In the 12th year of King Zhuang of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (685 BC), Qi Huangong succeeded to the throne and appointed Guan Zhong as a wealth manager to help manage state affairs. Guan Zhong made full use of the rich sea salt resources of Qi State and the state administrative power to establish the official salt management system. Its specific contents and measures are: civilian property and official income; Official traffic; Official sales.
From the Qin Dynasty to the early Han Dynasty, both the government and the private sector could manufacture and sell salt.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, due to the long-term war with Xiongnu, the government's finances were tight; Moreover, many private businessmen get rich by making iron and salt. In order to generate income and crack down on Wu Wang, Liu Bi and other kings who made their fortune by making salt, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stipulated that official tools must be used, and salt was manufactured, transported and sold by the government. Anyone who dares to cook salt with a piece of cast iron will be punished by biting his left toe and sinking into the vessel. During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court held a special debate on the franchise of salt, wine and iron, and its contents were edited into The Theory of Salt and Iron. During the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, salt was changed from monopoly to taxation. After the dispute between salt and iron, the salt monopoly was partially abolished. During the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty, the salt monopoly resumed again. From the Sui Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty, the salt monopoly system was abolished, and after the Anshi Rebellion, the salt monopoly was resumed.
The salt method was the best in the Five Dynasties, and smuggling a catty of salt could be the true method.
In the Tang Dynasty, there were thirteen prisons in Huaibei, which were smugglers. Smugglers have to be beheaded, and even relevant officials have to sit down. In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the management of salt was lax. In the first year of Gan Yuan (AD 758), it was changed to the official camp. In the first year of Baoying (76 1), the Salt and Iron Company changed Ada into a private manufacturing, which was purchased by the government and monopolized by the government. This reform has increased the government's tax revenue. For example, in 778, salt revenue accounted for as much as half of the total government revenue.
After the Song Dynasty, the government and salt merchants were in a state of semi-cooperation and semi-competition. In the Song Dynasty, the supervision was a little wider, and the standard of beheading was three pounds or ten pounds. Generally, salt merchants benefit from the monopoly position of the government, which makes them more profitable than other merchants. At the same time, despite the severe criminal punishment, smuggling salt is still banned repeatedly. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, the empire established nine borders to defend the north. Due to the difficulty of logistics supply in Jiubian, in order to alleviate this burden, Emperor Hongwu reached an agreement with Shanxi merchants to transport grain to several border fortresses such as Datong and Juyongguan in exchange for the qualification of Shanxi merchants to legally sell "official salt". Later, Shanxi merchants not only got the introduction of salt from Hedong Yanchi, but also got the introduction of salt from Huaibei.
In the Ming Dynasty, if you wanted to sell salt legally, businessmen had to get salt from the government first. Merchants bring salt to the salt field to raise salt, and then sell salt in the designated salt sales area. According to the "steel-salt system" of the Ming Dynasty, merchants holding salt and lead were divided into 10 by region. Each class contains 200,000 tons of salt lead, and each lead is 300 kilograms of salt, or six cents and four cents of silver, which is called "Woben". In addition, the tax is three taels of silver and the minister (transportation) is three taels of silver. Named after "Shengde transcends the ages and defends the wind and nine walls", those who have not entered the class have no right to operate the salt industry. Shi Ming Yan Zhengyi pointed out that capital was very concentrated in the salt industry at that time. "There are not less than 32 million people living in Guangling, and the annual income can reach 9 million." This is not the transaction amount of "smuggling salt". In the Ming Dynasty, the national average annual tax revenue was only "12 million". The important role of the introduction of salt is obvious.
During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, the government of the Republic of China once monopolized salt.
People's Republic of China (PRC) has implemented the salt franchise so far. The government's explanation is to balance the price of salt and ensure the quality of iodization.