Volume 44 Treatises 24: Government Service 3

志第二十八食貨上

Treatise 28: Economy and Currency (Part One)

先王之制，度地以居人，均其沃瘠，差其貢賦，蓋斂之必以道也。量入而為出，節用而愛人，度財省費，蓋用之必有度也，是故既庶且富，而教化行焉。周有井田之制，秦有阡陌之法，二世發閭左而海內崩離，漢武稅舟車而國用以竭。自古有國有家，興亡盛衰，未嘗不由此也。隋文帝因周氏平齊之後，府庫充實，庶事節儉，未嘗虛費。開皇之初，議者以比漢代文、景，有粟陳貫朽之積。煬帝即位，大縱奢靡，加以東西行幸，輿駕不息，征討四夷，兵車屢動。西失律于沙徼，東喪師於遼、碣，數年之間，公私罄竭，財力既殫，國遂亡矣。

In the institutions of the ancient kings, land was surveyed to settle the population, fertility and barrenness were balanced against one another, and tribute and taxes were scaled accordingly — levies had to follow proper principle. Revenue set the bounds of expenditure, frugality was practiced and the people cared for, and costs were weighed and expenses curbed — public spending had to stay within limits; only then could a populous, prosperous realm sustain civilizing order. Zhou instituted the well-field system and Qin the open-field law; when the Second Emperor conscripted commoners wholesale, the empire fell apart, and when Emperor Wu taxed boats and carriages, the treasury was drained dry. From antiquity onward, the rise and fall of dynasties has always hinged on such fiscal choices. After the Northern Zhou pacified Qi, Emperor Wen of Sui inherited full treasuries; he kept ordinary affairs frugal and never squandered public funds. In the early Kaihuang era, commentators likened his reign to those of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han, when grain stores grew so vast that the ropes binding the sacks rotted away. When Emperor Yang took the throne, he gave free rein to extravagance, touring east and west without pause, campaigning against the frontier peoples, and mobilizing armies again and again. In the west his armies broke down on the desert frontier; in the east he lost forces in Liaodong and the Jie region. Within a few years both public and private coffers were empty, the state's resources were spent, and the dynasty collapsed.

高祖發跡太原，因晉陽宮留守庫物，以供軍用。既平京城，先封府庫，賞賜給用，皆有節制，征斂賦役，務在寬簡。未及逾年，遂成帝業。其後掌財賦者，世有人焉。開元已前，事歸尚書省，開元已後，權移他官。由是有轉運使、租庸使、鹽鐵使、度支鹽鐵轉運使、常平鑄錢鹽鐵使、租庸青苗使、水陸運鹽鐵租庸使、兩稅使，隨事立名，沿革不一。設官分職，選賢任能，得其人則有益於國家，非其才則貽患于黎庶，此又不可不知也。如裴耀卿、劉晏、李巽數君子，便時利物，富國安民，足為世法者也。

Gaozu launched his uprising from Taiyuan and drew on the stores of the Jinyang Palace garrison to supply his troops. Once the capital was secured, he sealed the treasuries first; rewards and disbursements were kept within bounds, and tax levies and corvée were kept light and simple. In less than a year he had secured the throne. Afterward, each generation produced men charged with managing the state's finances. Before the Kaiyuan era fiscal affairs belonged to the Department of State Affairs; after Kaiyuan, authority shifted to other offices. Hence came transport commissioners, zu-yong commissioners, salt-and-iron commissioners, and many combined titles — the dual-tax commissioner among them — each created for the task at hand, with names and duties shifting over time. Offices were established and duties divided, the worthy selected and the capable employed — the right appointee benefited the state, the wrong one brought harm to the people. This too must be understood. Men such as Pei Yaoxing, Liu Yan, and Li Xun adapted policy to the times, enriched the state, and secured the people — they are fit to serve as models for later ages.

開元中，有御史宇文融獻策，括籍外剩田：色役偽濫，及逃戶許歸首，免五年征賦。每丁量稅一千五百錢，置攝御史，分路檢括隱審。得戶八十余萬，田亦稱是，得錢數百萬貫，玄宗以為能，數年間拔為御史中丞、戶部侍郎。融又畫策開河北王莽河，溉田數千頃，以營稻田，事未果而融敗。時又楊崇禮為太府卿，清嚴善勾剝，分寸錙銖，躬親不厭。轉輸納欠，折估漬損，必令征送。天下州縣征財帛，四時不止。及老病致仕，以其子慎矜為御史，專知太府出納。其弟慎名又專知京倉，皆以苛刻害人，承主恩而征責。又有韋堅，規宇文融、楊慎矜之跡，乃請于江淮轉運租米，取州縣義倉粟，轉市輕貨，差富戶押船，若遲留損壞，皆征船戶。關中漕渠，鑿廣運潭以挽山東之粟，歲四百萬石，帝以為能，又至貴盛。又王鉷進計，奮身自為戶口色役使，征剝財貨，每歲進錢百億，寶貨稱是。雲非正額租庸，便入百寶大盈庫，以供人主宴私賞賜之用。玄宗日益眷之，數年間亦為御史大夫、京兆尹、帶二十餘使。又楊國忠藉椒房之勢，承恩幸，帶四十餘使，雲經其聽覽，必數倍弘益，又見寵貴。太平既久，天下至安，人不願亂。而此數人，設詭計以侵擾之，凡二十五人，同為剝喪，而人無敢言之者。及安祿山反于范陽，兩京倉庫盈溢而不可名。楊國忠設計，稱不可耗正庫之物，乃使御史崔眾於河東納錢度僧、尼、道士，旬日間行錢百萬。玄宗幸巴蜀，鄭昉使劍南，請於江陵稅鹽麻以資國，官置吏以督之。肅宗建號于靈武，後用雲間鄭叔清為御史，于江淮間豪族富商率貸及賣官爵，以裨國用。德宗朝討河朔及李希烈，物力耗竭。趙贊司國計，纖瑣刻剝，以為國用不足，宜賦取於下，以資軍蓄。與諫官陳京等更陳計策，贊請稅京師居人屋宅，據其間架差等計入。陳京又請籍列肆商賈資產，以分數借之。宰相同為欺罔，遂行其計。中外沸騰，人懷怨望。時又配王公已下及嘗在方鎮之家出家僮及馬以助征行，公私囂然矣。後又張滂、裴延齡、王涯等，剝下媚上，此皆足為世戒者也。

During the Kaiyuan era, Censor Yuwen Rong proposed registering unreported surplus land, cracking down on fraudulent corvée exemptions, and allowing fugitive households to register voluntarily with five years of taxes forgiven. Each adult male was assessed 1,500 cash in tax, and acting censors were dispatched along the routes to investigate concealed households. More than 800,000 households were registered, with a proportional amount of land, yielding several million strings of cash. Xuanzong judged him capable and within a few years promoted him to Vice Censor-in-Chief and Vice Minister of Revenue. Rong also proposed opening the Wang Mang River in Hebei to irrigate thousands of qing for rice paddies, but the project never succeeded before his downfall. At the same time Yang Chongli served as Director of the Palace Storehouse; austere and relentless in collection, he personally scrutinized every fraction down to the smallest weight without tiring. Shortfalls in transport deliveries, discounted valuations for spoilage — he always compelled full payment. Prefectures and counties across the empire collected wealth and silks without pause through all four seasons. When age and illness forced his retirement, his son Shenjin was appointed censor with sole charge of Palace Storehouse receipts and disbursements. His younger brother Shenming took charge of the capital granaries; both brothers oppressed the people with harsh exactions, secure in the emperor's favor. Wei Jian followed in the footsteps of Yuwen Rong and Yang Shenjin; he proposed shipping rent grain from the Jiang-Huai region, drawing on county righteous-granary stores to trade for light goods, and assigning wealthy households to guarantee the boats — any delay, detention, or damage was charged to the boat owners. For the Guanzhong transport canals he excavated the Guangyun Pool to draw grain from east of the mountains — four million shi per year. The emperor judged him capable and he rose to the highest favor. Wang Hong advanced his own schemes, taking the post of household-and-corvée commissioner himself and exacting wealth; each year he presented ten billion in cash, with treasures and goods to match. Funds outside the regular zu-yong quotas went straight into the Hundred Treasures Great Surplus Storehouse to supply the emperor's banquets, private pleasures, and gifts. Xuanzong favored him ever more; within a few years he was also Censor-in-Chief and Metropolitan Governor of Jingzhao, holding more than twenty concurrent commissioner posts. Yang Guozhong relied on his ties to the imperial consort clan, enjoyed the emperor's favor, held more than forty commissioner posts, and boasted that whatever passed his review yielded several times the usual revenue — he too rose to exalted favor. Peace had lasted so long that the realm was utterly secure and no one wished for upheaval. Yet these men devised schemes to harass the people; twenty-five of them together stripped the realm bare, and no one dared speak out. When An Lushan rebelled at Fanyang, the storehouses of the two capitals overflowed beyond reckoning. Yang Guozhong devised a scheme, claiming the regular treasuries could not be touched, and had Censor Cui Zhong at Hedong accept cash to ordain monks, nuns, and Daoist priests — within ten days a million in cash changed hands. When Xuanzong fled to Ba-Shu, Zheng Fang was sent to Jiannan and proposed taxing salt and hemp at Jiangling to fund the state, with officials appointed to enforce collection. Suzong proclaimed his reign at Lingwu; later he appointed Zheng Shuqing of Yunjian as censor to compel loans from wealthy Jiang-Huai clans and sell offices and ranks to supplement state revenue. Under Dezong, campaigns against Hebei and Li Xilie drained the state's material resources. Zhao Zan managed state finances with petty, relentless exactions; he argued that revenue was insufficient and that levies should be drawn from the populace to fund military stores. Together with remonstrance officials such as Chen Jing he presented further schemes; Zhao Zan proposed taxing dwellings in the capital according to the size and grade of their structures. Chen Jing also proposed registering merchants' assets in the market wards and compelling graded loans against them. The chief ministers colluded in the deception and the plans were enacted. The court and the country seethed with outrage and popular resentment. At the time male servants and horses were also requisitioned from princes and dukes downward and from families that had held frontier commands to support the campaigns, and public and private alike were in uproar. Later Zhang Pang, Pei Yanling, Wang Ya, and others stripped the people to please their superiors — each a warning for later ages.

先是興元克復京師後，府藏盡虛，諸道初有進奉，以資經費，復時有宣索。其後諸賊既平，朝廷無事，常賦之外，進奉不息。韋皋劍南有日進，李兼江西有月進。杜亞揚州、劉贊宣州、王緯李錡浙西，皆競為進奉，以固恩澤。貢入之奏，皆白臣於正稅外方圓，亦曰「羨餘」。節度使或托言密旨，乘此盜貿官物。諸道有謫罰官吏入其財者，刻祿廩，通津達道者稅之，蒔蔬藝果者稅之，死亡者稅之。節度觀察交代，或先期稅入以為進奉。然十獻其二三耳，其餘沒入，不可勝紀。此節度使進奉也。其後裴肅為常州刺史，乃鬻貨薪炭案牘，百賈之上，皆規利焉。歲餘又進奉。無幾，遷浙東觀察使。天下刺史進奉，自肅始也。劉贊死于宣州，嚴綬為判官，傾軍府資用進奉。無幾，拜刑部員外郎。天下判官進奉，自綬始也。習以為常，流宕忘返。

Earlier, after the court recovered the capital from its refuge at Xingyuan, the treasuries were empty; the circuits first began presentation offerings to fund expenses, and the throne also issued repeated requisitions. After the rebels were pacified and the court had no pressing crises, presentation offerings beyond regular taxes never ceased. Wei Gao in Jiannan sent daily presentations; Li Jian in Jiangxi sent monthly presentations. Du Ya at Yangzhou, Liu Zan at Xuanzhou, and Wang Wei and Li Qi in western Zhe all competed in presentation offerings to secure imperial favor. Memorials on tribute submitted all reported surplus beyond regular taxes, also called "surplus remainder." Military commissioners sometimes claimed secret edicts and used the pretense to trade illicitly in official goods. In the circuits, wealth seized from punished officials was absorbed into local coffers; salaries and granary allotments were cut; travelers on major routes were taxed, gardeners and orchardists were taxed, even the dead were taxed. When military and surveillance commissioners transferred office, some collected taxes in advance for presentation offerings. Yet only two or three parts in ten reached the throne; the rest was absorbed locally, beyond reckoning. Such was presentation offering by military commissioners. Later, when Pei Su served as prefect of Changzhou, he sold fuel, charcoal, and office supplies, and profited from more than a hundred kinds of trade. Within a year he again sent presentation offerings. Before long he was promoted to Surveillance Commissioner of eastern Zhe. Presentation offerings by prefects throughout the empire began with Pei Su. When Liu Zan died at Xuanzhou, Yan Shou as his aide drained the military prefecture's resources for presentation offerings. Before long he was appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice. Presentation offerings by prefectural aides throughout the empire began with Yan Shou. The practice became routine, and the court drifted on without turning back.

大抵有唐之禦天下也，有兩稅焉，有鹽鐵焉，有漕運焉，有倉廩焉，有雜稅焉。今考其本末，敘其否臧，以為《食貨志》云。

Broadly speaking, Tang governance of the realm rested on the dual tax, salt and iron monopolies, grain transport, state granaries, and miscellaneous levies. Here I examine their origins and outcomes, recount their failures and successes, and compose this Treatise on Economy and Currency.

武德七年，始定律令。以度田之制：五尺為步，步二百四十為畝，畝百為頃。丁男、中男給一頃，篤疾、廢疾給四十畝，寡妻妾三十畝。若為戶者加二十畝。所授之田，十分之二為世業，八為口分。世業之田，身死則承戶者便授之；口分，則收入官，更以給人。賦役之法：每丁歲入租粟二石。調則隨鄉土所產，綾、絹、絁各二丈，布加五分之一。輸綾、絹、絁者，兼調綿三兩；輸布者，麻三斤。凡丁，歲役二旬。若不役，則收其傭，每日三尺。有事而加役者，旬有五日免其調，三旬則租調俱免。通正役，並不過五十日。若嶺南諸州則稅米，上戶一石二斗，次戶八斗，下戶六斗。若夷獠之戶，皆從半輸。蕃胡內附者，上戶丁稅錢十文，次戶五文，下戶免之。附經二年者，上戶丁輸羊二口，次戶一口，下，三戶共一口。凡水旱蟲霜為災，十分損四已上免租，損六已上免調，損七已上課役俱免。

In the seventh year of Wude (624), the statutes and ordinances were first promulgated. The land-measurement system fixed five chi to the bu, 240 bu to the mu, and 100 mu to the qing. Adult and medium males received one qing; those with severe or crippling illness received forty mu; widows and concubines received thirty mu. Household heads received an additional twenty mu. Of the land granted, two-tenths were hereditary estate and eight-tenths were per-capita allotment subject to recall. Hereditary-estate land passed on death to the heir who succeeded the household; per-capita allotment reverted to the state and was reallocated to others. Under the levy-and-corvée system, each adult male paid two shi of grain annually as land tax. The diao levy followed local products: two zhang each of damask, silk, and coarse silk; cloth payers owed an additional one-fifth. Those paying damask, silk, or coarse silk also owed three liang of cotton in the diao levy; those paying in cloth owed three jin of hemp. All adult males owed twenty days of corvée labor per year. If they did not serve in person, a corvée payment of three chi of cloth per day was collected instead. When extra corvée was imposed for special projects, fifteen days of service exempted the diao levy, and thirty days exempted both land tax and diao. Regular corvée in total could not exceed fifty days. In the southern Ling prefectures rice was taxed instead: upper households one shi two dou, middle households eight dou, lower households six dou. Barbarian and indigenous households all paid at half the standard rate. For attached frontier peoples, upper households paid ten wen per adult male, middle households five wen, and lower households were exempt. After two years of attachment, upper households owed two sheep per adult male, middle households one, and lower households one sheep per three households. When flood, drought, insects, or frost caused crop failure, losses of four-tenths or more exempted land tax, six-tenths or more exempted diao, and seven-tenths or more exempted all levies and corvée.

凡天下人戶，量其資產，定為九等。每三年，縣司註定，州司覆之。百戶為裏，五里為鄉。四家為鄰，五家為保。在邑居者為坊，在田野者為村。村坊鄰里，遞相督察。士農工商，四人各業。食祿之家，不得與下人爭利。工商雜類，不得預于士伍。男女始生者為黃，四歲為小，十六為中，二十一為丁，六十為老。每歲一造計帳，三年一造戶籍。州縣留五比，尚書省留三比。神龍元年，韋庶人為皇后，務欲求媚於人，上表請以二十二為丁，五十八為老，制從之。及韋氏誅，復舊。至天寶三年，又降優制，以十八為中男，二十二為丁。天下籍始造四本，京師及東京尚書省、戶部各貯一本，以備車駕行幸，省于載運之費焉。

All households in the realm were graded into nine ranks according to assessed assets. Every three years the county office registered the grades and the prefecture office reviewed them. A hundred households formed a li; five li formed a xiang. Four households formed a lin; five households formed a bao. Urban residents were organized into wards; rural residents into villages. Villages, wards, lin, and li mutually supervised one another. Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants — each group pursued its own occupation. Officials on stipend might not compete for profit with commoners. Artisans, merchants, and miscellaneous classes were barred from the scholar-official ranks. Newborns were classified as "infant"; at four years, "minor"; at sixteen, "medium"; at twenty-one, "adult male"; at sixty, "elder." An accounting register was compiled annually and a household register every three years. Prefectures and counties retained five copies; the Department of State Affairs retained three. In the first year of Shenlong (705), Empress Wei sought popular favor and memorialized that adult-male status begin at twenty-two and elder status at fifty-eight; the edict approved her request. When the Wei clan was overthrown, the former rules were restored. In the third year of Tianbao (744), another lenient edict fixed medium-male status at eighteen and adult-male (ding) status at twenty-two. Household registers were first compiled in four copies nationwide: one each in the capital and Eastern Capital, held by the Department of State Affairs and the Board of Revenue, so that imperial tours could be supplied locally and the cost of transport saved.

凡權衡度量之制：度，以北方秬黍中者一黍之廣為分，十分為寸，十寸為尺，十尺為丈。量，以秬黍中者容一千二百為龠，二龠為合，十合為升，十升為鬥；三升為大升，三斗為大鬥，十大鬥為斛。權衡：以秬黍中者百黍之重為銖，二十四銖為兩，三兩為大兩，十六兩為斤。調鐘律，測晷景，合湯藥及冠冕，制用小升小兩，自餘公私用大升大兩。又山東諸州，以一尺二寸為大尺，人間行用之。其量制，公私又不用龠，合內之分，則有抄撮之細。

The standards for weights, balances, and measures were as follows. For length, one fen was the width of a single grain of medium-sized black millet from the north; ten fen made a cun, ten cun a chi, and ten chi a zhang. For capacity, the yue held 1,200 grains of medium black millet; two yue made a he, ten he a sheng, and ten sheng a dou; Three sheng made a large sheng, three dou a large dou, and ten large dou a hu. For weights, one zhu was the weight of one hundred grains of medium black millet; twenty-four zhu made a liang, three liang a large liang, and sixteen liang a jin. Tuning pitch-pipes, measuring the gnomon shadow, compounding medicines, and making caps and formal headwear required the small sheng and small liang; all other public and private use employed the large sheng and large liang. In the eastern provinces, moreover, the large chi of one chi two cun was the measure used in everyday life. In practice, neither public nor private use employed the yue; within the he, finer divisions were measured in chao and shao.

天寶九載二月，敕：「車軸長七尺二寸，面三斤四兩，鹽鬥，量除陌錢每貫二十文。」先是，開元八年正月，敕：「頃者以庸調無憑，好惡須准，故遣作樣以頒諸州，令其好不得過精，惡不得至濫，任土作貢，防源斯在。而諸州送物，作巧生端，苟欲副於斤兩，遂則加其丈尺，至有五丈為疋者，理甚不然。闊一尺八寸，長四丈，同文共軌，其事久行，立樣之時，亦載此數。若求兩而加尺，甚暮四而朝三。宜令所司簡閱，有逾於比年常例，丈尺過多，奏聞。」

In the second month of Tianbao 9 (750), an edict fixed cart axles at seven chi two cun, wheel iron at three jin four liang, specified the salt dou, and set the moke-money deduction at twenty cash per string of 1,000. Earlier, in the first month of Kaiyuan 8 (720), an edict had declared: "Because zu-yong and diao lacked a fixed standard and quality had to be regulated, sample pieces were made and sent to the provinces, stipulating that fine goods not exceed the norm and coarse goods not fall to shoddy grade, with tribute following local products — the safeguard against abuse at the source. Yet when the provinces submitted goods, they contrived evasions: to meet the weight in jin and liang alone, they inflated length in zhang and chi until a single bolt reached five zhang — a practice plainly unreasonable. Width of one chi eight cun and length of four zhang had long been the common standard; when the sample was issued, these figures were recorded as well. To meet the liang by adding chi is very much the trick of 'three in the morning, four in the evening' — a swap in form that changes nothing in substance. The responsible offices should be ordered to review submissions; where goods exceed recent-year precedent and length in zhang and chi is excessive, the matter should be reported to the throne." Close of edict.

二十二年五月，敕：「定戶口之時，百姓非商戶郭外居宅及每丁一牛，不得將入貨財數。其雜匠及幕士並諸色同類，有蕃役合免征行者，一戶之內，四丁已上，任此色役不得過兩人，三丁已上，不得過一人。」其年七月十八日，敕：「自今已後，京兆府關內諸州，應徵庸調及資課，並限十月三十日畢。」至天寶三載二月二十五日赦文：「每載庸調八月征，以農功未畢，恐難濟辦。自今已後，延至九月三十日為限。」二十五年三月，敕：「關輔庸調，所稅非少，既寡蠶桑，皆資菽粟，常賤糶貴買，損費逾深。又江淮等苦變造之勞，河路增轉輸之弊，每計其運腳，數倍加錢。今歲屬和平，庶物穰賤，南畝有十千之獲，京師同水火之饒，均其餘以減遠費，順其便使農無傷。自今已後，關內諸州庸調資課，並宜準時價變粟取米，送至京逐要支用。其路遠處不可運送者，宜所在收貯，便充隨近軍糧。其河南、河北有不通水利，宜折租造絹，以代關中調課。所司仍明為條件，稱朕意焉。」

In the fifth month of Kaiyuan 22 (734), an edict declared: "When household registers are compiled, commoners may not enter goods and property in the count, except merchant households' extramural residences and one ox per adult male. For miscellaneous artisans, tent guards, and others of the same kind whose frontier service qualified them for corvée exemption: in households of four adult males or more, no more than two such men could hold these posts; in households of three or more, no more than one. On the eighteenth day of the seventh month of that year, an edict ordered: "Henceforth, for Jingzhao Prefecture and the Guannei provinces, all zu-yong, diao, and supplementary levies due must be completed by the thirtieth day of the tenth month." By the amnesty of the twenty-fifth day of the second month of Tianbao 3 (744): "Zu-yong and diao are collected each year in the eighth month; because the harvest is not yet complete, timely payment may be difficult. Henceforth the deadline is extended to the thirtieth day of the ninth month." In the third month of Tianbao 25 (766), an edict declared: "The zu-yong and diao levied in the Guanfu region are no light burden. With little mulberry and silkworm culture, the people rely wholly on beans and millet; constantly selling cheap and buying dear, their losses grow ever deeper. The Jiang-Huai region and others, moreover, bore the toil of conversion and processing, while river transport added the waste of relay shipment; counting transport fees alone, the cash cost was multiplied several times over. This year, peace prevailed, goods were plentiful and prices low, southern fields yielded ten thousand per mu, and the capital was as abundantly supplied as fire and water. Surplus should be apportioned to reduce distant costs, convenience followed so that farmers suffer no harm. Henceforth, zu-yong, diao, and supplementary levies from all Guannei provinces should be converted at current prices from grain to rice and delivered to the capital for disbursement as needed. Where distance made delivery impossible, goods should be collected and stored locally and applied directly as rations for nearby armies. In Henan and Hebei, where irrigation was unavailable, rent should be converted into woven silk in lieu of the Guanzhong diao levy. The responsible offices shall set forth the regulations clearly, in accord with Our intent." Close of edict.

天寶元年正月一日赦文：如聞百姓之內，有戶高丁多，苟為規避，父母見在，乃別籍異居。宜令州縣勘會。其一家之中，有十丁已上者，放兩丁征行賦役。五丁已上，放一丁。即令同籍共居，以敦風教。其侍丁孝假，免差科。」廣德元年七月，詔：「一戶之中，三丁放一丁庸調。地稅依舊每畝稅二升。天下男子，宜二十三成丁，五十八為老。」永泰元年五月，京兆麥大稔，京兆尹第五琦奏請每十畝官稅一畝，效古什一之稅。從之。二年五月，諸道稅地錢使、殿中侍御史韋光裔等自諸道使還，得錢四百九十萬貫。乾元以來，屬天下用兵，京師百僚俸錢減耗。上即位，推恩庶僚，下議公卿。或以稅畝有苗者，公私鹹濟。乃分遣憲官，稅天下地青苗錢，以充百司課料。至是，仍以御史大夫為稅地錢物使，歲以為常，均給百官。

Amnesty of the first day of the first month of Tianbao 1 (742): "We have heard that among the common people, some large households with many adult males, seeking to evade levies while their parents are still alive, separate registers and live apart." Prefectures and counties should be ordered to investigate. In households of ten adult males or more, two adult males shall be exempted from military service and labor levies. In households of five or more, one adult male shall be exempted. Households are to be kept on a single register and under one roof, to strengthen moral instruction. For shiding filial leave, corvée and special levies are exempted. In the seventh month of Guangde 1 (763), an edict declared: "Within one household, for every three adult males, one is exempted from zu-yong and diao. Land tax remained at two sheng per mu. All males under Heaven should reach adult-male status at twenty-three and elder status at fifty-eight." In the fifth month of Yongtai 1 (765), wheat in Jingzhao ripened abundantly; Jingzhao Governor Diwu Qi memorialized that the state tax one mu in ten, emulating the ancient one-tenth levy. The request was approved. In the fifth month of the second year (766), Land-Tax Commissioner of the Various Circuits and Palace Aide Wei Guangyi and others returned from their circuit assignments having collected 4,900,000 strings of cash. Since Qianyuan (758), with the realm at war, stipends for the hundred offices in the capital had been cut. When the emperor acceded, he sought to extend grace to the common officials, and the matter was debated among the grand ministers. Some proposed levying a tax on mu where seedlings had sprouted, which would serve both public and private needs. Censorial officials were then dispatched separately to levy green-sprout land tax throughout the realm, to supply the operating expenses of the hundred offices. At that point the Censor-in-Chief was again appointed Commissioner for Land-Tax Goods; the office was made annual and regular, with proceeds evenly distributed among the hundred officials.

大曆四年正月十八日，敕有司：「定天下百姓及王公已下每年稅錢，分為九等：上上戶四千文，上中戶三千五百文，上下戶三千文。中上戶二千五百文，中中戶二千文，中下戶一千五百文。下上戶一千文，下中戶七百文，下下戶五百文。其見官，一品准上上戶，九品准下下戶，餘品並准依此戶等稅。若一戶數處任官，亦每處依品納稅。其內外官，仍據正員及占額內闕者稅。其試及同正員文武官，不在稅限。其百姓有邸店行鋪及爐冶，應准式合加本戶二等稅者，依此稅數勘責征納。其寄莊戶，准舊例從八等戶稅，寄住戶從九等戶稅，比類百姓，事恐不均，宜各遞加一等稅。其諸色浮客及權時寄住戶等，無問有官無官，各所在為兩等收稅。稍殷有者准八等戶，餘准九等戶。如數處有莊田，亦每處稅。諸道將士莊田，既緣防禦勤勞，不可同百姓例，並一切從九等輸稅。」其年十二月，敕：「今關輔墾田漸廣，江淮轉漕常加，計一年之儲，有太半之助，其於稅地，固可從輕。其京兆來秋稅，宜分作兩等，上下各半，上等每畝稅一斗，下等每畝稅六升。其荒田如能佃者，宜准今年十月二十九日敕，一切每畝稅二升。仍委京兆尹及令長一一存撫，令知朕意。」五年三月，優詔定京兆府百姓稅。夏稅，上田畝稅六升，下田畝稅四升。秋稅，上田畝稅五升，下田畝稅三升。荒田開佃者，畝率二升。八年正月二十五日，敕：「青苗地頭錢，天下每畝率十五文。以京師煩劇，先加至三十文，自今已後，宜准諸州，每畝十五文。」

On the eighteenth day of the first month of Dali 4 (769), an edict to the offices declared: "Fix the annual tax cash for all commoners and for princes and nobles down to the lowest ranks in nine grades: upper-upper households 4,000 cash, upper-middle 3,500, upper-lower 3,000. Middle-upper households 2,500 cash, middle-middle 2,000, middle-lower 1,500. Lower-upper households 1,000 cash, lower-middle 700, lower-lower 500. For incumbent officials, first rank was assessed as an upper-upper household and ninth rank as a lower-lower household; all intervening ranks were assessed according to these household grades. If a single household holds office in more than one place, tax shall be paid at each post according to official rank. Civil and military officials at court and in the provinces shall still be taxed according to their regular appointments and to vacancies within the authorized quotas. Probationary officials, and civil and military officers treated as equivalent to regular appointees, are not subject to this levy. Commoners who keep inns, shops, or smelting works, and who under the regulations ought to have two household grades added to their tax, shall be audited and made to pay according to these rates. Estate-resident households had been taxed at the eighth grade and sojourner households at the ninth, following old precedent. Measured against ordinary commoners, this was probably inequitable; each category should be raised one grade. All manner of floating migrants and temporary sojourners, whether they hold office or not, shall at each place of residence be taxed in two grades. Those of moderate means are assessed at the eighth grade; all others at the ninth. If a household holds estate lands in several places, tax is levied at each. The estate lands of soldiers and officers in the circuits, given their defense duties and hardships, cannot be taxed like those of commoners; all shall pay at the ninth grade. In the twelfth month of that year, an edict declared: "Cultivated land in the Guanzhong region grows steadily wider, and grain transport from the Jiang-Huai route increases year by year. More than half the year's stores now come from this source. Land tax may therefore properly be lightened. For Jingzhao's autumn land tax next year, fields should be divided into two grades, upper and lower in equal shares: upper fields at one dou per mu, lower fields at six sheng per mu. Wasteland that can be brought under lease should follow the edict of the twenty-ninth day of the tenth month this year and pay uniformly two sheng per mu. The Jingzhao Governor and all district magistrates are further charged to reassure the people in each case and make them understand the throne's intent." In the third month of the fifth year, a lenient edict fixed the taxes owed by commoners of Jingzhao Prefecture. Summer tax: upper fields, six sheng per mu; lower fields, four sheng per mu. Autumn tax: upper fields, five sheng per mu; lower fields, three sheng per mu. For wasteland newly brought under cultivation, the rate is two sheng per mu. On the twenty-fifth day of the first month of the eighth year, an edict declared: "The green-shoot field-head levy throughout the realm shall be fifteen cash per mu. Because the capital's burdens are heavy, the levy there had first been raised to thirty cash. Henceforth it should follow the other prefectures at fifteen cash per mu. Close of edict.

建中元年二月，遣黜陟使分行天下，其詔略曰：「戶無主客，以見居為簿。人無丁中，以貧富為差。行商者，在郡縣稅三十之一。居人之稅，秋夏兩征之。各有不便者，三之。餘征賦悉罷，而丁額不廢。其田畝之稅，率以大曆十四年墾數為准。征夏稅無過六月。秋稅無過十一月。違者進退長吏。令黜陟使各量風土所宜、人戶多少均之，定其賦，尚書度支總統焉。」三年五月，淮南節度使陳少游請於本道兩稅錢每千增二百，因詔他州悉如之。八年四月，劍南西川觀察使韋皋奏請加稅什二，以增給官吏，從之。

In the second month of the first year of Jianzhong (780), imperial envoys for promotion and demotion were dispatched throughout the realm. The edict in summary declared: "Household registers shall make no distinction between native and guest status; registration shall follow current residence. No distinction shall be made among people by adult-male status; differentiation shall be by wealth and poverty. Traveling merchants shall pay a tax of one-thirtieth at the commandery and county. Tax on residents shall be collected in both autumn and summer. Those for whom this is inconvenient may pay in three installments. All other levies are abolished, but the adult-male register is not discontinued. Land tax per mu shall be reckoned on the basis of cultivated land figures from the fourteenth year of Dali (779). Summer tax shall be collected no later than the sixth month. Autumn tax shall be collected no later than the eleventh month. Violators shall be subject to demotion or removal of the responsible chief local official. Let each imperial envoy, according to local conditions and the number of households, equalize the burden and fix the levy; the Ministry of Revenue shall supervise the whole. In the fifth month of the third year, Chen Shaoyou, Military Commissioner of Huainan, requested that the dual-tax cash levy in his circuit be increased by two hundred per thousand; an edict ordered all other circuits to do the same. In the fourth month of the eighth year, Wei Gao, Surveillance Commissioner of western Sichuan, memorialized requesting a twenty-percent tax increase to supplement officials' stipends; the request was approved.

元和十五年八月，中書門下奏：「伏准今年閏正月十七日敕，令百僚議錢貨輕重者，今據群官楊於陵等議，'伏請天下兩稅榷鹽酒利等，悉以布帛絲綿，任土所產物充稅，並不征見錢，則物漸重，錢漸輕，農人見免賤賣匹帛'者。伏以群臣所議，事皆至當，深利公私。請商量付度支，據諸州府應徵兩稅，供上都及留州留使舊額。起元和十六年已後，並改配端匹斤兩之物為稅額，如大曆已前租庸課調，不計錢，令其折納。使人知定制，供辦有常。仍約元和十五年征納布帛等估價。其舊納虛估物，與依虛估物回計，如舊納實估物並見錢，即當於端匹斤兩上量加估價回計。變法在長其物價，價長則永利公私。初雖微有加饒，法行即當就實。比舊給用，固利而不害。仍作條件處置，編入旨符。其鹽利酒利，本以榷率計錢，有殊兩稅之名，不可除去錢額。中有令納見錢者，亦請令折納時估匹段。上既不專以錢為稅，人得以所產輸官，錢貨必均其重輕，隴畝自廣於蠶織。便時惠下，庶得其宜。其土乏絲麻，或地連邊塞，風俗更異，賦入不同，亦請商量，委所司裁酌，隨便宜處置。」詔從之。大和四年五月，劍南西川宣撫使、諫議大夫崔戎奏：「准詔旨制置西川事條。今與郭釗商量，兩稅錢數內三分，二分納見錢，一分折納匹段，每二貫加饒百姓五百文，計一十三萬四千二百四十三貫文。依此曉諭百姓訖。經賊州縣，准詔三分減放一分，計減錢六萬七千六百二十貫文。不經賊處，先征見錢，今三分一分折納雜物，計優饒百姓一十三萬貫。舊有稅薑芋之類，每畝至七八百。征斂不時，今並省稅名，盡依諸處為四限等第，先給戶帖，餘一切名目勒停。」

In the eighth month of the fifteenth year of Yuanhe (820), the Secretariat and Chancellery memorialized: "We respectfully note the edict of the seventeenth day of the intercalary first month this year, ordering the hundred officials to debate the relative weight of coin and goods. Now, according to the deliberations of the assembled officials Yang Yuling and others — 'We respectfully request that throughout the realm the dual tax, salt monopoly, wine monopoly, and similar revenues all be paid in cloth, silk, and floss, whatever local products yield, with no collection of cash coin; then goods will gradually gain weight, coin will gradually lose weight, and farmers will be spared selling silk and cloth at depressed prices' — We respectfully consider that what the ministers have proposed is entirely appropriate and greatly benefits both public and private interests. We request that deliberation be entrusted to the Ministry of Revenue, calculating from the dual tax collected by each prefecture and circuit the amounts due to the capital and the fixed amounts retained locally by prefecture and commissioner. Beginning from the sixteenth year of Yuanhe onward, tax quotas shall all be reassigned as measured goods in bolts, rolls, and weight; as with the zu-yong and tiao levies before Dali, without reckoning in cash — requiring commutation in kind. This will let people know fixed quotas, and supply will be reliably provided. Valuations for cloth and silk collected in the fifteenth year of Yuanhe shall still serve as the basis. Where payment had been in goods at inflated valuation, convert according to inflated valuation; where payment had been in goods at actual valuation together with cash, the added valuation shall be reckoned on the bolts, rolls, and weight measures. The purpose of changing the law is to raise the price of goods; when prices rise, the benefit to public and private alike will be lasting. At first there may be a slight excess allowance, but once the law is in force it will settle to actual amounts. Compared with past disbursements, this is plainly beneficial and harmless. Detailed provisions shall still be drawn up and compiled into imperial directives. Salt and wine monopoly profits are originally calculated at monopoly rates in cash; their designation differs from the dual tax, and the cash amounts cannot be removed. Where payment in cash is prescribed, we also request that conversion at current valuation in bolts of cloth be permitted. Since the throne will no longer rely exclusively on coin as tax, people may submit what their land produces to the state. Coin and goods will inevitably reach a balanced weight, and fields and homesteads will naturally broaden sericulture. Timely relief for the people below — this may achieve what is fitting. Where the soil lacks silk and hemp, or the land adjoins the frontier and local customs differ, so that revenue differs — we also request deliberation, delegated to the responsible offices to determine as local convenience permits. The edict approved the proposal. In the fifth month of Dahe 4 (830), Cui Rong, Pacification Commissioner for Western Sichuan in Jiannan and Remonstrance Grand Master, submitted a memorial: "Pursuant to the imperial edict governing the administration of Western Sichuan, I have consulted with Guo Zhao. Of the Two-Tax revenue, two-thirds shall be collected in coin and one-third in converted cloth payments; for every two strings collected, the people receive an additional concession of five hundred cash—amounting to 134,243 strings in all. The populace has been notified of these terms. In districts ravaged by bandits, one-third of the levy was reduced and remitted as the edict prescribed, for a total reduction of 67,620 strings. In districts untouched by bandits, where cash had previously been collected in full, one-third may now be paid in converted goods—a benefit to the people worth 130,000 strings. Taxes on ginger, taro, and similar crops had formerly run as high as seven or eight hundred cash per mu. Because collection had been irregular, those tax categories have all been abolished. Assessments now follow the four-tier gradations used elsewhere; household tax registers are issued first, and every remaining levy name is suspended. Close of edict.

高祖即位，仍用隋之五銖錢。武德四年七月，廢五銖錢，行開元通寶錢，徑八分，重二銖四絫，積十文重一兩。一千文重六斤四兩。仍置錢監於洛、並、幽、益等州。秦王、齊王各賜三爐鑄錢，右僕射裴寂賜一爐。敢有盜鑄者身死，家口配沒。五年五月，又于桂州置監。議者以新錢輕重大小最為折衷，遠近甚便之。後盜鑄漸起，而所在用錢濫惡。顯慶五年九月，敕以惡錢轉多，令所在官私為市取，以五惡錢酬一好錢。百姓以惡錢價賤，私自藏之，以候官禁之弛。高宗又令以好錢一文買惡錢兩文，弊仍不息。至乾封元年封嶽之後，又改造新錢，文曰「乾封泉寶」，徑一寸，重二銖六分，仍與舊錢並行。新錢一文當舊錢之十。周年之後，舊錢並廢。

When Gaozu took the throne, he continued to use the Sui five-zhu coin. In the seventh month of Wude 4 (621), the five-zhu coin was abolished and the Kaiyuan tongbao introduced—eight fen in diameter, two zhu four lei in weight, ten coins to the liang. A thousand coins weighed six jin and four liang. Mint supervisors were also established at Luoyang, Bing, You, Yi, and other prefectures. The Prince of Qin and the Prince of Qi were each granted three minting furnaces; Pei Ji, Vice Director of the Right, received one. Anyone who dared cast coin illicitly would be put to death, his household registered for penal servitude and his property confiscated. In the fifth month of the fifth year, a mint supervisor was also established at Guizhou. Observers judged the new coin's weight and size the happiest medium, and found it greatly convenient throughout the realm. Later illicit casting spread, and coin in circulation everywhere grew debased and wretched. In the ninth month of Xianqing 5 (660), an edict declared that debased coin had grown too common and ordered that in all market transactions, public and private alike, five debased coins be taken for one good coin. Because debased coin fetched so little, the people hoarded it in secret, waiting for the ban to lapse. Gaozong then ordered that one good coin could purchase two debased ones—but the abuse only continued. After the fengshan rite at Mount Tai in Qianfeng 1 (666), new coin was cast bearing the inscription "Qianfeng quanbao"—one cun across, two zhu six fen in weight—circulating alongside the old coin. One new coin counted for ten of the old. A year later, the old coin was abolished entirely.

初，開元錢之文，給事中歐陽詢制詞及書，時稱其工。其字含八分及隸體，其詞先上後下，次左後右讀之。自上及左回環讀之，其義亦通。流俗謂之開通元寶錢。及鑄新錢，乃同流俗，「乾」字直上，「封」字在左。尋寤錢文之誤，又緣改鑄，商賈不通，米帛增價，乃議卻用舊錢。二年正月，下詔曰：「泉布之興，其來自久。實古今之要重，為公私之寶用。年月既深，偽濫斯起，所以采乾封之號，改鑄新錢。靜而思之，將為未可。高祖撥亂反正，爰創軌模。太宗立極承天，無所改作。今廢舊造新，恐乖先旨。其開元通寶，宜依舊施行，為萬代之法。乾封新鑄之錢，令所司貯納，更不須鑄。仍令天下置爐之處，並鑄開元通寶錢。」既而私鑄更多，錢復濫惡。

The Kaiyuan coin's legend had been composed and inscribed by Ouyang Xun, Supervising Secretary—a work then widely admired for its artistry. The characters blended bafen and clerical styles; the legend was read top to bottom, then left to right. Read in a circuit from the top around to the left, the sense still held. Among common folk it was called the Kaitong yuanbao coin. When the new coin was cast, the minters followed popular usage instead: Qian upright at the top, Feng to the left. Before long the error in the coin legend was recognized. The recoinage had also choked commerce and driven up the price of grain and silk, and the court began to debate a return to the old coin. In the first month of the second year, an edict declared: Coinage is no recent invention. From antiquity to the present it has been indispensable—a treasure alike to the state and to private households. But as time wore on, counterfeiting and debasement multiplied—hence the Qianfeng name was taken and new coin struck. On sober reflection, this course will not do. Gaozu quelled the chaos of the age and restored order, laying down the pattern for the realm. Taizong ascended the throne in accord with Heaven and changed nothing that need not be changed. To discard the old and mint anew now would, we fear, betray their intent. The Kaiyuan tongbao should remain in force as before—a standard for ten thousand generations. The newly minted Qianfeng coin shall be stored by the responsible offices, and no more of it shall be cast. Every mint in the realm shall resume casting Kaiyuan tongbao coin. Thereafter private casting increased further, and coin again became debased.

高宗嘗臨軒謂侍臣曰：「錢之為用，行之已久，公私要便，莫甚於斯。比為州縣不存檢校，私鑄過多。如聞荊、潭、宣、衡，犯法尤甚。遂有將船筏宿于江中，所部官人不能覺察。自今嚴加禁斷，所在追納惡錢，一二年間使盡。」當時雖有約敕，而奸濫不息。儀鳳四年四月，令東都出遠年糙米及粟，就市給糶，鬥別納惡錢百文。其惡錢令少府司農相知，即令鑄破。其厚重徑合斤兩者，任將行用，時米粟漸貴，議者以為鑄錢漸多，所以錢賤而物貴。於是權停少府監鑄錢，尋而復舊。則天長安中，又令懸樣於市，令百姓依樣用錢。俄又簡擇艱難，交易留滯。又降敕非鐵錫、銅蕩、穿穴者，並許行用。其有熟銅、排鬥、沙澀、厚大者，皆不許簡。自是盜鑄蜂起，濫惡益眾。江淮之南，盜鑄者或就陂湖、巨海、深山之中，波濤險峻，人跡罕到，州縣莫能禁約。以至神龍、先天之際，兩京用錢尤濫。其郴、衡私鑄小錢，才有輪郭，及鐵錫五銖之屬，亦堪行用。乃有買錫熔銷，以錢模夾之，斯須則盈千百，便齎用之。

Gaozong once addressed his ministers from the throne: Coin has long been in use—nothing serves public and private need so well. Lately, because prefectures and counties have failed to enforce oversight, private casting has grown rampant. I am told that Jing, Tan, Xuan, and Heng have been worst of all in breaking the law. Some have taken to anchoring boats and rafts mid-river to cast coin, beyond the reach of local officials. Henceforth the ban must be enforced without mercy. Debased coin shall be hunted down and collected everywhere until, within a year or two, none remains. Though binding edicts were in force, crafty abuse did not cease. In the fourth month of Yifeng 4 (679), the Eastern Capital was ordered to release old coarse rice and millet for sale in the markets, accepting one hundred debased coins per dou. The debased coin thus collected was to be reported to both the Palace Treasury and the Ministry of Revenue, then immediately recast and destroyed. Coin that was heavy, thick, and true to the standard weight and measure might still circulate. Grain and millet were meanwhile growing dear, and commentators blamed the steady increase in minting: too much coin, too little goods. The Palace Treasury mint was therefore suspended for a time—only to resume before long. During the Chang'an reign of Empress Wu, the court again posted sample coins in the markets and ordered the people to circulate cash only according to those models. Before long, inspection and sorting grew onerous again, and trade stalled. Another edict declared that every coin might circulate except those of iron-and-tin alloy, worn-down copper, or punched with holes. Coins of fine copper, matched-mold counterfeits, gritty sand-cast pieces, and thick oversized pieces — none of these might be rejected in inspection. Counterfeiting then swarmed like bees, and debased coinage grew ever more numerous. South of the Yangzi and Huai, counterfeiters worked from lake country, open sea, and deep mountains — places of steep coasts and treacherous waters, where human feet rarely trod and where prefectures and counties could not reach to suppress them. By the Shenlong and Xiantian eras, currency in the two capitals had grown especially debased. In Chenzhou and Hengzhou, privately cast small coins barely bearing a rim, along with iron-tin pieces and imitations of the five-zhu — all passed for good money. Some bought tin, melted it down, squeezed it in coin molds, and in moments produced hundreds or thousands of pieces ready to spend.

開元五年，車駕往東都，宋璟知政事，奏請一切禁斷惡錢。六年正月，又切斷天下惡錢，行二銖四絫錢。不堪行用者，並銷破復鑄。至二月又敕曰：「古者聚萬方之貨，設九府之法，以通天下，以便生人。若輕重得中，則利可知矣；若真偽相雜，則官失其守。頃者用錢，不論此道。深恐貧窶日困，奸豪歲滋。所以申明舊章，懸設諸樣，欲其人安俗阜，禁止令行。」時江淮錢尤濫惡，有官爐、偏爐、棱錢、時錢等數色。璟乃遣監察御史蕭隱之充江淮使。隱之乃令率戶出錢，務加督責。百姓乃以上青錢充惡錢納之，其小惡者或沉之於江湖，以免罪戾。於是市井不通，物價騰起，流聞京師。隱之貶官，璟因之罷相，乃以張嘉貞知政事。嘉貞乃弛其禁，人乃安之。

In Kaiyuan 5 (717), when the emperor traveled to the Eastern Capital, Song Jing, heading the chief council, memorialized asking that debased coinage be banned outright. In the first month of Kaiyuan 6 (718), the court again ordered a nationwide purge of debased coin and enforced the standard of two zhu four lei per coin. Coins unfit for circulation were all melted and recast. In the second month another edict declared: "In antiquity the kings gathered goods from every quarter and established the nine-treasury system to circulate wealth across the realm and ease the lives of the people. When weight and value hold true to the mean, the public good is clear; when genuine and counterfeit mingle, the state loses control of the currency. In recent years coinage has ignored this principle entirely. We greatly fear that the poor grow poorer by the day and the unscrupulous wax stronger year by year. Therefore we have clarified the old statutes and posted sample coins, seeking peace for the people, prosperity for custom, and strict enforcement of the ban. By then Jiang-Huai coinage was especially debased — official-mint, side-mint, rim-weighted, and current-cast pieces, in several distinct sorts. Song Jing dispatched Investigating Censor Xiao Yinzhí as commissioner for the Jiang-Huai region. Yinzhí ordered every household to turn in coin and pressed the mandate relentlessly. The people substituted fine bronze coin for debased coin in what they surrendered; the worst pieces they sometimes sank in rivers and lakes to escape punishment. Markets seized up, prices soared, and word reached the capital. Yinzhí was demoted, Song Jing was dismissed as chief minister, and Zhang Jiuzhen took charge of state affairs. Zhang Jiuzhen eased the ban, and the people settled down again.

開元二十二年，中書侍郎張九齡初知政事，奏請不禁鑄錢，玄宗令百官詳議。黃門侍郎裴耀卿李林甫、河南少尹蕭炅等皆曰：「錢者通貨，有國之權，是以歷代禁之，以絕奸濫。今若一啟此門，但恐小人棄農逐利，而濫惡更甚，於事不便。」左監門錄事參軍劉秩上議曰：

In Kaiyuan 22 (734), Vice Director of the Secretariat Zhang Jiuling newly joined the chief council and memorialized to lift the ban on private minting; Xuanzong ordered the full court to debate the proposal. Vice Director of the Chancellery Pei Yaoxing, Li Linfu, Henan Assistant Director Xiao Jiong, and others argued: "Cash is the medium of exchange and an instrument of sovereign power; every dynasty has therefore forbidden private minting to choke off fraud and debasement. Open that door even once, and small men will abandon the plow for profit while debased coin grows worse still — the harm is plain. Left Gate Guard Clerical Registrar Liu Zhi submitted a memorial:

伏奉今月二十一日敕，欲不禁鑄錢，令百僚詳議可否者。夫錢之興，其來尚矣，將以平輕重而權本末。齊桓得其術而國以霸，周景失其道而人用弊。考諸載籍，國之興衰，實系於是。陛下思變古以濟今，欲反經以合道，而不即改作，詢之芻堯，臣雖蠢愚，敢不薦其聞見。古者以珠玉為上幣，黃金為中幣，刀布為下幣。管仲曰：「夫三幣，握之則非有補於暖也，舍之則非有損於飽也。先王以守財物，以禦人事，而平天下也。」是以命之曰衡。衡者，使物一高一下，不得有常。故與之在君，奪之在君，貧之在君，富之在君。是以人戴君如日月，親君如父母，用此術也。是為人主之權。

I have received the edict of the twenty-first of this month proposing to lift the ban on private minting and asking the full court to weigh its wisdom. Coinage is of ancient origin; it exists to balance weight and value and to mediate between primary and secondary goods. Duke Huan of Qi mastered this art and his state rose to hegemony; King Jing of Zhou lost it and his people were left with worthless coin. The historical record shows that dynastic rise and fall truly hinge on this. Your Majesty seeks to adapt ancient ways to present needs and bend established principle to fit the Way, yet rather than act at once you consult even humble commoners — though I am slow-witted, how could I withhold what I know? In antiquity pearls and jade served as supreme currency, gold as medium currency, and knives and cloth as common currency. Guan Zhong said: "These three currencies — clutched in the hand they do not warm you; laid aside they do not leave you hungry. The ancient kings used them to safeguard stored wealth, to govern human affairs, and to balance the realm. Hence they called this the Balance. The Balance means letting the value of goods rise and fall — never fixed at one level. To give rests with the ruler, to take rests with the ruler, to impoverish rests with the ruler, to enrich rests with the ruler. That is why the people revere their ruler as they do the sun and moon and love him as they do their parents — by this art alone. Such is the sovereign's power.

今之錢，即古之下幣也。陛下若舍之任人，則上無以禦下，下無以事上，其不可一也。夫物賤則傷農，錢輕則傷賈。故善為國者，觀物之貴賤，錢之輕重。夫物重則錢輕，錢輕由乎物多，多則作法收之使少；少則重，重則作法布之使輕。輕重之本，必由乎是，奈何而假於人？其不可二也。夫鑄錢不雜以鉛鐵則無利，雜以鉛鐵則惡，惡不重禁之，不足以懲息。且方今塞其私鑄之路，人猶冒死以犯之，況啟其源而欲人之從令乎？是設陷阱而誘之入，其不可三也。夫許人鑄錢，無利則人不鑄，有利則人去南畝者眾。去南畝者眾，則草不墾，草不墾，又鄰於寒餒，其不可四也。夫人富溢則不可以賞勸，貧餒則不可以威禁。法令不行，人之不理，皆由貧富之不齊也。若許其鑄錢，則貧者必不能為。臣恐貧者彌貧而服役于富室，富室乘之而益恣。昔漢文之時，吳濞，諸侯也，富埒天子；鄧通，大夫也，財侔王者。此皆鑄錢之所致也。必欲許其私鑄，是與人利權而舍其柄，其不可五也。

Today's cash is the common currency of antiquity. If Your Majesty leaves coinage to private hands, then the throne loses leverage over the people and the people lose the means to serve the throne — that is the first reason it cannot be done. When goods are cheap, farmers suffer; when coin is light, merchants suffer. A skilled ruler watches the price of goods and the weight of coin alike. When goods are plentiful, coin grows light; when goods abound, policy must absorb them to restore scarcity; when goods are scarce they grow costly, and costly goods must be released to make them cheap again. The root of monetary balance lies here — how then can it be entrusted to private men? That is the second reason it cannot be done. If coin is cast without adulterating lead and iron, there is no profit in it; adulterate it and the coin turns debased. Unless debased coin is sternly prohibited, no penalty will check the abuse. Even now, with the path of private minting closed, men still risk death to break the law — how then can we open the floodgates and expect obedience? That would be to set a trap and lure them in — the third reason it cannot be done. Permit private minting and, where there is no profit, no one will cast; where there is profit, multitudes will abandon the southern furrows. When many leave the furrows, the land goes untilled; when land goes untilled, cold and hunger draw near — the fourth reason it cannot be done. When men are flush with wealth, reward cannot move them; when they are destitute and starving, punishment cannot restrain them. When laws fail and men refuse to be governed, it is always because wealth and poverty are unequally divided. If private minting were permitted, the poor would certainly be unable to cast coin at all. I fear the poor would grow poorer still, bound in service to wealthy houses, while the wealthy would exploit them and grow ever more unrestrained. In the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Pi was only a feudal lord, yet his wealth rivaled the Son of Heaven's; Deng Tong was only a court grandee, yet his fortune matched a king's. All of this came of private minting. If Your Majesty insists on permitting private minting, it is to hand others profit and power while surrendering the handle of state — the fifth reason it cannot be done.

陛下必以錢重而傷本，工費而利寡，則臣願言其失，以效愚計。夫錢重者，猶人日滋於前，而爐不加於舊。又公錢重，與銅之價頗等，故盜鑄者破重錢以為輕錢。錢輕，禁寬則行，禁嚴則止，止則棄矣，此錢之所以少也。夫鑄錢用不贍者，在乎銅貴，銅貴，在採用者眾。夫銅，以為兵則不如鐵，以為器則不如漆，禁之無害，陛下何不禁于人？禁於人，則銅無所用，銅益賤，則錢之用給矣。夫銅不布下，則盜鑄者無因而鑄，則公錢不破，人不犯死刑，錢又日增，末復利矣。是一舉而四美兼也，惟陛下熟察之。

If Your Majesty holds that heavy coin harms the capital stock and that labor costs exceed profit, then I wish to speak of its defects and offer my humble counsel. When coin is heavy, demand for it grows daily, yet the number of furnaces does not increase. Moreover, official coin is heavy and its value roughly equals that of copper, so counterfeiters melt heavy coin to cast light coin. Light coin circulates when enforcement is lax and stops when enforcement is strict — and when it stops, it is abandoned; that is why coin grows scarce. Minting runs short because copper is dear, and copper is dear because so many draw upon it. Copper makes poor weapons compared with iron and poor vessels compared with lacquer — prohibiting its private use would do no harm; why does Your Majesty not forbid it among the people? Prohibit it among the people and copper finds no private use; as copper grows cheaper, minting supplies will suffice. Keep copper from circulating freely and counterfeiters lose occasion to cast; official coin will not be broken up, men will not face the death penalty, coin will increase daily, and agriculture will prosper again. This is one measure that achieves four benefits at once — may Your Majesty weigh it carefully.

時公卿群官，皆建議以為不便。事既不行，但敕郡縣嚴斷惡錢而已。

At the time the high ministers and officials all memorialized that the proposal would be impracticable. The proposal was not adopted; only an edict ordered commanderies and counties to ban debased coin strictly, and no more.

至天寶之初，兩京用錢稍好，米粟豐賤。數載之後，漸又濫惡，府縣不許好者加價回博，好惡通用。富商奸人，漸收好錢，潛將往江淮之南，每錢貨得私鑄惡者五文，假託官錢，將入京私用。京城錢日加碎惡，鵝眼、鐵錫、古文、綖環之類，每貫重不過三四斤。十一載二月，下敕曰：「錢貨之用，所以通有無；輕重之權，所以禁逾越。故周立九府之法，漢備三官之制。永言適便，必在從宜。如聞京師行用之錢，頗多濫惡，所資懲革，絕其訛謬。然安人在於存養，化俗期於變通，法若從寬，事堪持久。宜令所司即出錢三數十萬貫，分於兩市，百姓間應交易所用錢不堪久行用者，官為換取，仍限一月日內使盡。庶單貧無患，商旅必通。其過限輒違犯者，一事已上，並作條件處分。」是時京城百姓，久用惡錢，制下之後，頗相驚擾。時又令于龍興觀南街開場，出左藏庫內排鬥錢，許市人博換。貧弱者又爭次不得。俄又宣敕，除鐵錫、銅沙、穿穴、古文，余並許依舊行用，久之乃定。

By the opening of the Tianbao era, coinage in the two capitals had improved somewhat, and grain and millet were plentiful and cheap. After several years coin gradually debased again; prefectures and counties would not allow good coin to be bought back at a premium, and good and bad circulated alike. Wealthy merchants and unscrupulous men gradually hoarded good coin and secretly sent it south of the Jiang-Huai; for each coin they obtained five pieces of privately cast debased coin, passing them off as official coin to bring into the capital for private use. Capital coin grew daily more chipped and debased — goose-eye pieces, iron-tin slugs, ancient-script counterfeits, linked rings, and the like; each string weighed no more than three or four catties. In the second month of Tianbao 11 (752), an edict declared: "The use of coin serves to exchange what one has for what one lacks; the balance of weight serves to forbid abuse. Zhou therefore established the nine-treasury system, and Han perfected the three-office mint. To speak always of what is fitting is to follow what circumstances require. We hear that coin in circulation in the capital is largely debased; what is needed is correction and reform to cut off error and abuse. Yet settling the people requires nurturing them, and transforming custom requires flexibility — if the law is applied leniently, the measure may endure. The responsible offices should at once disburse some three hundred thousand strings of coin, dividing them between the two markets; coin among the people unfit for long circulation should be exchanged by the state, with one month allowed to complete the exchange. Thus the poor will be spared hardship and merchants and travelers will pass freely. Those who after the deadline violate the order, for one offense or more, shall all be punished according to statute. After the edict was issued, the people of the capital, who had long used debased coin, were greatly alarmed and disturbed. An order was also given to open an exchange ground on the south street of Longxing Abbey, disbursing stacked coin from the Left Treasury and permitting townspeople to exchange. The poor and weak again struggled for place and could not obtain coin. Soon another edict was proclaimed: except iron-tin, copper-sand, drilled-hole, and ancient-script coin, the rest were all permitted to circulate as before; after a long time order was restored.

乾元元年七月，詔曰：「錢貨之興，其來久矣，代有沿革，時為重輕。周興九府，實啟流泉之利；漢造五銖，亦弘改鑄之法。必令小大兼適，母子相權。事有益於公私，理宜循於通變。但以干戈未息，帑藏猶虛，卜式獻助軍之誠，弘羊興富國之算，靜言立法，諒在便人。御史中丞第五琦奏請改錢，以一當十，別為新鑄，不廢舊錢，冀實三官之資，用收十倍之利，所謂於人不擾，從古有經。宜職于諸監別鑄一當十錢，文曰「乾元重寶」。其開元通寶者依舊行用。所請采鑄捉搦處置，即條件聞奏。」二年三月，琦入為相，又請更鑄重輪乾元錢，一當五十，二十斤成貫。詔可之。於是新錢與乾元、開元通寶錢三品並行。尋而谷價騰貴，米鬥至七千，餓死者相枕于道。乃抬舊開元錢以一當十，減乾元錢以一當三十。緣人厭錢價不定，人間抬加價錢為虛錢。長安城中，競為盜鑄，寺觀鐘及銅象，多壞為錢。奸人豪族犯禁者不絕。京兆尹鄭叔清擒捕之，少不容縱，數月間搒死者八百余人。人益無聊矣。

In the seventh month of Qianyuan 1 (758), an edict declared: "Coinage has a long history; each age has seen changes, and weight has varied with the times. When Zhou arose, the nine treasuries truly opened the benefit of circulating wealth; when Han cast the five-zhu coin, it also expanded the law of recoinage. Large and small must both be suitable, and mother and child coins must balance one another. When a measure benefits both public and private interest, principle requires flexible adaptation. But because warfare had not ceased and the treasury was still empty, Bu Shi offered his wealth to aid the army and Sang Hongyang devised plans to enrich the state; in legislating quietly, the aim is surely to benefit the people. Censor-in-Chief Di Wu Qi memorialized requesting recoinage at one for ten, casting new coin separately without abolishing the old, hoping to fill the resources of the three mints and collect tenfold profit — what is called not troubling the people, a principle from antiquity. The various mints should separately cast ten-for-one coin bearing the inscription "Qianyuan zhongbao." Kaiyuan tongbao coin should continue to circulate as before. As for the requested mining, casting, apprehension, and disposition, report according to statute. In the third month of the second year, Qi entered office as chancellor and again requested recoinage of heavy-rim Qianyuan coin, one for fifty, twenty catties making a string. The edict approved it. Thereupon new coin circulated alongside Qianyuan and Kaiyuan tongbao coin — three denominations in all. Soon grain prices soared; a peck of rice reached seven thousand cash, and the starved dead lay pillow to pillow on the roads. Then old Kaiyuan coin was raised to one for ten, and Qianyuan coin was reduced to one for thirty. Because people resented the unsettled value of coin, the market raised nominal prices as fictitious coin. In Chang'an, men competed in illicit casting; temple bells and bronze images were largely broken up for coin. Crafty men and powerful clans who violated the prohibition were unceasing. Jingzhao Intendant Zheng Shuqing apprehended them, sparing none; within several months more than eight hundred were beaten to death. The people grew ever more desperate.

上元元年六月，詔曰：「因時立制，頃議新錢，且是從權，知非經久。如聞官爐之外，私鑄頗多，吞併小錢，逾濫成弊。抵罪雖眾，禁奸未絕。況物價益起，人心不安。事藉變通，期於折衷。其重棱五十價錢，宜減作三十文行用。其開元舊時錢，宜一當十文行用。其乾元十當錢，宜依前行用。仍令京中及畿縣內依此處分，諸州待進止。」七月敕：「重棱五十價錢，先令畿內減至三十價行，其天下諸州，並宜准此。」寶應元年四月，改行乾元錢，一以當二，乾元重棱小錢，亦以一當二；重棱大錢，一以當三。尋又改行乾元大小錢，並以一當一。其私鑄重棱大錢，不在行用之限。

In the sixth month of Shangyuan 1 (760), an edict declared: "Institutions are established according to the times; the recent discussion of new coin was only a temporary measure, known not to be lasting. We hear that beyond the official furnaces private casting is quite extensive, swallowing small coin and debasing it beyond measure into abuse. Though those punished are many, prohibition of wrongdoing has not ceased. Moreover prices rise ever higher and hearts are unsettled. The matter requires flexible adaptation, with the aim of a balanced settlement. Heavy-rim fifty-value coin should be reduced to thirty cash in circulation. Old Kaiyuan coin should circulate at one for ten cash. Qianyuan ten-for-one coin should circulate as before. Let the capital and counties within the metropolitan region be disposed of accordingly; the various prefectures await further orders. In the seventh month an edict declared: "Heavy-rim fifty-value coin, first ordered reduced within the metropolitan region to thirty-value circulation — all prefectures throughout the realm should follow this. In the fourth month of Baoying 1 (762), Qianyuan coin was changed in circulation to one for two; small heavy-rim Qianyuan coin was also one for two; large heavy-rim coin, one for three. Soon Qianyuan large and small coin were again changed in circulation, all one for one. Privately cast heavy-rim large coin was not permitted in circulation.

大曆四年正月，關內道鑄錢等使、戶部侍郎第五琦上言，請於絳州汾陽、銅原兩監，增置五爐鑄錢，許之。

In the first month of Dali 4 (769), Di Wu Qi, Commissioner of Minting and related matters for the Guannei Circuit and Vice Minister of Revenue, memorialized requesting that five furnaces be added at the Fenyang and Tongyuan mints in Jiang Prefecture to cast coin; the request was approved.

建中元年九月，戶部侍郎韓洄上言：「江淮錢監，歲共鑄錢四萬五千貫，輸于京師，度工用轉送之費，每貫計錢二千，是本倍利也。今商州有紅崖冶出銅益多，又有洛源監，久廢不理。請增工鑿山以取銅，興洛源錢監，置十爐鑄之，歲計出錢七萬二千貫，度工用轉送之費，貫計錢九百，則利浮本也。其江淮七監，請皆停罷。」從之。貞元九年正月，張滂奏：「諸州府公私諸色鑄造銅器雜物等。伏以國家錢少，損失多門。興販之徒，潛將銷鑄。錢一千為銅六斤，造寫器物，則斤直六百餘。有利既厚，銷鑄遂多，江淮之間，錢實減耗。伏請准從前敕文，除鑄鏡外，一切禁斷。」元和三年五月，鹽鐵使李巽上言：「得湖南院申，郴州平陽，高亭兩縣界，有平陽冶及馬跡、曲木等古銅坑，約二百八十余井，差官檢覆，實有銅錫。今請於郴州舊桂陽監置爐兩所，采銅鑄錢，每日約二十貫，計一年鑄成七千貫，有益於人。」從之。其年六月，詔曰：「泉貨之法，義在通流。若錢有所壅，貨當益賤。故藏錢者得乘人之急，居貨者必損己之資。今欲著錢令以出滯藏，加鼓鑄以資流布，使商旅知禁，農桑獲安，義切救時，情非欲利。若革之無漸，恐人或相驚。應天下商賈先蓄見錢者，委所在長吏，令收市貨物，官中不得輒有程限，逼迫商人，任其貨易，以求便得。計周歲之後，此法遍行，朕當別立新規，設蓄錢之禁。所以先有告示，許有方圓，意在他時行法不貸。又天下有銀之山，必有銅礦。銅者，可資於鼓鑄，銀者，無益于生人。權其重輕，使條專一。其天下自五嶺以北，見采銀坑，並宜禁斷。恐所在坑戶，不免失業，各委本州府長吏勸課，令其采銅，助官中鑄作。仍委鹽鐵使條流聞奏。」

In the ninth month of Jianzhong 1 (780), Vice Minister of Revenue Han Hui memorialized: "The Jiang-Huai mints together cast forty-five thousand strings of coin yearly, delivered to the capital; estimating labor, transport, and delivery costs, each string costs two thousand cash — the principal is doubled in profit. Now Shang Prefecture has the Hongya smeltery producing ever more copper, and there is also the Luoyuan Mint, long abandoned and unadministered. We request added labor to mine the mountains for copper, revive the Luoyuan Mint, establish ten furnaces to cast coin, with yearly output estimated at seventy-two thousand strings; estimating labor, transport, and delivery costs, each string costs nine hundred cash — then profit exceeds principal. The seven Jiang-Huai mints should all be suspended. The proposal was approved. In the first month of Zhenyuan 9 (793), Zhang Bang memorialized: "In the various prefectures, public and private casting of copper vessels and miscellaneous goods of every sort. Your servant observes that the state has little coin and loses it through many channels. Those who trade for profit secretly melt coin down for casting. One thousand cash yields six catties of copper; cast into vessels, each catty is worth more than six hundred. Since the profit is so great, melting and casting have become numerous; between the Jiang and Huai, coin has truly diminished. Your servant requests approval according to previous edicts: except for casting mirrors, all should be strictly forbidden. In the fifth month of Yuanhe 3 (808), Salt and Iron Commissioner Li Xun memorialized: "The Hunan Office reports that on the border of Pingyang and Gaoting counties in Chen Prefecture there are the Pingyang smeltery and ancient copper pits such as Maji and Qumu, about more than two hundred eighty wells; officials were sent to inspect and verify that copper and tin are present. We now request two furnaces established at the old Guiyang Mint in Chen Prefecture, mining copper to cast coin, about twenty strings daily, estimated at seven thousand strings cast in one year — beneficial to the people. The proposal was approved. In the sixth month of that year, an edict declared: "The law of currency exists to circulate wealth. If coin is hoarded, goods must grow cheaper. Therefore those who hoard coin can exploit others' urgency, and those who hold goods must lose their capital. We now wish to enact a coin law to release stagnant hoards, increase minting to supply circulation, so merchants and travelers know the prohibition and farming and sericulture find peace — the principle urgently saves the times; the intent is not to seek profit. If reform comes without gradual steps, we fear people may alarm one another. All merchants throughout the realm who have already hoarded cash should be entrusted to the local chief officials, who shall purchase goods in the market; the state must not impose deadlines or force merchants; let them trade freely, seeking convenience. After a full year, when this measure is fully applied, We shall separately establish new regulations and set a prohibition on hoarding coin. Therefore We first give notice, granting latitude in method, intending that when the law is applied later, no indulgence will be shown. Moreover, wherever there are mountains of silver under Heaven, there must be copper mines. Copper can supply minting; silver has no benefit to the living. Adjust weight and value so that each regulation stands alone and uniform. Throughout the realm north of the Five Ridges, every active silver mine should be forbidden and shut down. Lest local mine-households lose their livelihood, each prefecture and district should charge its chief officials to encourage and supervise them in mining copper for the government's mints. The Salt and Iron Commissioner should further be charged to draft regulations and report by memorial. Close of edict.

四年閏三月，京城時用錢每貫頭除二十文、陌內欠錢及有鉛錫錢等，准貞元九年三月二十六日敕：「陌內欠錢，法當禁斷，慮因捉搦，或亦生奸，使人易從，切於不擾。自今已後，有因交關用欠陌錢者，宜但令本行頭及居停主人牙人等檢察送官。如有容隱，兼許賣物領錢人糾告，其行頭、主、人、牙人，重加科罪。府縣所由祗承人等，並不須干擾。若非因買賣自將錢于街衢行者，一切勿問。」其年六月，敕：「五嶺已北，所有銀坑，依前任百姓開採，禁見錢出嶺。」

In the intercalary third month of the fourth year, regarding current coin in the capital — the twenty-cash deduction per string, short strings, and lead-tin coin — the court followed the edict of the twenty-sixth day of the third month of Zhenyuan 9 (793): "Short strings are legally forbidden; fearing that arrests would breed further fraud, it is better to make compliance easy and avoid disturbance. Henceforth, when short strings are used in trade, only the local trade head, lodging host, broker, and the like should inspect the matter and deliver offenders to the authorities. If there is concealment, sellers who receive payment may also denounce offenders; the trade head, host, persons involved, and brokers shall face heavier penalties. District and county runners and attendants need not interfere at all. Unless someone carries coin through the streets without cause of trade, such cases should not be questioned at all. In the sixth month of that year, an edict declared: "North of the Five Ridges, all silver mines may continue to be worked by the common people as before; current coin is forbidden from being taken out of the region." Close of edict.

六年二月，制：「公私交易，十貫錢已上，即須兼用匹段。委度支鹽鐵使及京兆尹即具作分數，條流聞奏。茶商等公私便換見錢，並須禁斷。」其年三月，河東節度使王鍔奏請于當管蔚州界加置爐鑄銅錢，廢管內錫錢。許之，仍令加至五爐。七年五月，戶部王紹、度支盧坦、鹽鐵王播等奏：「伏以京都時用多重見錢，官中支計，近日殊少。蓋緣比來不許商人便換，因茲家有滯藏，所以物價轉高，錢多不出。臣等今商量，伏請許令商人于三司任便換見錢，一切依舊禁約。伏以比來諸司諸使等，或有便商人，錢多留城中，逐時收貯，積藏私室，無復通流。伏請自今已後，嚴加禁約。」從之。八年四月，敕：「以錢重貨輕，出內庫錢五十萬貫，令兩市收市布帛，每端匹估加十之一。」

In the second month of the sixth year, a regulation declared: "For public and private transactions of ten strings of cash or more, bolts of silk must also be used. The Director of Revenue, Salt and Iron Commissioner, and Jingzhao Intendant should promptly work out the ratios, draft regulations, and report by memorial. Tea merchants and others who privately exchange cash through official channels must all be forbidden. In the third month of that year, Wang E, Military Commissioner of Hedong, memorialized requesting additional furnaces on the border of Wei Prefecture under his jurisdiction to cast copper coin and abolish tin coin within his circuit. The request was approved, and he was further ordered to increase the number to five furnaces. In the fifth month of the seventh year, Wang Shao of the Ministry of Revenue, Lu Tan of the Directorate of Revenue, Wang Bo of Salt and Iron, and others memorialized: "We submit that the capital relies heavily on current coin for daily use, yet the government's disbursements have lately been especially scant. This is because merchants have not been permitted to exchange coin freely; households therefore hold stagnant hoards, prices rise ever higher, and coin fails to circulate. We have now deliberated and respectfully request permission for merchants to exchange current coin freely at the Three Offices, with all other prohibitions remaining as before. We submit that recently various offices and commissioners, or their merchant agents, leave much coin in the city, collecting and storing it in private rooms from time to time, so that it no longer circulates. We respectfully request that from now on this be strictly prohibited. The proposal was approved. In the fourth month of the eighth year, an edict declared: "Because coin is heavy and goods light, five hundred thousand strings should be released from the inner treasury, and the two markets ordered to purchase silk and cloth, adding one-tenth to each bolt's assessed value. Close of edict.

十二年正月，敕：「泉貨之設，故有常規，將使重輕得宜，是資斂散有節，必通共變，以利於人。今繒帛轉賤，公私俱弊。宜出見錢五十萬貫，令京兆府揀擇要便處開場，依市價交易。選清強官吏，切加勾當。仍各委本司，先作處置條件聞奏。必使事堪經久，法可通行。」又敕：「近日布帛轉輕，見錢漸少，皆緣所在壅塞，不得通流。宜令京城內自文武官僚，不問品秩高下，並公、郡、縣主、中使等，下至士庶、商旅、寺觀、坊市，所有私貯見錢，並不得過五千貫。如有過此，許從敕出後，限一月內任將市別物收貯。如錢數較多，處置未了，任于限內於地界州縣陳狀，更請限。縱有此色，亦不得過兩個月。若一家內別有宅舍店鋪等，所貯錢並須計用在此數。其兄弟本來異居曾經分析者，不在此限。如限滿後有違犯者，白身人等，宜付所司，決痛杖一頓處死。其文武官及公主等，並委有司聞奏，當重科貶。戚屬中使，亦具名銜聞奏。其剩貯錢，不限多少，並勒納官。數內五分取一分充賞錢，止於五千貫。此外察獲，及有人論告，亦重科處分，並量給告者。」時京師里閭區肆所積，多方鎮錢，王鍔、韓弘、李惟簡，少者不下五十萬貫。於是競買第屋以變其錢，多者竟裏巷傭僦以歸其直。而高貲大賈者，多依倚左右軍官錢為名，府縣不得窮驗，法竟不行。

In the first month of the twelfth year, an edict declared: "Currency exists by fixed principle: to balance heavy and light, to gather and release with measure — it must circulate and adapt, to benefit the people. Now silk and cloth grow ever cheaper, and public and private interests alike suffer. Five hundred thousand strings of current coin should be released, with Jingzhao Prefecture selecting a convenient site to open a market and trade at market prices. Honest, capable officials should be selected and affairs strictly overseen. Each office should first draft terms of disposition and report by memorial. The measure must be enduring in practice and the law practicable in application. Another edict declared: "Recently cloth and silk have grown lighter in value and current coin grows scarcer — all because local hoarding blocks circulation. Within the capital, from civil and military officials regardless of rank, princesses of gong, jun, and xian grades, palace eunuchs, down to commoners, merchants, travelers, temples, and market wards — all private hoards of current coin must not exceed five thousand strings. If the limit is exceeded, within one month from the edict's issue they may freely purchase other goods for storage. If the amount is large and disposition incomplete, within the deadline they may petition the local prefecture or county for an extension. Even with such an extension, two months must not be exceeded. If within one household there are separate residences or shops, all stored coin must be counted within this limit. Brothers who originally lived separately and have already divided households are not subject to this limit. If after the deadline there are violators among commoners, they should be handed to the authorities — one round of severe beating, then execution. Civil and military officials and princesses should be reported by the responsible offices for heavy penalties and demotion. Consort kin and palace eunuchs should also be reported by name and title. All excess stored coin, regardless of amount, must be compelled to be surrendered to the state. Of the amount, one part in five shall serve as reward — capped at five thousand strings. Beyond this, where offenders are discovered or denounced, heavy penalties shall also apply, with proportional rewards to accusers." At the time the capital's neighborhoods and market stalls held massive hoards — regional military funds; Wang E, Han Hong, and Li Weijian each held no less than five hundred thousand strings. Thereupon they competed to buy mansions to convert their coin; those with large sums even rented entire lanes to recover value. Yet wealthy merchants largely sheltered coin under the name of Left and Right Army funds; prefecture and county officials could not thoroughly investigate — the law in the end was not enforced.

十四年六月，敕：「應屬諸軍諸使，更有犯時用錢每貫除二十文、足陌內欠錢及有鉛錫錢者，宜令京兆府枷項收禁，牒報本軍本使府司，差人就軍及看決二十。如情狀難容，復有違拒者，仍令府司聞奏。」十五年八月，中書門下奏：「伏准群官所議鑄錢，或請收市人間銅物，令州郡鑄錢。當開元以前，未置鹽鐵使，亦令州郡勾當鑄造。今若兩稅盡納匹段，或慮兼要通用見錢。欲令諸道公私銅器，各納所在節度、團練、防禦、經略使，便據元敕給與價直，並折兩稅。仍令本處軍人熔鑄。其鑄本，請以留州留使年支未用物充，所鑄錢便充軍府、州、縣公用。當處軍人，自有糧賜，亦較省本，所資眾力，並收眾銅，天下並功，速濟時用。待一年後鑄器物盡，則停。其州府有出銅鉛可以開爐處，具申有司，便令同諸監冶例，每年與本充鑄。其收市銅器期限，並禁鑄造買賣銅物等，待議定便令有司條流聞奏。其上都鑄錢及收銅器，續處分。將欲頒行，尚資周慮，請令中書門下兩省、御史台並諸司長官商量，重議聞奏。」從之。

In the sixth month of the fourteenth year, an edict declared: "For all persons belonging to armies and commissioners who again violate current coin standards — the twenty-cash deduction per string, full-string shortfall, or lead-tin coin — Jingzhao Prefecture should shackle and imprison them, notify the army and commissioner offices, and dispatch men to the army for judgment: twenty blows. If the circumstances are intolerable and there is further refusal, the prefectural office should still report by memorial. In the eighth month of the fifteenth year, the Secretariat and Chancellery memorialized: "We submit in accordance with officials' deliberations on minting — some propose purchasing copper goods from the populace and having prefectures cast coin. Before the Kaiyuan era, before the Salt and Iron Commissioner was established, prefectures were also charged with minting. Now if the dual tax is paid entirely in bolts of silk, there is concern that current coin will still be needed for general use. We propose that public and private copper vessels in each circuit be delivered to the local military commissioners, who shall pay fair value per the original edict and apply it against the dual tax. Local soldiers should be ordered to melt and cast. For casting costs, we request using annual allotments retained by prefecture and commissioner that remain unused; coin cast shall serve the army headquarters, prefecture, and county for public use. Local soldiers already receive grain and stipends, saving casting costs; relying on collective labor and gathering copper from all, the realm working together would swiftly meet urgent needs. After one year, when all cast goods are exhausted, stop. Where prefectures produce copper and lead suitable for furnaces, report to the responsible offices and follow the precedent of the various smelteries, with annual allotments for casting. Deadlines for purchasing copper vessels and prohibitions on casting and trading copper goods — once deliberation is complete, the responsible offices should be ordered to draft regulations and report. Minting at the capital and purchasing copper vessels shall be separately disposed. Before promulgation, further deliberation is needed; the two departments of the Secretariat and Chancellery, the Censorate, and chief officials of all offices should be asked to consult and report anew." The proposal was approved.

長慶元年九月，敕：「泉貨之義，所貴通流。如聞比來用錢，所在除陌不一。與其禁人之必犯，未若從俗之所宜，交易往來，務令可守。其內外公私給用錢，從今以後，宜每貫一例除墊八十，以九百二十文成貫，不得更有加除及陌內欠少。」大和三年六月，中書門下奏：「准元和四年閏三月敕，應有鉛錫錢，併合納官，如有人糾得一錢，賞百錢者。當時敕條，貴在峻切，今詳事實，必不可行。只如告一錢賞百錢，則有人告一百貫錫錢，須賞一萬貫銅錢，執此而行，事無畔際。今請以鉛錫錢交易者，一貫已下，以州府常行決脊杖二十；十貫已下，決六十，徒三年；過十貫已上，所在集眾決殺。其受鉛錫錢交易者，亦准此處分。其用鉛錫錢，仍納官。其能糾告者，每一貫賞五千文，不滿貫者，准此計賞，累至三百千，仍且取當處官錢給付。其所犯人罪不死者，征納家資，充填賞錢。」可之。四年十一月，敕：「應私貯見錢家，除合貯數外，一萬貫至十萬貫，限一周年內處置畢；十萬貫至二十萬貫以下者，限二周年處置畢。如有不守期限，安然蓄積，過本限，即任人糾告，及所由覺察。其所犯家錢，並准元和十二年敕納官，據數五分取一分充賞。糾告人賞錢，數止於五千貫。應犯錢法人色目決斷科貶，並准元和十二年敕處分。其所由覺察，亦量賞一半。」事竟不行。五年二月，鹽鐵使奏：「湖南管內諸州百姓私鑄造到錢。伏緣衡、道數州，連接嶺南，山洞深邃，百姓依模監司錢樣，競鑄造到脆惡奸錢，轉將賤價博易，與好錢相和行用。其江西、鄂岳、桂管鑄濫錢，並請委本道觀察使條流禁絕。」敕旨宜依。

In the ninth month of Changqing 1 (821), an edict declared: "The principle of currency values circulation above all. We hear that recently deduction practices vary from place to place. Rather than forbidding what people will inevitably violate, it is better to follow custom as fitting — commercial exchange must be practicable and enforceable. For all public and private disbursements, henceforth each string shall uniformly deduct eighty cash padding, counting nine hundred twenty cash as one string — no further deductions or short strings permitted. In the sixth month of Dahe 3 (829), the Secretariat and Chancellery memorialized: "Per the intercalary third month edict of Yuanhe 4 (809), all lead-tin coin should be surrendered to the state; for each cash denounced, reward one hundred cash. That edict's provisions aimed at severity; examining the facts now, it cannot be enforced. If one cash reported earns one hundred cash in reward, then reporting one hundred strings of tin coin requires ten thousand strings of copper coin in reward — enforced thus, affairs know no limit. We now propose: for lead-tin coin transactions up to one string, the prefecture shall routinely sentence twenty blows with the rod; up to ten strings, sixty blows and three years penal servitude; over ten strings, execution by public beating wherever found. Those who accept lead-tin coin in trade shall be punished likewise. Lead-tin coin seized shall still be surrendered to the state. Accusers shall receive five thousand cash per string reported; for less than a string, reward proportionally; cumulative rewards up to three hundred thousand cash, paid from local official funds. Where the offender is not executed, household assets shall be levied to fill the reward payment." Approved. In the eleventh month of the fourth year, an edict declared: "Households hoarding current coin beyond permitted amounts: from ten thousand to one hundred thousand strings must dispose of it within one year; from one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand strings, within two years. If deadlines are not kept and hoarding continues beyond the limit, anyone may denounce and local officials may discover. Offending household coin shall be surrendered per the Yuanhe 12 edict; one part in five taken as reward. Accuser rewards capped at five thousand strings. Penalties by category for coin-law offenders shall follow the Yuanhe 12 edict. Discovering officials shall receive half the reward proportionally. In the end the measure was not carried out. In the second month of the fifth year, the Salt and Iron Commissioner memorialized: "Commoners in the Hunan circuit's prefectures have privately cast coin. Because Heng and Dao prefectures border Lingnan, with deep mountain caves, commoners mimic official mint designs, competing to cast brittle, debased counterfeit coin, trading at low prices and mixing with good coin in circulation. For debased coin in Jiangxi, E-Yue, and Guiguan circuits, we request the circuit observation commissioners draft prohibitions. The imperial order approved compliance.

會昌六年二月，敕：「緣諸道鼓鑄佛像鐘磬等新錢，已有次第，須令舊錢流布。絹帛價稍增。文武百僚俸料，宜起三月一日，並給見錢。其一半先給虛估匹段，對估價支給。」敕：「比緣錢重幣輕，生人坐困，今加鼓鑄，必在流行。通變救時，莫切於此。宜申先甲之令，以誡居貨之徒。京城及諸道，起今年十月以後，公私行用，並取新錢，其舊錢權停三數年。如有違犯，同用鉛錫惡錢例科斷，其舊錢並納官。」事竟不行。

In the second month of Huichang 6 (846), an edict declared: "Because new coin from casting Buddhist images, bells, and chimes across the circuits is proceeding in order, old coin must be allowed to circulate. Silk and cloth prices rose slightly. Civil and military officials' salaries should from the first day of the third month all be paid in current coin. Half should first be paid in overvalued bolts of silk, disbursed at assessed value. An edict declared: "Recently because coin is heavy and currency light, the people sit in distress; increased minting must circulate. Adaptive reform to save the times — nothing more urgent. Prior hoarding prohibitions should be enforced to warn those who stockpile goods. In the capital and the circuits, from the tenth month of this year, public and private use shall take new coin only; old coin temporarily suspended for several years. Violators shall be punished as for lead-tin debased coin; old coin surrendered to the state." In the end the measure was not carried out.

開元元年十一月，河中尹姜師度以安邑鹽池漸涸，師度開拓疏決水道，置為鹽屯，公私大收其利。其年十一月五日，左拾遺劉彤上表曰：「臣聞漢孝武為政，廊馬三十萬，後宮數萬人，外討戎夷，內興宮室，殫費之甚，實百當今，而古費多而貨有餘，今用少而財不足，何也？豈非古取山澤，而今取貧民哉。取山澤，則公利厚而人歸於農；取貧民，則公利薄而人去其業。故先王作法也，山海有官，虞衡有職，輕重有術，禁發有時。一則專農，二則饒國，濟人盛事也。臣實為今疑之。夫煮海為鹽，采山鑄錢，伐木為室。農餘之輩，寒而無衣，饑而無食，傭賃自資者，窮苦之流也。若能以山海厚利，資農之餘人，厚斂重徭，免窮苦之子，所謂損有餘而益不足，帝王之道，可不謂然乎？臣願陛下詔鹽鐵木等官收興利，貿遷於人，則不及數年，府有餘儲矣。然後下寬貸之令，蠲窮獨之徭，可以惠群生，可以柔荒服。雖戎狄、猾夏，堯、湯水旱，無足虞也。奉天適變，惟在陛下行之。」上令宰臣議其可否，鹹以鹽鐵之利，甚益國用，遂令將作大匠姜師度、戶部侍郎強循俱攝御史中丞，與諸道按察使檢責海內鹽鐵之課。「比令使人勾當，除此外更無別求。在外不細委知，如聞稱有侵刻，宜令本州刺史上佐一人檢校，依令式收稅。如有落帳欺沒，仍委按察使糾覺奏聞。其姜師度除蒲州鹽池以外，自餘處更不須巡檢。」

In the eleventh month of Kaiyuan 1 (713), Jiang Shidu, Intendant of Hezhong, because the Anyi salt pans were gradually drying, opened and dredged water channels and established salt colonies — public and private interests reaped great profit. On the fifth day of the eleventh month of that year, Left Reminder Liu Tong submitted a memorial: "Your subject has heard that when Emperor Wu of Han governed, there were three hundred thousand stable horses and tens of thousands in the inner palace; abroad he campaigned against the Rong and Yi, at home he raised palaces — expenditure was extreme, in truth a hundred times the present — yet in antiquity spending was great yet goods remained in surplus, while today use is less yet funds are insufficient. Why is this? Is it not that antiquity drew revenue from mountains and marshes, while today revenue is drawn from the poor? When revenue is drawn from mountains and marshes, public profit is ample and people return to farming; when revenue is drawn from the poor, public profit is thin and people abandon their occupations. Therefore when the former kings made law, mountains and seas had officials, foresters and gamekeepers had posts, weight and measure had methods, and prohibition and exploitation had seasons. First, farming is specialized; second, the state is enriched — a great affair benefiting the people. Your subject truly finds this puzzling in the present age. Boiling sea water for salt, mining mountains to cast coin, felling trees for dwellings — those beyond farming, cold yet without clothes, hungry yet without food, who hire themselves out to sustain life — these are the destitute. If the rich profits of mountains and seas could support those beyond farming, while heavy levies and onerous corvée were lifted from the destitute — is this not what is meant by "reducing where there is surplus to increase where there is lack," the way of emperors and kings? Can it not be called so? Your subject wishes that Your Majesty decree the salt, iron, timber, and other offices to collect and develop profit, trading it among the people — then within a few years the treasury would have surplus stores. Then issue orders of lenient relief, remit corvée for the destitute and alone — thus the masses may be benefited and distant lands may be softened. Even Rong and Di, hostile Xia, or the floods and droughts of Yao and Tang would be nothing to fear. To follow Heaven and adapt to change — all depends on Your Majesty putting this into practice. The emperor ordered the chief ministers to discuss whether this was feasible; all held that the profits of salt and iron greatly benefited state revenue, and he thereupon ordered Master Builder Jiang Shidu and Vice Minister of Revenue Qiang Xun, both acting as Vice Censor-in-Chief, together with the circuit inspection commissioners to examine and assess salt-and-iron levies throughout the realm. Recently orders were issued for envoys to manage affairs; apart from this there are no further demands. Details outside the capital are not fully known; if there are reports of overcharging, each prefecture's governor and one senior aide should be ordered to inspect and collect taxes according to regulations. If there is unrecorded embezzlement, it is still entrusted to the circuit inspection commissioners to investigate and report. As for Jiang Shidu, apart from the Pu Prefecture salt ponds, no further patrol inspection is required elsewhere. Close of edict.

貞元十六年十二月，史牟奏：「澤、潞、鄭等州，多是末鹽，請禁斷。」從之。元和五年正月，度支奏：「鄜州、邠州、涇原諸將士，請同當處百姓例，食烏、白兩池鹽。」六年閏十二月，度支盧坦奏：「河中兩池顆鹽，敕文只許於京畿、鳳翔、陝、虢、河中澤潞、河南許汝等十五州界內糶貨。比來因循，兼越興、鳳、文、成等六州。臣移牒勘責，得山南西道觀察使報，其果、閬兩州鹽，本土戶人及巴南諸郡市糴，又供當軍士馬，尚有懸欠，若兼數州，自然闕絕。又得興元府諸耆老狀申訴。臣今商量，河中鹽請放入六州界糶貨。」從之。十年七月，度支使皇甫鎛奏，加峽內四監、劍南東西川、山南西道鹽估，以利供軍。從之。十三年，鹽鐵使程異奏：「應諸州府先請置茶鹽店收稅。伏准今年正月一日赦文，其諸州府因用兵已來，或慮有權置職名，及擅加科配，事非常制，一切禁斷者。伏以榷稅茶鹽，本資財賦，贍濟軍鎮，蓋是從權。昨兵罷，自合便停，事久實為重斂。其諸道先所置店及收諸色錢物等，雖非擅加，且異常制，伏請准赦文勒停。」從之。

In the twelfth month of Zhenyuan 16 (800), Shi Mou memorialized: "In Ze, Lu, Zheng, and other prefectures there is mostly crude salt; request that it be prohibited. The proposal was approved. In the first month of Yuanhe 5 (810), the Revenue Office memorialized: "The generals and soldiers of Yan Prefecture, Bin Prefecture, and Jingyuan Circuit request that, following the local commoners' precedent, they consume salt from the Black and White pools. In the intercalary twelfth month of Yuanhe 6 (811), Revenue Commissioner Lu Tan memorialized: "The granular salt of the two pools in Hezhong — the edict permits sale only within the boundaries of fifteen prefectures: the capital region, Fengxiang, Shaan, Guo, Hezhong, Ze, Lu, Henan, Xu, Ru, and others. Of late, through inertia, sales have also extended into the six prefectures of Yue, Xing, Feng, Wen, and Cheng. Your subject sent documents to investigate and verify, and received a report from the Jiannan West Circuit observation commissioner: the salt of Guo and Lang prefectures supplies local households and markets in the southern Ba commanderies, and also feeds the army's horses and men — there is already a shortfall; if several more prefectures are added, shortage will naturally follow. Your subject also received petitions of complaint from the elders of Xingyuan Prefecture. Your subject now proposes that Hezhong salt be permitted for sale within the boundaries of the six prefectures. The proposal was approved. In the seventh month of Yuanhe 10 (815), Revenue Commissioner Huangfu Bo memorialized to raise the assessed price of salt in the four inner garrison superintendencies, Eastern and Western Sichuan, and Jiannan West Circuit, to benefit military supply. The proposal was approved. In Yuanhe 13 (818), Salt and Iron Commissioner Cheng Yi memorialized: "The various prefectures and circuits that previously requested establishment of tea-and-salt shops to collect taxes — respectfully in accordance with this year's amnesty of the first day of the first month, whereby the various prefectures and circuits, since the outbreak of war, fearing unauthorized posts or unauthorized additional levies beyond regular statutes — all such matters are forbidden — respectfully, monopoly taxation of tea and salt originally funds revenue and supports military garrisons — this was an expedient measure. Now that warfare has ceased, it should properly be stopped at once; continued over time it has truly become oppressive taxation. The shops previously established in the various circuits and the collection of goods and cash of every sort — though not unauthorized additions, they are nonetheless beyond regular statutes; we respectfully request that, in accordance with the amnesty, they be ordered halted. The proposal was approved.

十四年三月，鄆、青、兗三州各置榷鹽院。

In the third month of Yuanhe 14 (819), the three prefectures of Yun, Qing, and Yan each established salt monopoly offices.

長慶元年三月，敕：「河朔初平，人希德澤，且務寬泰，使之獲安。其河北榷鹽法且權停。仍令度支與鎮冀、魏博等道節度審察商量，如能約計課利錢數，分付榷鹽院，亦任穩便。」自天寶末兵興以來，河北鹽法，羈縻而已。暨元和中，皇甫鎛奏置稅鹽院，同江、淮兩池榷利，人苦犯禁，戎鎮亦頻上訴，故有是命。其月，鹽鐵使王播奏：「揚州、白沙兩處納榷場，請依舊為院。」又奏：「諸道鹽院糶鹽付商人，請每鬥加五十，通舊三百文價；諸處煎鹽停場，置小鋪糶鹽，每鬥加二十文，通舊一百九十文價。」又奏：「應管煎鹽戶及鹽商，並諸鹽院停場官吏所由等，前後制敕，除兩稅外，不許差役追擾。今請更有違越者，縣令、刺史貶黜罰俸。」從之。二年五月，詔曰：「兵革初寧，亦資榷筦，閭閻重困，則可蠲除。如聞淄青、兗、鄆三道，往來糶鹽價錢，近取七十萬貫，軍資給費，優贍有餘。自鹽鐵使收管已來，軍府頓絕其利。遂使經行陣者有停糧之怨，服隴畝者有加稅之嗟，犯鹽禁者困鞭撻之刑，理生業者乏蠶醬之具。雖縣官受利，而郡府益空。俾人獲安寧，我因節用。其鹽鐵先於淄青、兗、鄆等道管內置小鋪糶鹽，巡院納榷，起今年五月一日已後，一切並停。仍各委本道約校比來節度使自收管充軍府逐急用度，及均減管內貧下百姓兩稅錢數。至年終，各具糶鹽所得錢，並均減兩稅。奏聞。」

In the third month of Changqing 1 (821), an edict declared: "The Hebei region has just been pacified; the people scarcely know imperial grace — for the present let policy be broad and generous, that they may find peace. The Hebei salt monopoly law is for the present to be suspended. Still order the Revenue Office together with the military commissioners of Zhenji, Weibo, and other circuits to examine and deliberate; if they can estimate the quota of monopoly revenue and deliver it to the monopoly office, that too is permitted as convenient. From the outbreak of war at the end of the Tianbao era, the Hebei salt law was loosely enforced only. By the Yuanhe era, Huangfu Bo memorialized to establish taxed-salt offices, matching the monopoly profits of the Jiang-Huai two pools; the people suffered under prohibition violations, and military garrisons repeatedly appealed — hence this order. That month, Salt and Iron Commissioner Wang Bo memorialized: "The two monopoly collection points at Yangzhou and Baisha — request that they be restored as offices as before. He also memorialized: "Where salt offices sell salt to merchants, request that each dou be increased by fifty cash, making three hundred cash in all with the former price; at local salt-boiling stations, establish small shops to sell salt; each dou increased by twenty cash, making one hundred ninety cash in all with the former price. He also memorialized: "Salt-boiling households, salt merchants, and the clerks and runners of salt offices and boiling stations — under prior edicts, apart from the two taxes, no corvée or harassment is permitted. Now request that any further violations be punished by demotion and salary forfeiture of the county magistrate and prefect. The proposal was approved. In the fifth month of Changqing 2 (822), an edict declared: "When arms are first stilled, monopoly revenue is still needed; when common households are heavily burdened, it may be remitted. It is heard that in the three circuits of Ziqing, Yan, and Yun, the cash from salt sales in recent years has reached seven hundred thousand strings — military supplies are amply provided with surplus. Since the Salt and Iron Commissioner took over management, military headquarters have suddenly lost this profit. Thus those who travel the camps complain of halted rations; those who work the fields sigh at added taxes; violators of the salt ban suffer the lash; those who manage livelihoods lack silkworms and sauce. Though the state treasury receives profit, prefecture and circuit offices grow ever emptier. That the people may find peace, We therefore economize. The Salt and Iron Office's prior establishment of small shops to sell salt and patrol offices to collect monopoly dues within the circuits of Ziqing, Yan, Yun, and others — from the first day of the fifth month of this year onward, all are halted together. Each circuit is still entrusted to estimate recent revenues that the military commissioner has collected for urgent military expenses, and to reduce the two-tax assessments for poor commoners within the circuit. By year's end, report separately the cash obtained from salt sales and the reductions to the two taxes. Report to the throne. Close of edict.

安邑、解縣兩池，舊置榷鹽使，仍各別置院官。元和三年七月，復以安邑、解縣兩池留後為榷鹽使。先是，兩池鹽務隸度支，其職視諸道巡院。貞元十六年，史牟以金部郎中主池務，恥同諸院，遂奏置使額。二十一年，鹽鐵、度支合為一使，以杜佑兼領。佑以度支既稱使，其所管不宜更有使名，遂與東渭橋使同奏，罷之。至是，裴均主池務，職轉繁劇，復有是請。大和三年四月，敕安邑、解縣兩池榷課，以實錢一百萬貫為定額。至大中二年正月，敕但取匹段精好，不必計舊額錢數。及大中年，度支奏納榷利一百二十一萬五千餘貫。

The two pools at Anyi and Jiexian formerly had salt monopoly commissioners; each also had separate office officials. In the seventh month of Yuanhe 3 (808), the pool superintendents of Anyi and Jiexian were again made salt monopoly commissioners. Earlier, salt affairs of the two pools were subordinate to the Revenue Office; the post ranked with the patrol offices of the various circuits. In Zhenyuan 16 (800), Shi Mou, as Director of the Gold Department, supervised pool affairs; ashamed to rank with the various patrol offices, he memorialized to establish a commissioner's quota. In the twenty-first year, the Salt and Iron and Revenue offices were merged into one commissioner; Du You held both posts concurrently. You held that since the Revenue Office already bore the title of commissioner, what it supervised should not again bear a commissioner's name; together with the Dongwei Bridge commissioner he memorialized to abolish it. At this time Pei Jun supervised pool affairs; duties grew ever more complex, and the request was renewed. In the fourth month of Dahe 3 (829), an edict fixed the monopoly levy of the two pools at Anyi and Jiexian at one million strings of actual cash. By the first month of Dazhong 2 (848), an edict declared that only fine bolts of cloth need be taken — the old cash quota need not be counted. In the Dazhong era, the Revenue Office reported monopoly profits submitted at 1,215,000-plus strings.

女鹽池在解縣，朝邑小池在同州，鹵池在京兆府奉先縣，並禁斷不榷。烏池在鹽州，舊置榷稅使。長慶元年三月，敕烏池每年糶鹽收博榷米，以一十五萬石為定額。溫池，大中四年三月因收復河隴，敕令度支收管。溫池鹽仍差靈州分巡院官勾當。至六年三月，敕令割屬威州，置榷稅使。緣新制置，未立榷課定額。胡落池在豐州界，河東供軍使收管。每年采鹽約一萬四千余石，供振武、天德兩軍及營田水運官健。自大中四年党項叛擾，饋運不通，供軍使請權市河東白池鹽供食。其白池屬河節度使，不系度支。初，玄宗已前，亦有鹽池使。景雲四年三月，蒲州刺史充關內鹽池使。先天二年九月，強循除豳州刺史，充鹽池使，此即鹽州池也。開元十五年五月，兵部尚書蕭嵩除關內鹽池使。此是朔方節度常帶鹽池使也。

The Female Salt Pool is in Jiexian; the small pool at Chaoyi is in Tong Prefecture; the brine pool is in Fengxian County, Jingzhao Prefecture — all are prohibited and not subject to monopoly. The Black Pool is in Yan Prefecture; a monopoly tax commissioner was formerly established. In the third month of Changqing 1 (821), an edict fixed annual salt sales and monopoly grain collection from the Black Pool at one hundred fifty thousand shi. The Warm Pool — in the third month of Dazhong 4 (850), because the Hexi region was recovered, an edict ordered the Revenue Office to take charge. Salt from the Warm Pool was still entrusted to an official of the Ling Prefecture branch patrol office to manage. By the third month of the sixth year, an edict ordered it transferred to Wei Prefecture and a monopoly tax commissioner established. Because the new establishment had not yet fixed a monopoly quota. Haluo Pool is on the border of Feng Prefecture; the Hedong Army Supply Commissioner managed it. Each year about fourteen thousand-plus shi of salt were harvested, supplying the Zhenwu and Tiande armies and the garrison farm and water-transport official troops. From Dazhong 4 (850), when the Tangut rebelled and harassed the frontier and supply routes were cut, the Army Supply Commissioner requested permission to purchase salt from the White Pool in Hedong to feed the troops. The White Pool belonged to the Yellow River military commissioner and was not under the Revenue Office. Earlier, before Emperor Xuanzong, there were also salt pool commissioners. In the third month of Jingyun 4 (713), the Pu Prefecture governor served concurrently as Guannei Salt Pool Commissioner. In the ninth month of Xiantian 2 (713), Qiang Xun was appointed Prefect of Bin and served as Salt Pool Commissioner — this was the Yan Prefecture pool. In the fifth month of Kaiyuan 15 (727), Xiao Song, Minister of War, was appointed Guannei Salt Pool Commissioner. This was the salt pool commissionership regularly held by the Shuofang military commissioner.

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