Ancient Taxes and Corvée
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
As an editor, I believe the book's strength lies in balancing scholarship and readability. It avoids piling up overly technical terms while ensuring rigor and depth, so that non-specialist readers can build a basic framework for understanding ancient public finance. Its treatment of major reforms such as the "two-tax system" and the "single whip law" not only explains their content but focuses on their social causes, the pros and cons of implementation and their far-reaching impact on people's livelihoods; this dual perspective of "institution and society" is especially valuable. For readers who want to understand the economic logic behind the rise and fall of ancient Chinese dynasties, or to explore the burdens on peasants and the governance challenges of traditional society, this book offers a solid starting point. It shows us that taxation was never merely cold numbers, but the most concentrated expression of state capacity, social structure and the hardships of the people.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- History enthusiasts interested in ancient Chinese history and socioeconomic structure
- Students in economic history or fiscal history who need an introductory or supplementary text
- Creators of cultural and historical content who want a deeper grasp of institutional background
- Readers who like to think about state governance and the rise and fall of dynasties from the angle of institutional change
Not a good fit for
- Popular history readers looking for light stories or tales of famous figures
- Professional researchers expecting highly original scholarship or cutting-edge theoretical discussion
Reading tips
- Reading in dynastic order is recommended: first build an overall impression along the timeline, then compare the tax systems that interest you.
- Reading alongside a map can help you form a spatial sense of the core economic regions and tax-heavy areas of each period, and understand the relationship between geography and public finance.
- The book contains many proper terms and institutional names; on first encounter you need not memorize them all; understanding their logic of evolution and core meaning matters more.
About the publisher
Founded in 1982, Modern Press is a Chinese publisher that serves general readers across a diverse range of subjects. Judging from its catalog, its publishing focuses on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, psychological research and application, popular science, and modern poetry, along with history, biography, and children's books. The Book of Songs, the illustrated vernacular edition of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, The Complete Poems of Dai Wangshu, and Buddhism in the Vegetable Roots reflect efforts to make traditional culture and poetry accessible; works by Carl Gustav Jung such as The Development of Personality and Understanding Your Psychological Type, together with titles from the Ivy International Education Alliance, show sustained attention to psychology and educational reading; and Stephen Hawking's works and the illustrated two-volume Brief History of Everything and A Brief History of Time indicate a commitment to popular science. Its authors include figures such as Qu Wanli, Xu Ke, Dai Wangshu, and Jung, and its publishing emphasizes retelling classics and accessible, illustrated presentation. Because public information is limited, this summary is based only on the titles in our catalog.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序言 古代税赋
- 上古时期 初税亩田
- 夏商西周赋税与徭役
- 春秋时期的税制
- 战国时期的税制
- 先秦时期的徭役征发
- 中古时期 赋役成制
- 秦代完整的赋役制度
- 汉代体系化赋税制度
- 汉代减轻徭役的措施
- 三国时期赋税与徭役
- 两晋赋税制度与徭役
- 南北朝时期赋役制度
- 隋代赋税制度与徭役
- 唐代赋税制度与徭役
- 近古时期 顺势建制
- 五代十国的赋役制度
- 宋代赋税制度及徭役
- 辽西夏金赋税和徭役
- 元代赋税和徭役制度
- 近世时期 应时改化
- 明代赋税制度及转化
- 明代征役机制的建立
- 清代定额化赋税制度
- 清代独特的旗人兵役
FAQ
What is the book's Douban rating?
What is the background of the author Yi Shucheng?
Is this book suitable for readers with no economics background?
Comments
Find this book
This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Yi Shucheng is an author with limited publicly available information; the name appears in Chinese book credits, but details such as biography, nationality, and dates of birth and death cannot presently be verified. The collection contains nine of the author's works, spanning common categories including culture, inspirational growth, and social science. Representative titles include Songs of the Luan and Feng, Ancient Taxes and Corvée, and Rule of Law Under Heaven. Judging from the titles and subjects, the writing touches on traditional culture, institutional knowledge, and personal development, covering both ancient tax and labor systems and ideas of rule of law and regional culture. Some titles recur across entries, suggesting related themes may have been published in multiple editions or series. Lacking the author's own statements or outside commentary, a specific assessment of style and readership impact is difficult, and this profile can only sketch a general picture based on the works themselves.
