau quotas reduced nationwide and surplus-deficit rules already governing promotions and censure of supervising officials, the surveillance office's reward-and-punishment salary system should be abolished. The penal commission alone should investigate surveillance officials who encroached on bureaus and punish them under statute. The edict approved the proposal. In year two an edict reduced Nanjing's rental fees for official houses and land. In year three the penal commission was instructed to forbid powerful families from monopolizing profits from mountains and marshes. The Bamboo Office also collected five hundred thousand poles of culms annually, delivering them twice each year to the Capital Water Office for river defenses. Sales of bamboo shoots, skins, and related products were fixed at three thousand strings, and reed sales at two thousand strings. In Mingchang 5 (1194) a memorialist asked to restore the old workshops. The emperor refused but allowed additional wine bureaus and ordered the Ministry to draft regulations. The proposal kept Liaodong and Beijing open to contracted operation, sent inspectors through the Central Capital and ten other circuits, and added bureaus at twenty-three sites. Boundaries took effect on the first day of the ninth month that year, and the plan was approved. During the Dading period the Central Capital Tax Commissionerate collected more than 164,440 strings annually; in Chengan 1 it collected 214,579 strings. In the fifth month of Taihe 6 (1206), when wine bureaus ran quota deficits, transport commissions were ordered to dispatch monopoly supervisors.
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金銀之稅
Tax on Gold and Silver
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大定三年，制金銀坑冶許民開採，二十分取一為稅。 泰和四年，言事者以金銀百分中取一，諸物取三，今物價視舊為高，除金銀則額所不能盡該，自余金銀可並添一分。 詔從之。 七年三月，戶部尚書高汝礪言：「舊制，小商貿易諸物收錢四分，而金銀乃重細之物，多出富有之家，複止三分，是為不倫，亦乞一例收之。」 省臣議以為如此恐多匿隱。 遂止從舊。
In Dading 3 (1163) the court permitted private mining of gold and silver and levied a tax of one part in twenty. In Taihe 4 (1204) memorialists noted that gold and silver were taxed at one percent and other goods at three, but with prices higher than before the quota could not be met unless gold and silver were each raised by one additional percent. The edict approved the change. In the third month of year seven Revenue Minister Gao Rulü said that under the old system small merchants paid four percent on ordinary goods, while gold and silver—heavy, refined commodities held mostly by wealthy households—were taxed at only three percent. This was inequitable, he argued, and gold and silver should be taxed at the same rate. Provincial ministers argued that equalizing the rate would only encourage more concealment. The proposal was dropped and the old rate retained.