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==Economics==

==Economics==

The Song court's revenues far exceeded those of any other major government in the world, at that time. More than half of the state's revenues were obtained through monopolies imposed on the production of rice wine, and key mineral resources such as salt, copper, and alum. Private commerce was quite active in a great variety of fields, ranging from iron mining and metallurgy to sericulture, textiles, tea, porcelain, paper, and sugar. Government involvement in private enterprise consisted chiefly of actions taken to ensure the free flow of goods, and the prevention of monopolistic or cartel behaviors. Certain goods, such as iron, books, and bronze coin, believed to be of particular strategic importance, were forbidden from being exported; these flowed out of the country nevertheless, including in trade with Japan, in exchange for gold, sulfur, and timber, among other goods and commodities.<ref name=crossroads393>Bonnie Smith, et al. ''Crossroads and Cultures'', vol. B, Bedford St. Martins (2012), 393.</ref>

The Song court's revenues far exceeded those of any other major government in the world, at that time. More than half of the state's revenues were obtained through monopolies imposed on the production of rice wine, and key mineral resources such as salt, copper, and alum. Private commerce was quite active in a great variety of fields, ranging from iron mining and metallurgy to sericulture, textiles, tea, porcelain, paper, and sugar, and advances were made in the efficiency, quality, or other aspects of production of many of these goods. The Song coal and iron industries were the most advanced in the world at that time.<ref>Schirokauer, et al, 198.</ref> [[Gunpowder]] may have been invented in the Song; the earliest extant record of the formula dates to [[1044]].<ref>Schirokauer, et al, 202.</ref>

Sometime after 1000 CE, the Song government began requiring imperial subjects to pay their taxes in cash, rather than in kind (e.g. in grain, silk, or other products) as they had done previously. This forced peasants and commoners throughout the country to engage more fully into the market, spurring considerable commercial developments likely unimagined by the Confucian bureaucrats who initiated the policies.<ref>Walter McNeill, "The Changing Shape of World History," in Ross Dunn (ed.), ''The New World History'', Bedford/St. Martin's (2000), 153.</ref>

 

By [[1073]], the Song government began requiring imperial subjects to pay their taxes in cash, rather than in kind (e.g. in grain, silk, or other products) as they had done previously. This forced peasants and commoners throughout the country to engage more fully into the market, spurring considerable commercial developments likely unimagined by the Confucian bureaucrats who initiated the policies.<ref>Walter McNeill, "The Changing Shape of World History," in Ross Dunn (ed.), ''The New World History'', Bedford/St. Martin's (2000), 153.</ref>

In the late 10th century, private merchants in western China began to issue their own private forms of bills of exchange, which customers could then exchange at agents in other regions for actual coinage, or for goods and services. These were replaced in [[1024]] by the government's establishment of an official system of paper money known as "[[flying cash]]," the first paper money in the world.

In the late 10th century, private merchants in western China began to issue their own private forms of bills of exchange, which customers could then exchange at agents in other regions for actual coinage, or for goods and services. These were replaced in [[1024]] by the government's establishment of an official system of paper money known as "[[flying cash]]," the first paper money in the world.

By the 1020s, the Song government was minting far more coinage than any previous dynasty. In the 1070s, it was producing nearly 6 billion coins per year, a process which required 9600 tons of copper each year. But even this volume of coinage could not fulfill the needs of the economy, and so paper money continued to play a large role.<ref>''Crossroads and Cultures'', 385.</ref>

By the 1020s, the Song government was minting far more coinage than any previous dynasty. In the 1070s, it was producing nearly 6 billion coins per year, a process which required 9600 tons of copper each year. Over the course of the entire dynasty, Song mints produced some 260-300 billion coins. But even this volume of coinage could not fulfill the needs of the economy, and so paper money continued to play a large role.<ref>''Crossroads and Cultures'', 385.; Richard von Glahn, "The Ningbo-Hakata Merchant Network and the Reorientation of East Asian Maritime Trade, 1150-1350," ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' 74:2 (2014), 251.</ref>

Maritime trade with Southeast Asia, India, and beyond was flourishing at this time. As early as the 9th century (prior to the beginning of the Song Dynasty), one Arab merchant wrote that more than half of the 200,000 residents of the southern Chinese port city of [[Guangzhou]] were Jewish, Arab, Persian, or Indian traders. The port of [[Quanzhou]], likewise, supported a notable Tamil merchant community during the Song Dynasty. In earlier periods, Arab merchants took two or three years to make the round-trip journey from their homes to China, and back, due to patterns of the winds and currents; by the 10th century, however, many came to use ports in maritime Southeast Asia as stepping stones, allowing them to make the journey in a single year.<ref name=crossroads393/>

Maritime trade with Southeast Asia, India, and beyond was flourishing at this time. As early as the 9th century (prior to the beginning of the Song Dynasty), one Arab merchant wrote that more than half of the 200,000 residents of the southern Chinese port city of [[Guangzhou]] were Jewish, Arab, Persian, or Indian traders. The port of [[Quanzhou]], likewise, supported a notable Tamil merchant community during the Song Dynasty. In earlier periods, Arab merchants took two or three years to make the round-trip journey from their homes to China, and back, due to patterns of the winds and currents; by the 10th century, however, many came to use ports in maritime Southeast Asia as stepping stones, allowing them to make the journey in a single year.<ref name=crossroads393/>

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==References==

==References==