Han Dynasty Confucian Businessman Concept

The Han Dynasty Confucianist s merchant idea is an imporant part of the Chinese Confucianist economic thought ,which involving in Confucianist's political thinking, economic thought, ethical thought, so I think it is a Chinese Confucianism miniature. It inherited pre-qin Confucianism, and initiated the Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism, therefore its influence is profound extremely to the Han Dynasty and later generation society. It is a unique angle of view to research the Han Dynasty Confucianism important status and the relation between the Han Dynasty Confucianism and the market economy .I choose Jia Yi, Dong Zhongshu, BanGu, Wang Fu,Cui Shi, Zhong Changtong,who are representatives of the Mainstream Confucianists of the Han Dynasty ,and Sima Qian as the research object. And I take their understanding to the merchants social position, the merchants effect, the relation between the merchants and the farmers,and the relation of the bureaucratic business-people and the merchants as the center of the research. With the utilization comparison research method, I will make every effort to define the origin and the character, as well as the social influence of the Han Dynasty Confucianist s merchant idea, inquire into its historical experience and its lesson which profit from for us.The understanding of the Han Dynasty Mainstream Confucianists to the merchant social position, the function as well as the relation between the farmers and the merchants are different with Sima Qian . Facing the merchant influence enhancement, the Mainstream Confucianists advocated maintaining the merchants social position by setting up the Classed- Based Rule , and opposed enhancing the merchants social position . Most of them neglected the merchant positive role to the society and lay undue stress on merchant's negative effect. But Wang Fu had quite sober understanding to merchants who sell daily things .Most of them disunited the merchants with the farmers.But on one hand, Wang Fu disunited the merchants who sell luxuries with the farmerswho grow grains,on the other hand, he unified the merchants who sell the daily things with the fanners who grow grains. Sima Qian sympathized the merchants underlying social position,he thought it was nessary to enhance merchant's social position to make their position adapt their wealth. Sima Qian elaborated merchant's positive role from the entire national economy and regional economy . And he elaborated that the merchants should not only unify but also should be unfied with the farmers .Both Sima Qian and the Mainstream Confucianists hold the denial manner to the bureaucratic business-people, but the two are different. Now I must emphasize Jia Yi adviced that the government hold the mintage ,as was prepared to implement the policy that the government control economy.In brief, the Han Dynasty Confucianists appraised the merchants in their respective realistic conditions, taking Confucianist's ethical thought as the basis of their merchtant idea, taking the People Based Thought as their starting point and foothold of it. On one hand, their merchant ideas had transformed the traditional utilitarianism values successfull to propagate the moralism values,and impelled damping business policy and strengthened the censured —merchants idea .On the other hand, it was also the rationale of many people who thought that the merchants were very imporant to the country and it came into being the Confucianist merchant's basic moral character.