Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 8, 2025

The Relationship Between Finance and the Market in the Context of Agrarian-Commercial Values in the Song Dynasty

(Abstract)

Huang Chunyan

Within the social framework of the “four occupations” (scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants), understanding the relationship between finance and the market—and the legitimacy of industrial and commercial fiscal policies—essentially involves examining agrarian-commercial values. The Song Dynasty did not undergo a shift from “agriculture as the foundation, industry and commerce as the subsidiary” to “both industry and commerce as foundations.” Rooted in the principle of “imperial ownership of all lands and subjects,” the Song state justified its industrial and commercial fiscal policies through doctrines emphasizing “honoring the foundational (agriculture) while suppressing the subsidiary (commerce)” and “curbing annexation.” This enabled the state to legitimize increased fiscal extraction from the commercial and industrial sectors. At the same time, the expansion of state monopolies (jinque) and the widespread adoption of market-oriented methods in fiscal revenue and expenditure gave rise to an unprecedented fiscal market. Unlike Emperor Wu of Han’s strategy of total state monopoly to “l(fā)everage economic control” (quan qingzhong), the Song managed its fiscal market through the “l(fā)everaging merchants” (quan shanggu) approach, operating under a state-merchant profit-sharing mechanism. Although this system lacked effective mechanisms for benefit distribution and often hindered industrial and commercial development, it coexisted interactively with a spontaneous market that experienced significant institutional and structural innovations, reaching its peak in the Song. This interaction produced a dual structure in the Song market system. Compared to the Han-Tang and Ming-Qing periods, the market structure and operational logic of the Song Dynasty exhibited both historical commonalities and distinct characteristics shaped by its unique environment and policy orientations.