A Study Of Tang Xianzong Yuan And The Financial System

The Yuanhe Restoration by Emperor Xianzong of Tang is an important historical event during which the central government achieved a major victory and re-established central authority in the race with local military governors. In the process of Restoration, national finance made great contribution to the success of the campaigns against local military governors. Starting from Fiscal Studies, this paper aims to discuss how Emperor Xianzong ensures military supply and finally achieves the victory.This paper is divided into three chapters: the first mainly focuses on the financial system and background analysis, the second focuses on the specific content of Yuanhe financial system and the last is a meta-evaluation on the system.Chapter One starts with the financial development and change before Yuanhe to analyze the southward condition of financial center after the An-shi Rebellion, then combs the development from the Tribute Finance in the time of Suzong and Daizong,the Two-tax reform in the early time of Jianzhong by Dezong to the palliative policy in late time of Jianzhong. Fengtian Chaos exposes the shortcomings of the financial system under the Two-tax and prompts Dezong’s financial policy shift which left a fragile finances and taxes as well as the pattern of chaotic financial system to the new emperor Xianzong.Chapter Two mainly analyses the development and change of Yuanhe financial system under the background of war. Firstly this chapter analyses the military expenditure during the war and combining with the experience in Fengtian Chaos, the paper discusses the reorganization of financial system in Yuanhe and gives new ideas on the new system led by chancellors and the reform on the trisection of Two-tax.Secondly, through the analysis of revenue after the reorganization, we find that the treasury in national exchequer is still not enough and then the paper discusses the policies of receiving tribute from the local and retrenching expedition by Xianzong.Finally, on the base of analysis above, the paper begins with the financial pressure during the war, analyses a series of financial policy and finds special status of Guoku(the national exchequer) and Neiku(the emperor’s private exchequer), therefore we take forward the conception of “dualistic” structure and believe that this structure is the derivative under fixed and rigid Two-tax system.Chapter Three reviews characteristics, roles, disadvantages and influences ofYuanhe financial system. This chapter believes that the Yuanhe finance is a kind of wartime financial system. This wartime system focusing on centralization plays an important role in the Yuanhe Restoration, however the nature of wartime finance has its drawbacks inevitably. These defects have brought many problems to the development of the country beyond Yuanhe time. Yuanhe financial system does not disappear after Yuanhe time but continues to affect national development.All in all, the financial reform and policies by Emperor Xianzong reorganize chaotic system, establish the Jiangnan-focused(south of the Yangtze River)financial pattern, strengthen the central authority and increases the revenue. At the same time, the “dualistic” structure effectively compensates disadvantages by the fixed quantity of Two-tax and ensures the war military supplies.