The Salt Bureau Of Jin Dynasty

The Salt Bureau of Jin Dynasty was a special department that took charge of local salt industry and played an important role in social life. The setup of Salt Bureau in Jin Dynasty was a watershed in saline history in China. From that time onwards, salt industry became an independent economic section and this greatly changed previous situation in which salt industry was combined with iron industry or tea industry. This paper made a research on its origin, its setup, official posts, and its functions in society, through which the author tried to argue how significant the Salt Bureau was in economics and politics of feudal state.This paper is divided into three parts.The first part focuses on the origin of the Salt Bureau. Salt industry, as an important manufactural section, had won much attention in previous dynasties. Before Jin Dynasty, tax system, monopolization system or taking shift between the two are the basic policies in the management of salt affairs. The development trend was that the management over production transportation and sale was strengthened gradually. There were four important stages with regard to management of salt industry in previous dynasties. The first was Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, during which Duke Qihuan adopted monopolization policy proposed by Guanzhong, a famous brain man, and stopped liberal economy in salt sale. Government became a part of production and sale process, which started a new period in management and manipulation of salt industry. The second period started from Emperor Wu in Western Han Dynasty, who founded monopolization system of salt and iron. Domination over salt industry was set down in the form of state regulation and this practice was succeeded by the following dynasties. The third stage was Tang Dynasty, during which period government encouraged the...