The Song Dynasty continued to implement the policy of heavy agriculture and suppression of business, but why the economy is so developed?

Although the Song Dynasty continued to implement the policy of agricultural and commercial policies, but the policy of "suppressing business" has changed. And its economic development, in addition to the development of domestic commerce, and agriculture, handicrafts, overseas trade development is inseparable.

(a) the Song dynasty's policy of business suppression has been loosened, so that business has been a rapid development. With the successive dynasties, "political businessmen into the ranks of pariahs, economic heavy levy merchants rent and tax" of the overall suppression of business policy is different, although the Song Dynasty also implement the national monopoly ban on the system, and will ban the scope of the ban on the ban on the traditional salt, wine, tea, alum, iron, coal, spices, treasure goods are listed as a ban on the species, but other commercial activities are not subject to geographical or temporal restrictions. Since the inception of the Song Dynasty, people were called upon to "accumulate more gold, market fields and houses in order to leave their children and grandchildren, and sing and dance in order to end their days", "especially the first financial management", and issued the edict "the first thing in politics, financial management is urgent". The private economy is stimulated by these policies, a large number of farmers liberated from the land into the commercial handicrafts, so that the commercial tide of prosperity, rapid development of trade and commerce soared, creating unprecedented wealth and prosperity. And paper money gradually replaced the copper money as the main medium of exchange, the rapid development of commerce in the Song dynasty played a driving role. Due to the import of goods, a large amount of copper money and silver flowed out of the Song Dynasty, causing a shortage of hard currency. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, paper money began to be used in Sichuan instead of iron money, and was later applied to the whole country, which was called Jiaozi (交子), the earliest paper money in the world. The emergence of the cross, breaking the commercial exchange "hard currency 'shortage of bottlenecks, to facilitate and promote the wide range of commercial exchanges, so that the Song Dynasty rapid commercial development.

(ii) Overseas trade developed. Song Dynasty, the maritime industry, shipbuilding outstanding achievements, developed overseas trade, and the South Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and other regions of more than 50 countries to do business. The Song Dynasty successively set up the Hublot Department in Guangzhou, Lin'an Province, Quanzhou, Zhenjiang Province, Pingjiang Province, Shanghai and other places to specialize in the management of overseas trade. In the third year of Yuanfeng, the government of the Song Dynasty enacted the Guangzhou City Hublot Law, which was the first trade law in Chinese history. In the third year of Yuanfeng, the Song government enacted the Law of Guangzhou Municipal Ships, which was the first trade law in Chinese history. Each foreign trade port also set up a "Fan Market" in the city, specializing in the sale of foreign commodities; "Fan Fang" for foreigners to live in; "Fan School" for foreigners to educate their children. The government also specially formulated the penalty for crimes committed by foreign merchants. There are still many tombs of foreign merchants in Guangzhou and Quanzhou, which is a proof of the prosperity of overseas trade at that time, especially Quanzhou became the world's largest port and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road in the late Southern Song Dynasty. Song dynasty from a large number of imported goods through the Hublot Department of the tax, from the Northern Song Dynasty Huangyou period of 530,000 guan, to the Southern Song Dynasty Shaoxing period has reached 2 million guan, accounting for about six percent of China's financial revenue, the prosperity of the Song dynasty played an important role.

(C) the development of science and technology in the Song Dynasty to promote the rapid growth of industry and handicrafts. Song Dynasty, in the whole social economy, culture, science and technology has made great progress, the two Song scientific and technological achievements not only become a peak in the history of science and technology in ancient China, but also in the world at that time in a leading position, to promote the development of human civilization of China's four great inventions, in the Song Dynasty has been improved and applied. The four great inventions of China were improved and applied in the Song Dynasty. The shipbuilding technology of the Song Dynasty was the best in the world at that time. The progress of science and technology for the development of industry and handicrafts in the Song Dynasty provided the conditions for its mining, silk, hemp, woolen textile industry, porcelain industry, papermaking, shipbuilding, etc. have significant development.

(D) rapid development of agriculture in the Song Dynasty. Song Dynasty water conservancy, large areas of open land, and focus on the improvement of agricultural tools, rapid agricultural development. Many new forms of fields appeared in the Song Dynasty, the transformation of terraces in the mountains, the use of river scouring formed by the use of silt field development silt field, sandy silt development of the seaside sand field, in the lake to do the wooden rows, the top of the mud into the ground into a shelf field, etc., a substantial increase in the arable land area of the Song Dynasty. To 996 AD, the national arable land area of three million one hundred and twenty-two thousand five hundred and two hectares, to the Tianxi five years, that is, in 1021 increased to five million two hundred and forty-seven thousand five hundred hectares. Various new farming tools appeared in the Song Dynasty, such as the treadle plow, which replaced oxen, and the harnessed horse, which was used for rice planting. The appearance of new tools also made crop yields grow dramatically. The average farmland could yield one stone per mu per year, while in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions it could reach two to three stones per year. At the same time, the Song Dynasty introduced some northern crops of corn, wheat, millet, and beans to the south, leading to rapid agricultural development in the Yangtze and Pearl River valleys. The innovation of agriculture in the Song Dynasty made the agricultural economy unprecedentedly prosperous.

The economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty, in addition to the contribution of business, agriculture, printing, papermaking, silk weaving, porcelain industry, etc. have reached a high degree of prosperity. The industries of industry, agriculture and commerce went hand in hand, making the economy of the Song Dynasty reach an unprecedented level of development.