Gong Shi

Gong Shi (Chinese: 宮市; pinyin: Gōng Shì)[lower-alpha 1] was a policy in ancient China during the reigns of emperors Dezong (唐德宗) and Shunzong (唐順宗) of the Tang dynasty in which the emperor would send eunuchs to civilian markets to purchase goods by force at very low prices.[1] This system was abolished by Reformists led by Wang Shuwen (王叔文) under the rule of Emperor Shunzong.

This article is about the Emperor's purchasing called "Gong Shi" in Chinese. For a type of stone also known as scholar's rocks, see Gongshi.
Gong Shi
Traditional Chinese宮市
Simplified Chinese宫市
Literal meaningthe Emperor's purchasing

History

Researches published by City University of Hong Kong and Fudan University show that the earliest record of Gong Shi can be traced back to 707, according to two biographic sketches of Emperor Zhongzong (Chinese: 唐中宗). At first, the Gong Shi was merely certain kind of imperial entertainment, until the period of the Emperor Xuanzong (Chinese: 唐玄宗), when the entertainment tended to become a commercial practice adopted to serve the need of the palace.[2]

Before the Zhenyuan (Chinese: 貞元) 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 (Chinese: 內中市買使; pinyin: nèizhōng shìmǎi shǐ), but later they were renamed the Envoy of Emperor's purchasing (Chinese: 宮市使; pinyin: gōngshì shǐ).[1]

At that time, the purchase and management of charcoal, 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 (Chinese: 木炭使; pinyin: mùtàn shǐ). 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.[2]

Because of this, the imperial family started sending eunuchs 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 (Chinese: 諫官; pinyin: jiǎn guān) often suggested that Emperor Dezong should abolish Gong Shi, he did not do so.[1]

Implementation

The implementation of Gong Shi basically involved shops operated by eunuchs within the palace. Taking advantage of imperial power 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 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.[3]

At the time, there could hundreds of people buying goods at low prices by force at various markets in the capital city Chang'an (Chinese: 長安) – often a few hundred Qian (Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián) 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.[1]

The Chronicle of Shunzong period (Chinese: 順宗實錄; pinyin: shùnzōng shílù) written by Han Yu (Chinese: 韓愈) recorded such an incident: while a peasant was going to the town carrying firewood 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 of juan (Chinese: 絹; pinyin: juān), a type of silk product. The eunuch then ordered the peasant to transport the firewood to the imperial palace using his donkey and even asked for an Entrance tip (Chinese: 門戶錢; pinyin: ménhù qián). 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.[1]

Although historical documents recording such events in detail can hardly be found today, scholastic researches generally used the terms rob (Chinese: 搶), seize (Chinese: 奪), pillage (Chinese: 掠奪) or take by force (Chinese: 搶奪) in Chinese to describe the eunuchs' misdeeds negatively.[3][4][5]

Abolition

Shortly after his accession, Emperor Shunzong began to reappoint the Reformists, the leader of whom was Wang Shuwen. The Reformists implemented a series of policies, including the abolition of Gong Shi and the Scoundrels in the Five Workshops (zh:五坊小兒, pinyin: wǔfǎng xiǎoér), which acted as tools to oppress the civilian population.[6]

Criticism

Sinologist Chen Yinke said "Gong Shi was the worst policy in the late Emperor Dezong period" in his book the Draft of Album Verses of Yuanbai (Chinese: 元白詩箋證稿; pinyin: yuánbái shījàn zhènggǎo).[7]

Han Yu wrote in the Chronicle of Shunzong period: "although called Gong Shi, it was actually a robbery."[1]

Modern Chinese scholar Zhang Lifan 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."[8]

Literature

苦宮市也...一車炭，千余斤，宮使驅將惜不得。
半匹紅綃一丈綾，系向牛頭充炭直。

白居易，《賣炭翁》。

In the poem the Old Charcoal Seller (Chinese: 賣炭翁; pinyin: mài tàn wēng), the famous ancient Chinese poet Bai Juyi (Chinese: 白居易) 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" (Chinese: 苦宮市也; pinyin: kǔ gōngshì yě).[9]

  • Bai Juyi, the Old Charcoal Seller
  • Han Yu, the Chronicle of Shunzong period

See also
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  • The Scoundrels in the Five Workshops (zh:五坊小兒), an offensive word once used to describe workers in the five imperial workshops.

Notes
Note
  1. Gōng, 'Emperor' (lit. 'palace') + Shì, 'buy' = Gōng Shì, 'the Emperor's purchasing'
References
  1. Han Yu (韓愈). 《順宗實錄》卷二 [Chapter 2, the Chronicle of Shunzong period] (in Chinese). 舊事：宮中有要市外物，令官吏主之，與人為市，隨給其直。貞元末，以宦者為使，抑買人物，稍不如本估。末年不復行文書，置「白望」數百人於兩市並要鬧坊，閱人所賣物，但稱「宮市」，即歛手付與，真偽不復可辨，無敢問所從來。其論價之高下者，率用百錢物買人直數千錢物，仍索進奉門戶並腳價錢。將物詣市，至有空手而歸者。名為「宮市」，而實奪之。嘗有農夫以驢負柴至城賣，遇宦者稱「宮市」取之，纔與絹數尺，又就索門戶，仍邀以驢送至內。農夫涕泣，以所得絹付之，不肯受，曰：「須汝驢送柴至內。」農夫曰：「我有父母妻子，待此然後食。今以柴與汝，不取直而歸，汝尚不肯，我有死而已！」遂毆宦者。街吏擒以聞，詔黜此宦者，而賜農夫絹十匹，然「宮市」亦不為之改易。諫官御史數奏疏諫，不聽。上初登位，禁之。至大赦，又明禁。
  2. He Zhong (賀忠) (n.d.). 〈賣炭翁〉新證 [New Proofs about the Old Charcoal Seller]. Chinese Culture Quarterly (九州學林) (in Chinese). Chinese Civilisation Centre, City University of Hong Kong (10): 195. ISSN 1729-9756. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  3. Li Shutong (李樹桐) (1995). 《隋唐史别裁》第九章〈經濟〉 [Chapter 9, the Economy – A Selection of Sui and Tang dynasty] (in Chinese). Commercial Press of Taiwan (臺灣商務印書館). p. 383. ISBN 9570511257.
  4. Lin Tianwei (林天蔚); Joseph Wong (黄约瑟) (1987). 唐宋史研究 [Study of the History of the Tang and Song dynasty] (in Chinese). Centre of Asian Studies, the University of Hong Kong (香港大學亞洲研究中心). p. 17.
  5. Wang Shounan (王壽南) (2004). 唐代的宦官 [Eunuchs in the Tang dynasty] (in Chinese). Commercial Press of Taiwan (臺灣商務印書館). p. 204. ISBN 9570518987.
  6. Fu Lecheng (傅樂成) (1993). 《中國通史 隋唐五代史》第十二章〈宦官與黨爭〉 [Chapter 12, Eunuchs and Conflicts between Parties, the General history of China – the history of Sui, Tang, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period] (in Chinese).
  7. Chen Yinke (陳寅恪). 元白詩箋證稿 [the Draft of Album Verses of Yuanbai] (in Chinese). ISBN 9868574781.
  8. Zhang Lifan (章立凡) (August 19, 2010). "唐代宦官的欺市與擾民" [the Infestation and Disturbance caused by Eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty] (in Chinese). People.com.cn, People's Daily. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  9. Bai Juyi (白居易). "《賣炭翁》" [the Old Charcoal Seller] (in Chinese). Chiculture.net. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
Bibliography
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