China's history of economic thought. Briefly describe the main contents of Confucius' financial management view?

First, the financial management concepts of "courtesy", "benevolence" and "righteousness"

Rites, that is, rites of the week, are carried out in an orderly manner by "Jun Jun, minister, father and son". Confucius regarded The Rites of Zhou as a perfect standard, the fundamental law of the operation of the country and society in all aspects, and the "avenue" and "right path" he pursued all his life. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the rise of the feudal landlord class caused serious damage to the "ceremony" under slavery. Faced with this situation, Confucius thought that "benevolence" and "righteousness" must be paid attention to in order to "return the ceremony". Therefore, on the one hand, Confucius opposes all acts that undermine "rites" and the reform measures of the emerging landlord class; On the one hand, it advocates "benevolence" and "righteousness", hoping that people can know the new "Zhou Li" by revisiting the reasons of "benevolence" and "righteousness". The report said, "Zi Han talks about profit, life and benevolence." Because saying "benefit" will affect the spiritual image of Confucius' benevolence and righteousness, Confucius never said "benefit", but only said it in a measured way, that is, he could not cross the boundary between benevolence and righteousness, that is, Confucius paid attention to financial management on the basis of benevolence and righteousness. Confucius advocated that financial management should be treated differently. A gentleman knows righteousness, then he has money. I don't know how to manage money, so I manage money for him. However, a country's wealth is irrelevant, as long as it is not reformed, it can be in accordance with the norms of "courtesy", "benevolence" and "righteousness".

This is Confucius' view of financial management.

The second is the fiscal revenue proposition of "collecting from thin"

Starting from the norms of "courtesy", "benevolence" and "righteousness", Confucius advocated "thin collection" in terms of fiscal revenue, supported "relying on one's own land", and opposed the collection methods of "initial tax mu" and "land-based collection" in Lu State. "Initial tax mu" means "paying taxes by mu", and paying taxes according to the amount of land; "Land-based taxation" is based on the area and fertility of the land. In essence, they recognized the private ownership of land, replacing the well-field system and the tax system of "relying on land" in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In Confucius' view, "relying on local strength" means fixing farmers on the land in the form of labor rent, which can best guarantee the majesty of "ceremony", maintain the stability of "country" and "home" and ensure the order of "gentlemen" and "savages". The collection method of "the first tax mu" and "urging the levy to be in the same place" is exactly what Confucius said. "Ji Sun wanted to use the land tax" and sent a special envoy to consult Confucius. Confucius didn't answer face to face. After the messenger left, he said to disciple You Ran, "A gentleman's trip is also a ceremony. Take its thickness, its things and its utensils." In that case, hills are enough. If you don't pay attention to etiquette, but you are insatiable, it is not enough to use land tax. And if Zi Jisun wants to act according to law, the code of the Duke of Zhou is there. If you want to go, why go? "This sentence shows that Confucius opposed to land as the object of taxation, thinking that this method does not conform to the" ceremony ",and the method of collection that does not conform to the" ceremony "is

"insatiable greed." Then, in Confucius' view, what kind of collection method is in line with "Li" and "Duke of Zhou Code"? The best explanation is given in The Analects of Confucius: Mourning the public asks whether there is: "Hunger in the year, is it enough?" If there is a saying: "Go to the dishes completely!" Yue: "Secondly, I am still insufficient; How about it? " He said: "People are enough, but who is missing? If the people are insufficient, are you enough? " Obviously, the essence of what Confucius said is to oppose the system of taking land as the object of expropriation, to restore the thorough tax payment method under the mining field system, and of course to oppose the tax collection of two ten thousandths. At the same time, Confucius was furious when he learned that Ran Qiu was managing money for Ji's family. "Her family is rich in the duke of Zhou, (ran) begging, attached to the benefit. Confucius said, "It's not my disciple, but the boy plays drums. "The first sentence is Zhang Shicheng who attacked Ran Taiwei for discipline; Second, Ji is rich because Ji's tax rate is two ten thousandths, twice that of the Duke of Zhou. Third, because Ran Qiu manages her family's finances, a noble's wealth exceeds that of the Duke of Zhou, which is not in line with the "ceremony". So Confucius lambasted Ran Qiu. In a word, Confucius believes that "there are times in this life, and gathering without times is also violent." "

Third, the concept of "saving" fiscal expenditure.

The core of "courtesy" advocated by Confucius is "gentleness, kindness, courtesy, frugality and concession", among which "frugality" is the most important embodiment of "benevolence" in Confucius' financial management proposition, and even has a certain influence on the whole Confucian culture in later generations. "One country is a thousand times, respecting things and believing, loving others thrifty, making people timely" is in line with the general principle of "benevolence". Saving financial expenditure, cherishing people's resources and helping people not to delay farming are all concrete financial measures of benevolent government. Confucius never denied the importance of national revenue and expenditure to the country. Confucius did not advocate the rule of law, but chose the way of "morality, courtesy, shame and preciousness", that is, managing the state's fiscal expenditure activities with "morality" and "courtesy". In the ritual activities of sacrifice, Confucius thought that "ceremony is better than luxury", and sacrifice was a very important activity in feudal countries. In this respect, we can see "frugality" from Confucius' admiration for "frugality". Confucius also praised those who advocated "frugality". "Lu people are long-term governments. Min Zikai said: If they are still consistent, why change them?" Confucius said, "If you don't say something, you will do it. If you say something, you will mean something." . Lu wants to build a new vault. Confucius disciple Min Ziqian said, How about using the old one? Why build a new one? Confucius praised: this person does not like to talk on weekdays, and when he opens his mouth, he must be very pertinent. High praise can also explain Confucius' support for "frugality". In the Spring and Autumn Period when material conditions were relatively limited, Confucius, like most thinkers of his time, strongly opposed luxury. He believes that "luxury means no grandchildren, frugality means reality, and it is better to have no grandchildren", which shows that Confucius has raised the idea of "frugality" to the level of human moral quality. Luxury, corruption and squandering people's blood and sweat are the nature of the exploiting classes, but a few political representatives of the exploiting classes can limit greed to some extent for the sake of long-term stability in their own world. To some extent, the "frugality" policy of the ruling class is conducive to social and economic stability, objectively conducive to the enhancement of national strength, the stability of social life and social reproduction.

Fourth, the proposition of income distribution of "storing wealth for the people"

When Zi Gong answered his disciple Zi Gong's question about how to deal with political affairs, Confucius said, "Enough food, enough soldiers and people's trust." It can be seen that between civilian food and armaments, Confucius put civilian food first. He believes that we must first ensure that the people have food, and then we can talk about the need to ensure armaments. At that time, the traditional view was that "national affairs are obedience", and ensuring the need for armaments is an overwhelming event, so it should also be the basic principle of finance. Confucius clearly put the need to ensure armaments after maintaining people's basic living standards, which is a change in the history of financial thought. The formation of this view is inseparable from Confucius' long-term life among working people in his early years and his understanding of workers' sufferings. Ran Qiu, a disciple of Confucius, said, "People are sufficient, which is better or worse? If the people are insufficient, are you enough? " Actually, it was Confucius' idea. This means that only when the people are rich can the country have sufficient tax sources; If the people are completely exploited, there is no guarantee of fiscal revenue. Confucius believes that it is a cost-free thing for rulers to let the people have plenty of food and clothing and maintain a certain degree of prosperity. When Confucius passed by Wei State and saw its large population, he could not help but blurt out his admiration: "What a pity!" You Ran asked, "What's the point?" Confucius replied: "Rich". In addition, Confucius also said: "What is important is: people, food, mourning and sacrifice". These remarks all reflect Confucius' thought of saving money for the people. In addition to the proposition of "storing wealth for the people", Confucius also put forward that "Qiu also knows that those who have a state-owned family do not suffer from inequality because of widowhood, and do not worry about poverty." No poverty, no poverty, no peace, no inclination. ""If you are tolerant, you will win the public. If you believe, you will do anything you want. Sensitive is meritorious. If you are fair, you will say it. "In Confucius' view, no matter how much national wealth is distributed, the distribution result must be fair, so as to convince the people. When Zi Gong asked about politics and Confucius, Confucius said, "Haste makes waste. Haste makes waste; Seeing small profits can't be a big deal. " It can be seen that Confucius not only pays attention to the fairness of national income distribution, but also pays attention to the coordination and sustainability of income distribution methods. The cautious choice of "quick success and instant benefit" and the dialectical judgment of "meager profit" are essentially exploring a sustainable income distribution method.