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The history of the world economy - Polyak GB

5. Economics of Ancient China

Education and economic development of states

The most extreme eastern part of Asia is China, whose territory since ancient times has developed its own distinctive civilization.

China - a mountainous country. Approximately 80% of the territory - the mountains and plateaus. The natural conditions of the western and eastern parts of the country are different from each other. Western China - it is mostly mountainous with a sharply continental climate. East China, cut valleys of the great rivers of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, has a mild climate, fertile alluvial soil and good vegetation.

Since ancient times, the Lower Paleolithic area of ​​eastern China was inhabited by primitive man named Sinanthropus. The material culture of ancient China was a tribal continuity and continuously developed. These tribes became the basis for the creation of the Han people - the Chinese.

Favorable natural conditions have allowed the population of East China since Neolithic times to tame different species of animals, and ranch, and then agriculture.

Successful agriculture dependent on rainfall. The uneven distribution of rainfall often resulted in crop failure and famine. Therefore, in ancient times, the Chinese have created an artificial irrigation system. But the people had to constantly keep working and protect land from flooding. Feature of Chinese rivers - periodic flooding: forest, which carry the water of these rivers, settling on the bottom, raise their level, which, combined with rainy weather causes flooding of large areas. Naturally, for such works leave, and then the families had to pool their efforts. All this has led to the early creation of the ancient Chinese state.

The history of ancient China is divided into several periods. In the XIV century. BC. e. in the middle reaches of the Yellow River formed the first Chinese state, which bore the name of the Shang (Yin according to another version). It was a slave state, headed by a hereditary monarch - van. Shan State is constantly led war with other, mainly nomadic, constantly grabbing their land.

Continuous wars have weakened the government and the Shan in the XI century. BC. e. it was captured by tribes chou, ethnically close to the people of Shan State. Zhou state period lasted until the VIII. BC. e., as a result of wars, popular uprisings state split into independent principalities.

In 256 BC. e. Qin land prince united the scattered principalities into a single state of Qin. In 206 BC. e. rebellious populace overthrew the representative Tsin dynasty to rule the state and became the Han dynasty, which lasted until 220 AD. e.

As in other countries of antiquity, based on the ancient Chinese economy was rural community. Against the background of a constant struggle between the witting commune and clan and tribal elite communal lands captured by tribal leaders. With the formation of the state, the emergence of Wang (king), his court officials, military commanders, this process accelerated. Some of the community members who have lost their land, become slaves, slaves became prisoners who worked in the fields and in the homes of Wang and rich people.

The ancient Chinese state of the van was not only the supreme secular ruler, but also a high priest. Moreover, he was the "son of heaven", ie. E. Deified. All that was in the land - belonged to him. Earth's rural communities also belong to wang. In a rural community lands were divided into sections, one of which is processed together members of the community for public purposes. At first, work was carried out on the public site, and then on the family. In addition, community members were paying taxes.

Wang was distributing land to the community members who lived on them his officials, military commanders. First he gave them the land captured during the war. Mainly it was the land of nomads, which the Chinese called a contemptuous word, like the word "barbarian" Greeks. Wang gave his men slaves whole clans, villages.

Slaves were also bought, bartered. For example, there is a record for the exchange of five slaves on a horse and a skein of silk.

As the ancient Chinese state bureaucracy was created. At the head of this unit was assistant Wang. He submitted to three officials who led the three major agencies. The first agency supervised the economic life of the country, ie, for agricultural activities, trade, markets, prices, etc. The second -.... To lead troops. Third - was in charge of all the land fund and the irrigation system of the country. Later, there were other departments, directed the courts ruled the king's palace and estates, and finally, the department, organizing religious worship. In turn, each of the departments of the states had their officials across the country.

For the content of Wang, his court, the army and the bureaucracy with public funds collected in taxes. The most important was the tax on arable land. He was about a tenth of your harvest. Tax mountains and lakes will be charged on the amount of the fourth part of the revenues obtained here. Merchants pay fees for a place in the market, at the conclusion of commercial contracts. Later, during the Han, the monopoly on salt and iron have been introduced to increase state revenues.

Agriculture - the basis of the economy

The leading activity of ancient China's population was agriculture. In western China on the plateau developed cattle breeding. In East China, mainly in the valleys of the rivers was agriculture. Grew millet, barley, wheat, and later main crop, had been brought from the south, was the rice. tools were a hoe, then came the plow.

Seeing in agriculture backbone of the economy, the state has paid his main attention and care. farmer work was surrounded by a halo of sanctity. Every year, as the high priest van spring opened the ceremony beginning of agricultural work, walking behind a plow, spent the first furrow in the fall, he is the first to try the bread from the grain of the new harvest. The high value agriculture is evidenced by the fact that in the tomb of the noble Chinese people put not only weapons, but also a hoe.

Much attention was paid to farming practices. Already it appears in the Zhou system field change at which land was divided into three parts. The two parts were inoculated, and the third year of rest fallow. The Chinese were the first to use organic fertilizers and combat pests of agricultural plants. Pesticides applied to crops. These plants were sprayed during growth. It was also used biological methods of pest control. For example, for protection of citrus trees used yellow ants are specially bred and sold in markets in the reed bags, hang on the branches of citrus trees. To protect against pests breeding chrysanthemums mantis. The Chinese were forbidden to kill the frogs as they hunted for insects.

High level of knowledge of farming allowed the Chinese to obtain good yields of food and industrial crops. The Chinese were the first to engage in sericulture. Even in the era of state Shang bred silkworms. For this cultivated mulberry trees, leaves fed larvae. Silkworm pupa killing steam cocoon then moistened with salt and dried, then it was unwound on a wooden frame to give the silk yarn.

In I a. BC. e. China began to grow tea. First, the tea leaves are used as medicine. Later, he became the most popular drink on all continents, giving China executed more income.

It is the Chinese to the top of the Middle Ages are not only breeding of oysters for food, but have developed a technology to produce artificial pearls. By placing the oysters in a foreign body, they forced them to create a pearl. At the same time they receive a predetermined shape pearls. Thus, in 489, the Chinese Emperor presented farmed pearl in the form of the Buddha.