Study On Salt Households In Northern Song Dynasty

The salt farmers of Earlier Song Dynasty mean the producers of salt,the profitfrom salt they produced plays a significant role in the national revenue,their socialcomposition,social status and social relations all have special features bythemselves.The HuaiZhe Salt Area taked an important part in salt areas of EarlierSong Dynasty.In Earlier Song Dynasty,there were varieties of salt farmers.In the livingconditions,because of the salt farmers census register’s tie,salt’s producing becamethe main part of salt famers’ livings,ways of they producing and labor were veryunitary,the fixed salt amount they turned over every year and the pay fromgovernment being exploiting by official,all make the salt famers live more hardly.Inthe salt producing,they have clear divisions of labor、excellent skills,and alwaysbrought forth new ideas.In the social relations,the relationship of the saltfarmers,salt official and the traders who sold salt privately was changing by the saltlaw’s variety.Under the monopoly of salt and salt trade,in order to make livings,saltfarmers started to participate in selling salt privately.In the social status,the saltfarmers of HuaiZhe Salt Area had been formed many little organizations,is convenientfor the government’s management.Inside the salt farmers,they were divided intothree grades:first-grade,middle grade and low-grade,the first-grade can discharge theduties instead of official temporarily to manage the other two grades inwardly,canalso represent other grades outwardly.This article looks into the salt farmers ofHuaiZhe Salt Area in Earlier Song Dynasty,with breakthrough points all above,makeshorizontal comparison with salt farmers of other areas’,and vertical comparison withMing Dynasty,to bring to light they conditions of lives.