Mainly during the period of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty. Because of the policy of "rest and recuperation", "the rule of cultural scenery" has been realized.

The policy of recuperation was a national policy in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, which was formulated by Liu Bang and his ministers. After Emperor Gaozu, several generations of emperors, especially Wen and Jing, vigorously promoted the policy of recuperation. Even in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, due to the long-term war with Xiongnu in the later period, the number of households in the country dropped sharply, so the policy of recuperation was adopted in the last years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the following years of Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan. Moreover, this policy has almost become a national policy adopted at the beginning of the establishment of successive dynasties. It can be seen that the rest and recuperation policy has become a pure economic policy and one of the means for the state to adjust the social economy. The so-called "rest and recuperation" refers to the lenient punishment and thin tax policy implemented by the rulers in order to safeguard the people's strength, increase the population, restore and develop the economy and stabilize the rule after social unrest or long-term war. So why did the rulers and their successors in the early Han Dynasty implement the policy of recuperation?

1, reason

(1) The rulers in the early Han Dynasty personally experienced the process of the demise of the Qin Dynasty, and learning from the lessons of the Qin Dynasty was one of the reasons why they adopted the policy of recuperation. Liu Bang himself experienced the peasant war, and he became emperor through peasant uprising. He personally felt the great power of the peasant war and realized that the demise of the Qin Dynasty was caused by exorbitant taxes, corvees and punishments. Heavy taxes in Qin dynasty accounted for 2/3 of farmers' harvest; Farmers must also bear heavy corvee and military service. According to historical records, the population of the Qin Dynasty was about 20 million, and the total number of corvees and military service was 23 million. The construction of Epang Palace and Lishan Tomb alone recruited more than 700,000 people. The criminal law of the Qin Dynasty was very strict. There are many kinds of death penalty, such as beheading, cutting waist, burying alive, smashing cars and so on. , as well as the destruction of the human body's physical criminal law, such as sitting together, implicating others, and "Yi San Zu". In this case, how can the people not complain, how can the social economy not collapse, and how can the Qin Dynasty not perish? Therefore, in the early Han Dynasty, the rulers learned the lesson of Qin's death, listened to opinions, lightened punishment, reduced unjust imprisonment, and made the official administration clear.

(2) The depression of social economy also forced it to adopt the policy of recuperation. Sima Qian, a famous historian in the Western Han Dynasty in China, wrote in Historical Records of Pinghuai:

Han xing, following the disadvantages of Qin dynasty, was short of money because his husband joined the army and turned to grain, and his homework was dramatic. Since the son of heaven could not have a rank, he rode with the army or rode in an ox cart, and his people had no cover. ..... while unscrupulous people who pursue profits accumulate surplus business to occupy the market ... A horse is worth 100 gold if it costs 10,000 yuan.

This is the social appearance of Sima Qian when he was just established in the Western Han Dynasty, mainly the social and economic situation, and the country was desolate and dilapidated everywhere. Lack of materials, even the emperor can't get four horses of the same color, so the generals can only take ox carts; Food and horses are extremely expensive. The price of 1 stone rice is as high as 1 ten thousand yuan, and the price of a horse needs 100 two gold. You can imagine how many people have been displaced and buried in the vast territory. In the face of the broken social economy, how to consolidate and maintain the rule of the Western Han Dynasty? It is an urgent problem for the rulers of the Western Han Dynasty.

Based on the above two reasons, in order to restore social economy, stimulate the development of productive forces and consolidate feudal rule, the policy of recuperation was implemented in the early Han Dynasty. So what measures are there?

2. Measures

Liu Bang period of Emperor Gaozu: (1) Labor returned to agriculture. Demobilize a large number of soldiers, give them a certain number of fields, and exempt them from corvee for a certain period of time; Ordering fugitives to return to their original places and restore their original land and houses; Release people who sell themselves as slaves because of hunger as civilians. (2) In view of the serious consequences caused by the abuse of people's power in the Qin Dynasty, the Han government cherished people's power and shortened people's service time. It is stipulated that men in the whole country will begin to serve at the age of 23, and they will be exempted from military service at the age of 56. Money can be used instead of service. (3) Tax book, the land tax is stipulated as 15 tax (that is, the government collects land tax from landlords every year, accounting for115 of the harvest). (4) Encourage childbearing. In order to increase the number of households in the country, the Han government promulgated the imperial edict of "people's childbearing" in the seventh year of Emperor Gaozu (200 BC), so that more children can be exempted from tax for two years. This policy greatly increased the population in the early Han Dynasty.

After Emperor Gaozu, several generations of emperors, especially Wenjing (Emperor Wenjing was in office for 39 years), vigorously promoted the policy of recuperation. Main contents: (1) Attach importance to agricultural production. Further implement the policy of "light tax and heavy reward", reduce the land rent to 30 tax and reward those who work hard on the land; Emperor Wen reduced poll tax and corvee and took measures to rest with the people. (2) Promote frugality. For example, Wendi took the lead in advocating: canceling the construction of expensive terraces; Leaving a will before he died, advocating that his funeral should be simple. (3) Lighten the punishment. Emperor Wen abolished the method of relatives sitting together and replaced the corporal punishment of residual limbs with whipping (beating with bamboo boards); Jingdi reduced the whipping again.

By comparing with Qin dynasty in taxation, corvee and punishment, it is concluded that the tyranny of Qin dynasty led to the poverty of the people. In the Qin dynasty, farmers had to hand over more than two-thirds of their crops to the state. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the emperor gave a small sum of money to persuade farmers, and the land rent was 15 tax 1 tax in the era of Emperor Gaozu, and 30 tax 1 tax in the era of Emperor Wendi. The corvee has been reduced a lot, and farmers have enough time to engage in agricultural production; The criminal law is not as harsh as the criminal law of the Qin dynasty, and it is easy to be killed. ……

So what is the effect of the recuperation policy in the Han Dynasty?

3. Effectiveness

During the Emperor Gaozu period, with the implementation of the policy of recuperation, the social economy of the Western Han Dynasty was restored and developed, and the feudal ruling order of the Han Dynasty was stabilized and consolidated. During the Wenjing period, the social economy rebounded in an all-round way, and there was a situation of managing the world-the rule of Wenjing, which laid a good foundation for the prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the social outlook of the Western Han Dynasty took on a new look, and its reputation spread all over the world. Sima Qian's Historical Records. The Book of Pinghuai reflects the scene when the national strength was strong after the policy of recuperation was implemented by Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty:

It's been several years now. For more than 70 years, the country had nothing to do except floods and droughts. The people have given enough to their families, and they are all full, while the state treasury has more money. There is too much money in the capital to teach. Chen Xiangyin, the millet in Taicang, overflows and is too rotten to eat. There are horses in the streets and alleys, and there are groups of buildings, …

This is completely different from the scene described above, which truly reflects the history of the Western Han Dynasty from ruins to gradual prosperity and economic development.