Song Dynasty (960-1279): Economic Problems

Sources

Economic Problems. Although the Song (960-1279) enjoyed more prosperity than any previous dynasty, the problems of the degeneration of imperial leaders and fiscal difficulties associated with the dynastic cycle resurfaced by the end of the eleventh century. During the first six decades of the dynasty, government revenues increased to 150,850,000 units (each unit was approximately equivalent to a string of one thousand coins) in 1021. The government income, however, soon declined by almost 25 percent.

Causes. Scholars have attributed the Song economic problems to several causes. First, in the beginning of the dynasty there was a period of population increase as the leaders more vigorously and effectively maintained relative peace and stability. This increase lowered the agricultural surplus and thus reduced the taxable income. Second, the growing number of people meant that each succeeding generation received less land to farm, which affected the tax since it was based on the size of farms. Revenues were further decreased as land was concentrated in the hands of large landholders, who often used their connections with government officials in order to evade paying taxes. Third, Song military expenditures consumed the largest part of government revenues. The Song constantly faced the threat of invasion from the Inner Asian tribes, which were located along the border in the north and northwest. Yet, the army proved to be the weakest military of all the major dynasties as a result of the Song founder’s policy of curtailing regional militarism. To reduce the power of regional military commanders, the Song emperor Taizu replaced them with civil officials and placed the military under the control of the central government. This policy successfully helped establish a lasting dynasty, but it also contributed to the

weakness of the military. Mercenaries used by the Song army were not only ineffective but costly, compared to the inexpensive Tang militia system. To compensate for this military inefficiency, the government increased the size of its force, causing huge expenditures. By 1041 the Song army fielded 1,259,000 men and cost nearly 80 percent of the budget to maintain. In addition to the enormous expenditure to operate its army, the Song government was forced to appease its enemies financially.

Sources

John K. Fairbank and others, East Asia: Tradition and Transformation (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973).

Herbert Franke and Denis Twitchett, eds., The Cambridge History of China, volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 907-1368 (Cam-bridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

F. W. Mote, Imperial China, 900-1800 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1999).

Witold Rodzinski, A History of China, 2 volumes (Oxford & New York: Pergamon, 1979-1983).

John Winthrop Haeger, ed., Crisis and Prosperity in Sung China (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1975).