New Policies (Song dynasty) facts for kids
The New Policies (also called Xining Reforms or Wang Anshi Reforms) were a set of big changes in China. They were started by a smart politician named Wang Anshi during the Northern Song dynasty. He worked for Emperor Shenzong from 1069 to 1076.
These policies were active until the emperor died. Then, they were stopped for a while, but later started again. They were a major topic in the government until the Northern Song dynasty ended. These changes were a bit like earlier reforms called the Qingli Reforms, which had been stopped.
Contents
Why Were These Reforms Needed?
Life for People in the Song Dynasty
In 1034, most people in the Song dynasty lived in the countryside. About 80% of the population were farmers. However, the government had stopped owning and sharing land. This led to more businesses, private land, and bigger cities.
Many small farmers, about 40-60% of rural families, owned only a small part of the land. They couldn't earn enough money to support their families. So, they often borrowed money from rich landowners. These landowners owned most of the land, about 80%. The interest rates on these loans were very high, sometimes up to 100% a year! These wealthy landowners were sometimes called "exploiters" because they took advantage of the poor.
Wang Anshi's Journey to Power
Wang Anshi was born in 1021 into a family of educated officials. He did very well in the government exams in 1042. He started his career as a government secretary.
He later became a local leader in Yinxian. There, he improved irrigation systems to help farmers. He also gave loans to peasants. He moved up in the government, working in different roles and places.
Wang Anshi saw how hard life was for local officials and common people. In 1058, he wrote a very long letter to Emperor Renzong of Song. In this letter, he suggested many changes to fix money and organization problems. He said that past dynasties failed because emperors didn't try new ways of ruling. He also thought the exam system didn't create specialized workers.
His letter was ignored for ten years. But then, Emperor Shenzong of Song became emperor in 1067. The new emperor saw that tax money was going down. Also, common people were paying more and more taxes. This was because rich landowners were avoiding their share of taxes. So, Emperor Shenzong asked Wang Anshi for help in 1069. Wang was first made a vice-counselor, a very important job. A year later, he became the main chancellor.
Wang Anshi once said that farmers had very hard lives. He noted that the government only burdened them. He saw many abandoned farms and families leaving their homes. He said this was happening even near the capital, so it must be worse in far-off places.
What Did Wang Anshi Want to Achieve?
Wang Anshi's main goals for the New Policies were to save government money and make the army stronger. He wanted to help farmers and stop rich people from buying up all the land. He believed these rich "engrossers" were monopolizing land and wealth. They made others dependent on them.
Wang thought it was very important to stop these "engrossers." This group included big landowners, moneylenders in the countryside, and large city businesses. They also included people who caused prices to go up and down in cities. Many of these people had connections with government officials.
Wang Anshi believed that the government should manage trade, industry, and farming. He wanted to help working people and stop them from being crushed by the rich. He felt that if wealth wasn't managed well, even ordinary people without political power would take advantage. They would control the economy for their own greed.
How Were the Policies Put into Action?
Wang Anshi became vice-counselor in 1069. He was the main chief councilor from 1071–1074 and again from 1075–1076. He started many reforms, known as the New Policies. These reforms had three main parts:
- Government money and trade.
- Defense and keeping order.
- Education and making government better.
Fair Tax Law
The Fair Tax Law (junshuifa) was also called the Square Field Law. It was a project to register land. The goal was to find land that was not being taxed. Fields were measured and divided into squares. Officials then checked the land quality and put it into one of five groups. This information was written down and used for buying, selling, and taxing land.
Landowners did not like this law because it limited their freedom. Even though it was mainly used around the capital, Kaifeng, it covered 54% of all known farmland in the Song dynasty. This project stopped in 1085. Later, Emperor Huizong of Song tried to bring it back but gave up.
Green Sprouts Loan Program
The Green Sprouts Law (qingmiaofa) offered loans to farmers. The government loaned money or seeds from state storage. Farmers could get loans in two payments. The interest rate was 2% over ten years. Farmers paid back the loans in summer and winter.
However, some local officials misused this system. They forced farmers to take loans or charged more than 2% interest. Critics said that officials made farmers borrow money, turning the loan into a tax. The money from these loans helped fund flood control, famine relief, and armies. Even with lower interest rates, many farmers couldn't pay back their loans.
Water Works Law
The Water Works Law (shuilifa) aimed to improve local irrigation systems. Instead of forcing people to do unpaid labor, officials were supposed to loan money from local treasuries. This money would help people hire workers for irrigation projects. The government also encouraged planting mulberry trees to make more silk.
Hiring Labor Law
The Labor Recruitment Law (muyifa) changed how people paid their taxes. Before, people had to do unpaid labor for the government. This law replaced that with hired labor. The government calculated how much money was needed for projects. This money was then given out to pay workers. If crops failed, the government paid 20% more. This law increased tax money for the government.
However, people who used to be free from unpaid labor now had to pay taxes for official projects. They protested this new law. Even though it was officially stopped in 1086, this new system continued until the Northern Song dynasty ended in 1127.
Balanced Delivery Law
The Balanced Delivery Law (junshufa) aimed to control the prices of goods the government bought. It also controlled how local governments spent money. A special official was put in charge of buying goods from six rich provinces in southeast China and transporting them. The government would buy cheap goods where there was a lot of supply. They would store them and sell them in areas where prices were high. Critics said Wang was trying to compete with merchants.
Market Exchange Law
The Market Exchange Law (shiyifa) targeted large trading companies and monopolies. A special office was set up in Kaifeng and other cities. These offices set prices for merchants. The government bought extra goods and stored them. Later, they sold these goods at lower prices to stop merchants from controlling prices.
Merchant groups that worked with the government could sell goods to the government. They could also buy goods from government stores using money or credit. The interest rate was 10% for six months or 20% for a year. Smaller businesses could get credit by using their assets as a guarantee. After 1085, these offices started buying cheap and selling high to make a profit. This system lasted until the Northern Song dynasty ended in 1127.
Baojia System for Local Security
The baojia system was a plan to improve local safety. It also aimed to reduce the government's work. Groups of ten, fifty, and five hundred men were organized for security. Each group had a leader. At first, every household with more than two adult men had to provide one security guard. Later, this was changed to one guard for every five households.
These security groups acted like local police. They organized night watches and trained in martial arts when they weren't farming. This was like a local militia. It saved the government money because local people were responsible for their own protection. In 1075, they also started collecting taxes and giving out Green Sprouts loans. Wang Anshi wanted this system to make farmers and soldiers work as one.
General and Troops Law
The General and Troops Law (jiangbingfa) aimed to improve the relationship between high officials and regular soldiers. The army was divided into units of 2,500 to 3,000 men. Each unit had a mix of foot soldiers, cavalry, archers, and tribal troops. This was different from before, when each type of soldier had its own unit. This system continued until the end of the Song dynasty.
Three College Education System
The Three College Law (sanshefa) changed how future officials were taught at the Taixue (National University). The university was split into three colleges: Outer, Inner, and Superior. Students started in the Outer College, then moved to the Inner, and finally the Superior College.
This system aimed to give students a more balanced education. It also reduced the focus on just Confucian teachings. Students learned one Confucian classic, plus math and medicine. Students who passed exams in the Outer College could enter the Inner College. In the Inner College, students took two exams over two years. Those who did very well could become officials directly.
In 1104, local exams were stopped. Instead, each area had to send a certain number of students to the Taixue each year. Some officials criticized this, saying it helped the rich and young. They also said it was less fair because relatives of officials could join without exams. The local three-college system was stopped in 1121, but it stayed at the national level.
Imperial Examination Changes
The New Policies greatly changed the government exams. Old exam types were removed. Poetry, memorized passages, and written explanations were taken out. Instead, students had to show they understood the Analects, Mencius, and one of the Five Classics. The Spring and Autumn Annals was not included because it wasn't seen as useful for current politics. A new exam for legal skills was added in 1071. These changes were meant to be more useful and encourage critical thinking. They also aimed to get more support for the New Policies. However, these exam changes upset many students and were quickly stopped after Emperor Shenzong died.
Who Opposed the Reforms?
The reforms caused different groups to form in the government. Wang Anshi's group, called the "Reformers," was opposed by the "Conservative" group. This group was led by the historian and chancellor Sima Guang. When one group gained more power, they would remove rival officials and send them to faraway regions. The famous poet and statesman Su Shi was even jailed and sent away for criticizing Wang's reforms.
One main disagreement was about money. Wang Anshi said he wasn't worried about money problems. He promised the emperor that there would be enough money without raising taxes. Sima Guang disagreed. He didn't think the economy could grow faster than the population. Sima Guang also worried about the government getting too involved in private business. While Wang attacked the power of private wealth, Sima defended the rich. He thought they were useful for society and politics.
Wang Anshi also wanted a more aggressive foreign policy, like taking back land. Sima Guang preferred a more balanced approach. Sima Guang didn't believe managing wealth was a main job of the government. He also didn't think it was good for the government to help those who depended on the rich. He saw this as a breakdown of social order, which could lead to the fall of the state. Sima Guang even disliked the imperial exams. He thought only candidates recommended by court officials should take them. Basically, Sima Guang believed that government should only be for the existing elite.
Some important people who opposed Wang Anshi were:
- Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) – a statesman.
- Sima Guang (1019–1086) – a scholar and leader of the Conservatives.
- Su Shi (1036–1101) and Su Che (1039–1112) – brothers from the southwest.
- Fu Bi (1004–1083) – a statesman from earlier reforms.
- Han Qi (1008–1075).
- Lü Gongzhu (1018–1089) – a leader of powerful families.
- Zheng Xia (1041–1119) – a former student of Wang.
Why the Reforms Declined
The Green Sprouts program and the Baojia system were not meant to make money. But they were soon changed to fund new government plans and military actions. Within months of the Green Sprouts program starting, the government began charging 20-30% interest on loans to farmers. Officials managing the program were judged by how much money they made. This led to forced loans and less focus on helping during disasters.
In 1074, a famine hit northern China. Many farmers had to leave their land. Their situation was made worse by the debts from Wang's loans. Local officials still demanded loan payments as farmers were leaving. People blamed Wang for this crisis. Wang still had the emperor's support, but he resigned in 1076.
When Emperor Shenzong died in 1085, the opposition leader Sima Guang returned to power. The New Policies were stopped under the rule of Dowager Empress Gao. Sima Guang blamed the policies for trying to expand the Song borders.
However, the group that supported the New Policies got power back when Emperor Zhezong became an adult in 1093. The policies mostly continued under Emperor Huizong until the Northern Song dynasty ended in 1126.
After the Reforms: What Happened Next?
Anti-Reform Period (1085–1093)
From 1085 to 1093, the Song government stopped many of the New Policies. Supporters of the policies were criticized. Even those who didn't like the New Policies but didn't want sudden extreme changes, like Fan Chunren and the Su brothers, were removed from their jobs. After Sima Guang died in 1086, other officials took power.
Post-Reform Period (1093–1125)
After Dowager Empress Gao died in 1093, Emperor Zhezong became an adult. Supporters of the New Policies were brought back into power. These included Zhang Chun and Cai Jing. Many of the New Policies were restarted and even expanded to more areas. The Conservative group faced political punishment and were sent to local government jobs far away.
During the early rule of Emperor Huizong, one of Wang's old friends, Zeng Bu, tried to bring the Reformers and Conservatives together. This short-lived idea, called "Establishment of a Middle Course," didn't please either group.
Cai Jing stayed in power from 1101 to 1125. This was just two years before the Northern Song dynasty fell to the Jin invasion. Cai made the political punishment of Conservatives even worse. There was more corruption and the government got worse under his rule. This led to the New Policies being blamed for the fall of the dynasty.
What is Wang Anshi's Legacy?
In China, Wang Anshi is generally seen as someone whose practical plans didn't work out. From a certain Chinese viewpoint, he was a reformer.
In 1944, Henry A. Wallace called Wang Anshi a "Chinese New Dealer." This compared Wang's economic policies to Keynesian economics and the "New Deal" in the United States.
Wallace said he learned about Wang Anshi ten years earlier. He noted that Wang faced problems in 1068 that were very similar to those faced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. He found Wang's methods surprisingly similar.
Images for kids
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An illustration of Wang Anshi from 1743.
