Gong Shi () was a policy in
ancient China
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
during the reigns of emperors
Dezong () and
Shunzong () of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
in which the emperor would send
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
s to civilian markets to purchase goods by force at very low prices.
This system was abolished by
Reformists
Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement.
Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
led by
Wang Shuwen
Wang Shuwen ( zh, 王叔文; born 753, died 806) was a Chinese economist and politician during the Tang dynasty. He was a close associate of Emperor Shunzong (Li Song) while Li Song was crown prince under his father, Emperor Dezong, and was pow ...
() under the rule of Emperor Shunzong.
History
Researches published by
City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...
and
Fudan University
Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...
show that the earliest record of Gong Shi can be traced back to 707, according to two biographic sketches of
Emperor Zhongzong (). At first, the Gong Shi was merely certain kind of imperial entertainment, until the period of the
Emperor Xuanzong (), when the entertainment tended to become a commercial practice adopted to serve the need of the palace.
Before the ''Zhenyuan'' () period of the reign of Emperor Dezong, if the palace required supplies, then the officials responsible for procurement would settle the bill immediately after a purchase. Originally these officials were called ''The Envoy of Imperial purchasing'' (), but later they were renamed ''the Envoy of Emperor's purchasing'' ().
At that time, the purchase and management of
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
, which was the main fuel for the imperial household, was part of the daily operations of the whole palace in the Tang dynasty. Various officials were appointed to act as ''The Envoy of Charcoal Purchasing'' (). At first, the eunuchs were simply ''The Envoys of Emperor's purchasing'', whose responsibility did not include buying charcoal, but this changed as the eunuchs' power increased during a period which saw power struggles among the officials of court, and the role of ''The Envoy of Charcoal Purchasing'' slowly merged with their existing duties. Charcoal was only one commodity among many that were plundered by the government using the Gong Shi practice.
Because of this, the imperial family started sending
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
s to make purchases towards the end of the ''Zhenyuan'' period and the practice of purchasing goods at low prices began to develop, and even the official documents needed to permit and justify such purchases gradually vanished. Although the Expostulatory Officials () often suggested that Emperor Dezong should abolish Gong Shi, he did not do so.
Implementation
The implementation of Gong Shi basically involved shops operated by eunuchs within the palace. Taking advantage of
imperial power
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
to bully the citizens, these eunuchs would often send men to markets located at both the east and west part of the city, or the main
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
which was the only way people could pass to arrive at their destination, to enforce the deals. The traders received extremely poor payments and were subsequently ordered to transport their merchandise to the palace.
At the time, there could hundreds of people buying goods at low prices by force at various markets in the capital city
Chang'an
Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...
() – often a few hundred
Qian () were used to purchase goods worth thousands, or, in some cases, there might be no payment at all. The civilian traders dared not resist or even ask where these officials were from, even though there were often doubts as to the identities of the purchasers.
''The Chronicle of Shunzong period'' () written by
Han Yu
Han Yu (; 76825 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi (), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公), was a Chinese essayist, poet, philosopher, and politician during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced the devel ...
() recorded such an incident: while a peasant was going to the town carrying
firewood
Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...
he wanted to sell in the market, he met a eunuch claiming the firewood had already been bought by the emperor (through the Gong Shi system) and simply paying him a few
chi
Chi or CHI may refer to:
Greek
*Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ);
Chinese
*Chi (length), ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter
*Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon
*Chi (surname) (池, pin ...
of ''juan'' (), a type of
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
product. The eunuch then ordered the peasant to transport the firewood to the imperial palace using his
donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
and even asked for an ''Entrance tip'' (). All these demands upset the peasant; he gave the ''juan'' back and begged for mercy, but the eunuch insisted that he transport the firewood. In the end, the peasant assaulted the eunuch out of frustration and was arrested by a patrolling officer. Hearing of this event, Emperor Dezong dismissed the eunuch responsible by sending out an imperial decree and presented ten pieces of ''juan'' to the peasant.
Although historical documents recording such events in detail can hardly be found today, scholastic researches generally used the terms ''rob'' (), ''seize'' (), ''pillage'' () or ''take by force'' () in Chinese to describe the eunuchs' misdeeds negatively.
Abolition
Shortly after his accession, Emperor Shunzong began to reappoint the Reformists, the leader of whom was
Wang Shuwen
Wang Shuwen ( zh, 王叔文; born 753, died 806) was a Chinese economist and politician during the Tang dynasty. He was a close associate of Emperor Shunzong (Li Song) while Li Song was crown prince under his father, Emperor Dezong, and was pow ...
. The Reformists implemented a series of policies, including the abolition of ''Gong Shi'' and ''the
Scoundrels in the Five Workshops
Scoundrel or Scoundrels may refer to:
Books
* ''Scoundrel'', a 1996 romance novel by Elizabeth Elliott
* ''Scoundrel'' (book), a 2022 book by Sarah Weinman
* ''Scoundrel'' (novel), a 2004 novel by Bernard Cornwell
* ''Scoundrels'' (novel), a 2 ...
'' (
:zh:五坊小兒, ), which acted as tools to oppress the civilian population.
Criticism
Sinologist
Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...
Chen Yinke
Chen Yinke, or Chen Yinque (3 July 18907 October 1969), was a Chinese historian, linguist, orientalist, politician, and writer. He was a fellow of Academia Sinica, considered one of the most original and creative historians in 20th century China ...
said "Gong Shi was the worst policy in the late Emperor Dezong period" in his book ''the Draft of Album Verses of Yuanbai'' ().
Han Yu
Han Yu (; 76825 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi (), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公), was a Chinese essayist, poet, philosopher, and politician during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced the devel ...
wrote in ''the Chronicle of Shunzong period'': "although called Gong Shi, it was actually a robbery."
Modern Chinese scholar
Zhang Lifan
Zhang Lifan (, born July 1950), is a Chinese writer, scholar and historian.
Biography
Zhang's father, Zhang Naiqi (), was one of the founders of the China National Democratic Association, Zhang's mother is Zhang Caiping (). Zhang spent his child ...
said in an essay: "during his early years, Emperor Dezong knew it was wiser to be thrifty. But when grew older, he became more and more avaricious and wasteful. At the same time, the extent of civilians' sufferings from Gong Shi largely increased."
Literature
In the poem ''the Old Charcoal Seller'' (), the famous ancient Chinese poet
Bai Juyi
Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...
() satirized the phenomenon of officials buying goods by force at low prices by Gong Shi, with a note below the title of the poem: "so suffering from the Gong Shi" ().
Related works
*
Bai Juyi
Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...
, ''the Old Charcoal Seller''
*
Han Yu
Han Yu (; 76825 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi (), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公), was a Chinese essayist, poet, philosopher, and politician during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced the devel ...
, ''the Chronicle of Shunzong period''
See also
*The
Scoundrels in the Five Workshops
Scoundrel or Scoundrels may refer to:
Books
* ''Scoundrel'', a 1996 romance novel by Elizabeth Elliott
* ''Scoundrel'' (book), a 2022 book by Sarah Weinman
* ''Scoundrel'' (novel), a 2004 novel by Bernard Cornwell
* ''Scoundrels'' (novel), a 2 ...
(
:zh:五坊小兒), an offensive word once used to describe workers in the five imperial workshops.
Notes
;Note
;References
;Bibliography
* Fu Lecheng (), ''the General history of China - the history of
Sui,
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
, and the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
'' (), Zhongwen Book Co., Ltd (), {{ISBN, 957-532-033-6
History of ancient China
Tang dynasty