Ye Chunji
Encyclopedia
Ye Chunji was a Chinese county official during the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644) of China
.
province and served as a county official of Huian County in Fujian
province. Although topographic
features were part of maps in China for centuries, Ye was the first to base county maps on on-site topographical surveying
and observations. His career was sidelined for seventeen years after he became a victim of political vengeance. He came up with a model of county commerce with goods of greatest, great, and lesser importance—the latter being non-subsistence surplus goods that could be traded out of the county for commercial profit.
He issued an order to limit wedding expenses in the 1570s, stating "The frugal man with only one bar of silver currency can have something left over, whereas the extravagant man with a thousand can still not have enough". However, the elites of Huian county and others did not care much for fiscally conservative warnings such as this, and flaunted their wealth in silver.
finally assessed land taxes entirely in silver and not in grain. The middle level of importance in Ye's pyramid of county-level consumptionary goods were so-called "great" (zhong) products, which were mulberry
, cotton
, hemp
, and ramie
, the essential raw materials for local textile production. The lowest level in Ye's pyramid of goods were the "lesser" (ci) products, which were salt, cloth, vegetable oil, lumber, sugar, fruit, vegetables, fish, and livestock—all of which were traded out of the county by peddlers, itinerant retailers, or merchant wholesalers shipping large amounts of commercial goods.
Ye Chunji noted that most of these goods from his county made their way to the nearby prefectural
capital at Quanzhou
. He also noted that outsiders handled the trade in his county and many other Fujian county, which often led to profits being repatriated out of the local county. He did note, however, that linen produced from the county's production of hemp did generate profit that entered the county from outside. Historian Timothy Brook
writes that Ye's description of his county gives the impression that most counties in the Ming Dynasty relied on self-sufficient agriculture and textile production while they were largely unaffected by and disengaged with regional commodity networks between large urban markets.
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368–1644) of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Life and career
He was a native of GuangdongGuangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province and served as a county official of Huian County in Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province. Although topographic
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
features were part of maps in China for centuries, Ye was the first to base county maps on on-site topographical surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
and observations. His career was sidelined for seventeen years after he became a victim of political vengeance. He came up with a model of county commerce with goods of greatest, great, and lesser importance—the latter being non-subsistence surplus goods that could be traded out of the county for commercial profit.
He issued an order to limit wedding expenses in the 1570s, stating "The frugal man with only one bar of silver currency can have something left over, whereas the extravagant man with a thousand can still not have enough". However, the elites of Huian county and others did not care much for fiscally conservative warnings such as this, and flaunted their wealth in silver.
Model of county commerce
Ye Chunji came up with a ranking model for consumptionary products on the local level that could be applied to his county and many others in the empire. At the top of this pyramid was the "greatest" (zui) product, which was grain; this vital item of subsistence was not traded out of the county as a commercial item. Taxes were paid in grain throughout the Ming Dynasty, but as early as 1436 a portion of the grain tax was commuted to payments of silver instead; the 1581 Single Whip Reform of Zhang JuzhengZhang Juzheng
Zhang Juzheng , courtesy name: Shuda , pseudonym: Taiyue , was a powerful Grand Secretary in the Ming Dynasty under the Longqing and Wanli emperors. Zhang was born in Jiangling, Hubei province, China and died in Beijing....
finally assessed land taxes entirely in silver and not in grain. The middle level of importance in Ye's pyramid of county-level consumptionary goods were so-called "great" (zhong) products, which were mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
, and ramie
Ramie
Ramie is a flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern Asia. It is a herbaceous perennial growing to 1–2.5 m tall; the leaves are heart-shaped, 7–15 cm long and 6–12 cm broad, and white on the underside with dense small hairs—this gives it a silvery appearance;...
, the essential raw materials for local textile production. The lowest level in Ye's pyramid of goods were the "lesser" (ci) products, which were salt, cloth, vegetable oil, lumber, sugar, fruit, vegetables, fish, and livestock—all of which were traded out of the county by peddlers, itinerant retailers, or merchant wholesalers shipping large amounts of commercial goods.
Ye Chunji noted that most of these goods from his county made their way to the nearby prefectural
Prefecture (China)
The term Prefectures, or the more formal prefectural level divisions, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. Other than provincial level divisions, prefectural level divisions are not mentioned in the Chinese constitution...
capital at Quanzhou
Quanzhou
Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...
. He also noted that outsiders handled the trade in his county and many other Fujian county, which often led to profits being repatriated out of the local county. He did note, however, that linen produced from the county's production of hemp did generate profit that entered the county from outside. Historian Timothy Brook
Timothy Brook (historian)
Timothy James Brook , who writes as Timothy Brook and who has had many academic works published, is a distinguished historian specializing in the study of China...
writes that Ye's description of his county gives the impression that most counties in the Ming Dynasty relied on self-sufficient agriculture and textile production while they were largely unaffected by and disengaged with regional commodity networks between large urban markets.