Zhang Juzheng ( Chinese trad. 張居正 , pinyin : Zhāng Jūzhèng ; 1525 , Jianglin , Hubei Province - 1582 ) - Chinese statesman and reformer of the Min era.
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| Kit. 張居正 | |
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Biography
He was born in 1525 in Jianglin County, Hubei Province . As his biographers note, Zhang Juzheng was tall, well-built and handsome, and also smart and talented. At the age of 15, he entered the school, which opened the way to official career. He was noticed by the local military governor, who saw in him "a man with state abilities." Soon he passed an examination at the volost level, and in 1547 , having passed the examination tests at the imperial court, he received the highest academic rank of “outstanding husband”. However, not only personal excellence paved the way up to him, but also the patronage of the highest dignitaries, who appreciated his talents, as well as a favorable combination of circumstances.
Political activities
In 1566 , the emperor Shih-chung died. Former favorites lost support, put forward new ones. Under the auspices of the new empress, Zhang Juzheng was lucky to be one of them: in 1567 he occupied a high position in the Office of officials (i.e. in the central government apparatus) and at the same time became a member of the Palace Secretariat , which was in fact the highest governmental body. In 1572 , Zhang Juzheng headed this secretariat, gaining almost unlimited power of authority. The position of the "chief assistant" of the emperor and the real power he maintained for ten years until his death in 1582
In the socio-economic field, the most significant event of Zhang Juzheng was the introduction in 1581 of the "single tax" and the spread of this system throughout the country. The essence of the new order was as follows: 1) all labor duties (forced labor as ordered by the authorities) were replaced by the amount of payments calculated in silver, this amount was determined by the number of workers in the house and the size of the land available in the farm different areas of the country could be different); 2) the land tax was also calculated in silver, this made it possible to determine the single amount of tax and duties; 3) the total amount of taxes and duties was established for each individual region and each county, and these payments could not be underestimated; 4) tax payments had to be paid directly to the local officials, and not to various elders, clerks, carriers, etc., which simplified the mechanism for tax revenues to the treasury.
Zhang Juzheng sought to limit the expenses of the imperial court and high dignitaries. Encouraged local authorities to increase government revenue and create the necessary emergency supplies (crop failure, natural disasters, war, etc.). All this did not go beyond the traditional Chinese concept of good governance and can hardly be called reforms.
The same can be said about his approach to foreign policy and military problems. He did not carry out reforms in the army, but paid close attention to maintaining effective border defense, both on the land north-western and northern borders of the empire, and on its sea coast.
On the whole, by the efforts of Zhang Juzheng and his assistants, the oncoming crisis was postponed for a while. Comprehensive streamlining, especially in the economic sphere, could not but have a positive effect on the situation in the country. However, as noted, there was no fundamental change in the life of Chinese society. The fundamentals of the selection of civil servants, which gave unwritten advantages to people from privileged classes, remained the same, the spread of the “single tax” did not go so fast, and its standards remained different in different parts of the country, transferring taxes to a monetary basis sometimes created new difficulties for peasants who produced only a natural product. It is not surprising that rather soon after the death of the reformer, the positive results of his activities almost disappeared.
This was facilitated by his high-ranking opponents. More recently, they offered prayers for the health of the ill person Zhang Juzheng, and nine months after his death (in 1582 ) they persuaded the emperor to accuse him of abusing power, posthumously take away titles, describe and confiscate the property of his family.
Notes
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ 1 2 Faceted Application of Subject Terminology
- ↑ 1 2 National Library of Australia - 1960.
- ↑ German National Library , Berlin State Library , Bavarian State Library , etc. Record # 120827212 // General Normative Control (GND) - 2012—2016.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 China Biographical Database
Literature
- Faces of the Middle Kingdom: Entertaining and informative plots of the medieval history of China / Bokshchanin A. A. , Nepomnin O. E .; Institute of Oriental Studies. - M .: Vost. Lit., 2002. - 430 s. : il., maps. - ISBN 5-02-018123-4 (in trans.), 2000 copies.