QA回答：为什么中国古代商人不受尊重？

George Hu
A very good question that could be answered with as much detail or as briefly as possible. For a quick answer, I would have to agree with Kevin Anderson.

一个非常好的问题，可以详细回答，也可以简短回答。如果快速回答，我不得不赞同凯文·安德森的观点。

Kevin Anderson's answer to Why were the merchants not respected in ancient China?

凯文·安德森对“为什么古代中国商人不被尊重？”的回答：
There are in fact some “big words” regarding this policy in ancient China, it is called 重农抑商 (promote farmer, suppress merchants).
事实上，在中国古代，关于这项政策有一些“大词”，那就是“重农抑商”（重视农业，抑制商业）。

Or in English, Physiocracy vs Mercantilism.

或者用英语来说，就是重农主义与重商主义的对立。

Traditionally, agriculture was seen as the foundation of society, because food production was tied to agriculture. “If one man did not farm, that meant someone had to produce more food to supplement him.” Conversely, merchants traded items for profit, and this did not add wealth into system. If all men became merchants, then all men would eventually starve due to having no net production.

传统上，农业被视为社会的基础，因为食物生产与农业息息相关。“如果一个人不耕种，那就意味着其他人必须生产更多的食物来供养他。”相反，商人通过贸易商品来获取利润，这并没有为系统增加财富。如果所有人都成为商人，那么最终所有人都会因为没有净生产而饿死。

(A very obscure piece of trivia. This particular game is Street Fighter IV. In the Korean stage, there is a huge sign in the background written in Chinese/Hanja: 農者天下之大本, “Agriculture is the greatest foundation in the world.” This was quoted by Emperor Wen of Han (203 – 157 BCE) who promoted agriculture and reduction of taxation to farmers.)
（一个非常冷门的知识点。这款游戏是《街头霸王IV》。在韩国关卡中，背景中有一个巨大的中文/韩文招牌写着：农者天下之大本，“农业是天下最大的根本。”这句话引自汉文帝（公元前203-公元前157年），他提倡农业并减轻农民的税收。）

Now, onto a slightly more sinister reason.

现在，再来说一个略显阴暗的原因。

Farmers were more easily manipulated and controlled in the grand system of the Empire, but merchants less so.

在帝国的宏大体系中，农民更容易被操纵和控制，而商人则不然。
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Farming was always seen as honest work. While it did not require as much knowledge, it made people more content to live of their land. From a management POV, farmers were also more able to be controlled, because they were effectively locked onto their land, so in a way, the government could use the people of the land as their resources more effectively. Whenever the Empire needed to make large scale migrations, they could easily do so with promises of land.

农业一直被视为诚实本份的工作。虽然它不需要太多的知识，但它使人们更满足于靠自己的土地生活。从管理的角度来看，农民也更容易被控制，因为他们实际上被束缚在土地上，所以在某种程度上，政府可以更有效地利用土地上的人民作为资源。每当帝国需要进行大规模的人口迁移时，他们很容易通过承诺土地来实现这一点。

Merchants, on the other hand, were less easy to manipulate. They were required to travel frequently to make money from the different supply and demand of different regions, and make their profit through such actions. The accumulation of excess wealth was not helpful to the state, as it widened the ancient equivalent of the Gini coefficient. Farmers were usually the ones who became financially exploited, and they represented the largest population of people. Therefore, merchants were also somewhat seen as a cause for social unrest. There’s even a Chinese idiom: “无商不奸” (there are no merchants who are not treacherous)
另一方面，商人不太容易被操纵。他们需要经常旅行，从不同地区不同的供需关系中赚钱，并通过这些行为获利。过多的财富积累对国家不利，因为它扩大了古代基尼系数的等效指标。农民通常是经济上被剥削的对象，他们占人口的大多数。因此，商人也被某种程度上视为社会动荡的原因。中国谚语中有一句就叫做“无商不奸”。

Han Feizi (280 – 233 BCE) the legalism philosopher, outright labelled them as Five Vermin of society.

法家哲学家韩非子（公元前280-公元前233年）直接将他们称为社会的“五蠹”。

(The “Five Vermin” that Han Feizi referred to in this chapter of his book were: Confucian scholars, heroic vigilantes, diplomatic negotiators, draft dodgers, and merchants.)

（韩非子在其著作的这一章中提到的“五蠹”是：儒生、游侠、外交说客、逃避兵役者和商人。）

Historically, the government had frequently tried to control the merchants with heavy taxes and other penalty, such as first priority for drafting.

历史上，政府经常试图通过重税和其他惩罚来控制商人，例如优先征兵。

But in later dynasties, especially Song and Ming, the merchant profession became more influential. The government began to see the merchant class more as a potential cash cow to milk. Likewise, with Imperial Examinations, merchant families produced educated scholar which became ministers (in effect a bit like whitewashing), and they too had people in the government that could act to best represent their interests.

但在后来的朝代，特别是宋朝和明朝，商业变得更有影响力。政府开始更多地将商人阶层视为可以榨取的潜在摇钱树。同样，通过科举考试，商贾之家也培养出了成为大臣的饱学之士（实际上有点像洗白），他们在政府中也有人能够最好地代表他们的利益。

Thai Nguyen Gia
With so many answers already, I would just use a different tack: Economics.

已经有这么多答案了，我只想从一个不同的角度来分析：经济学。

Merchants represent the ability to bring products from one area (export) to another (import). Speaking from pure economics view, that meant Free Trade versus Protectionism which is the main voice of their opposition. When they want to suppress Merchants, it mostly mean the local factions suppress the outsiders encroaching on their (provincial) markets.

商人代表着将产品从一个地区（出口）带到另一个地区（进口）的能力。纯粹从经济学的角度来看，这意味着自由贸易与保护主义的对立，而保护主义是反对商人的主要声音。当他们想要抑制商人时，这通常意味着地方势力压制侵入他们（省内）市场的外来者。
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Why is that so loud, so official in China compare to Western? Because of size. China compose of so many areas it’s comparable to full Europe continent. If you think of Suppress Merchants dialog in the same way of Free Trade Between European Nations you would see right away the logic behind. And if you push the timeline back to Medi Era, you will see why this dialog is so strong in China, and almost none existing in Europe: “Free Trade? What Free Trade? What nonsense are you talking about?”

为什么在中国，这种声音如此响亮，如此官方，而西方却不然？因为规模。中国的地域如此之广，堪比整个欧洲大陆。如果你把抑制商人的讨论看作是欧洲各国之间自由贸易的讨论，你就会立刻明白其中的逻辑。如果你把时间线推回到中世纪，你就会明白为什么这种讨论在中国如此强烈，而在欧洲几乎不存在：“自由贸易？什么自由贸易？你在胡说什么？”

The logic behind the protest of merchants that can trade between coastal China to inland province is the same as logic behind protest of Free Trade between Netherland and, say, Switzerland. Or in term of product, imported sea salts will kill mountainous rock salt, so to protect later they need to prevent importing former, which mean suppress the merchants that sell former.

沿海地区与内陆省份之间进行贸易的商人的抗议逻辑，与荷兰和瑞士之间自由贸易的抗议逻辑相同。或者就产品而言，进口海盐会扼杀山区岩盐，因此为了保护后者，他们需要阻止进口前者，这意味着抑制销售前者的商人。

Kevin Anderson
Merchants merely moved stuff from A to B, and then sometimes to C or D.
They didn’t actually produce anything.
They were the lixs in the chain between production and consumption.
All hail farmers, peasants, goat herders etc. who actually produced something!
Thanks for asking.

商人仅仅是将货物从A地运到B地，然后有时运到C地或D地。
他们实际上没有生产任何东西。
他们是生产和消费之间链条上的环节。
所有人都赞美那些真正生产东西的农民、农夫、牧羊人等等！
谢谢提问。

Q-X Sun
Merchants in ancient China were often not loyal to the country and did not respect the people.

古代中国的商人往往对国家不忠诚，也不尊重人民。

This is a very classic example. Natural disasters in ancient China, such as floods, droughts, etc., will cause a large reduction in grain production, and therefore, the grain production in many areas will be greatly reduced. The refugees will flow to various provinces and even cause uprisings. At this time, the government will open the grain depot and donate food to the people affected by the disaster to prevent them from uprising.

这是一个非常经典的例子。古代中国发生洪水、干旱等自然灾害时，会导致粮食产量大幅下降，许多地区的粮食产量会大大减少。难民会涌向各个省份，甚至引发起义。这时，政府会打开粮仓，向受灾人民捐赠食物，以防止他们造反。
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But merchants will bribe officials at this time to buy these foods. Later, they will sell the food for disaster relief at high prices. Bankrupt refugees who cannot afford food can only resist. The food provided by the country for disaster relief will become useless, while the businessmen will make huge profits. For merchants, the rise and fall of the dynasty has nothing to do with them, as long as they guarantee their status, they are the most ruthless creatures.

但是，商人此时会贿赂官员购买这些粮食。之后，他们会以高价出售这些救灾粮食。破产的难民买不起食物，只能反抗。国家提供的救灾粮食将变得毫无用处，而商人却会赚取巨额利润。对于商人来说，王朝的兴衰与他们无关，只要能保证他们的地位，他们就是最无情的生物。

This often happened in ancient times, so ancient merchants would be suppressed to prevent them from making chaos.

这种情况在古代经常发生，因此古代商人受到压制，以防止他们制造混乱。

Minh
Cathaysian, the subject of ancient Chinese civilization, is a country specializing in cultivation. Cathaysian civilization has, from its very beginning, been characterized as an agricultural civilization. It values ​​agricultural development and considers farming as a source of social wealth while on the other hand it despises commerce as an unimportant factor in the economy. The ideology of respect for peasants and mercantiles promoted during the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.E.) became the main trend of Chinese economic thought and was believed and pursued by emperors throughout the entire history of China. Chinese history since the Qin and Han dynasties (221 BC-220 AD). At the end of the feudal period, with the rapid development of industry and commerce, the ideological disdain for commerce was tested in some areas, but its supremacy in the confucian and economic policy circles. of the state remains unchanged. The kings of the Ming-Qing dynasties continued to maintain the policy of considering agriculture as the basis of the economy while trade was only considered a secondary role in the economy - something necessary but not worthy of encouragement. In traditional Chinese thought, commerce and merchants are often associated with selling at exorbitant prices and enjoying a life of insatiable luxury. Thus, the overgrowth of trade not only harms the agricultural economy through the huge human consumption of farming, but also damages society as a whole. China's traditional mercantilism and mercantilism clearly went against the wave of maritime trade disputes at the time. Since the discovery of geography, mercantilism has become prent in Western European economic circles. All the maritime nations there emphasized the importance of commodity turnover and precious metal imports to the nation's prosperity at this time. All countries actively support the development of maritime trade through the use of national power. The colonial trade of Portugal and Spain, the era of Dutch charioteers and the founding of the British Empire were all the result of mercantilism and national policy. In such an era, however, the Chinese emperors still advocated remembrance. So it is clear that they are not able to implement an active foreign trade policy to encourage merchants to go out and open up the market for the country. The traditional Chinese concept of "Hua Yi" is also an important reason. This concept is the self-centered political-cultural attitude that asserts that Chinese civilization is superior to other countries. Although this kind of attitude is a common characteristic of all relatively developed ancient civilizations in general, China's special geographical position separates it from other ancient civilizations by natural barriers. the four-sided nature, as well as the vantage point of Chinese civilization and its "world" whose Chinese-centrism is so strong, and since then China has not only created a concept that has The combination and the system is the "Hua Yi" which is related to this concept, they have developed into a system of personality and principles in dealing with relations with the outside world. According to this concept, China is the center of the world and the emperor of China is the "Son of Heaven" who rules over the entire world. Outside of China where the emperors directly ruled were the regions inhabited by the “Man Di” in barbaric countries. Although all these countries were fierce and wild, the emperor always wanted to give them gifts and treat them as vassals if they wished to be civilized and recognize their rule through through royal tribute. The highest ideal of the ancient Chinese emperor was to establish a world order in which he was the ruler of all the nations of the world.

华夏文明的主体——古代中国，是一个以农耕立国的国度。自文明肇始，华夏文明便呈现出鲜明的农耕文明特质：崇尚农业发展，将耕作视为社会财富之源；同时贬抑商业，视其为经济末流。战国时期（公元前475-221年）形成的"重农抑商"思想，成为中国历代帝王奉行的经济治国圭臬。
自秦汉（公元前221年-公元220年）以降，直至封建时代末期，尽管工商业在局部地区蓬勃发展，但轻商思想在儒家体系与国家经济政策中的主导地位始终未被动摇。明清帝王依然恪守"以农立国"的基本国策，仅将商业视为必要却不值得鼓励的经济补充。在传统观念中，商贾常与囤积居奇、奢靡无度相联系，商业过度发展不仅会消耗农耕劳力，更将败坏社会风气。
这种传统农商观念与当时世界贸易浪潮形成鲜明反差。地理大发现后，重商主义在西欧各国盛行，海上强国无不将商品流通与贵金属输入视为国家繁荣之本，纷纷以国家力量助推海外贸易——葡萄牙、西班牙的殖民贸易，荷兰的"海上马车夫"时代，乃至大英帝国的崛起，皆是重商主义国策的产物。反观中国帝王，此时仍执着于"劝课农桑"的祖训，自然不可能推行鼓励商人开拓海外市场的积极外贸政策。
传统"华夷观"亦是重要成因。这种以华夏文明为尊的自我中心主义政治文化态度，虽为古代发达文明的共性特征，但中国特殊的地理环境使其表现尤为强烈：四境天然屏障将华夏文明与其他古文明隔绝，形成强烈的"天朝上国"意识。由此衍生的"华夷"体系，逐渐发展成处理对外关系的核心准则。
按照此观念，中国乃"天下"中心，皇帝是统御万邦的"天子"。直接统治区域之外，皆是"蛮狄"所居的化外之地。尽管这些邦族粗野蛮荒，但只要愿通过朝贡接受教化，天子便以怀柔之道待之，赐予封赏以示羁縻。中国古代帝王追求的终极理想，正是建立一种"万邦来朝"的世界秩序。

Yet China's self-centeredness is by no means belligerent or brave. It emphasizes China's preeminence in the world but it has never been inclined to expansion and has never wanted to force other countries to accept a unified world under Chinese rule. It describes the submission of other countries to China's exemplary morality and strength. It therefore places more emphasis on protecting Chinese civilization and maintaining internal order against foreign influences than on expanding China's influence into the world. This is the real sign that distinguishes China from other countries. From the point of view of the "Tian Dynasty" emperors, the order of ruling within was sacred and inviolable, which was what made China since it became a civilized nation. Therefore, it was absolutely necessary for the emperors to take every possible measure against the poisoning of the barbarians outside. Only when foreign countries have a desire to observe the Chinese customs and ritual system that has created the governing order within China, are they well accepted and welcomed. But if they dare to change these customs and systems they will be expelled and banned.

然而，中国的自我中心主义绝非好战或强势。它强调中国在世界中的至高地位，却从未倾向于扩张，更无意强迫他国接受以中国为尊的一统天下。这种观念所期待的，是四方邦国因仰慕华夏的道德典范与强大国力而自愿归附。因此，其核心要义在于守护中华文明、抵御外来影响以维持内部秩序，而非将中国影响力扩张至全球——这正是中国区别于其他文明的关键特征。
在"天朝"帝王眼中，自华夏成为文明之邦起，其内部统治秩序便是神圣不可侵犯的。帝王必须竭尽全力防范"夷狄"的侵染：唯有当外邦主动学习中国维系内部秩序的礼乐制度时，才会被欣然接纳；若其妄图改变这些制度规范，则必遭驱逐禁绝。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

The concept of "Hua Yi" did not hinder China's expansion into the world in the early part of its history, especially at a time when it was a powerful state like under the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. 220), Road (618-907). At that time, the greatness of the nation made the emperors of China have enough confidence and open contact with the outside world, a sense of superiority about "Heavenly Dynasty" and Chinese culture had probably at the highest level psychologically. But since the 16th century, and especially since the 17th century, the highly developed Chinese civilization has faced an unheard of new civilization brought by Europeans with warships, which At least in terms of raw materials, it is not inferior to China, but in many respects it seems to surpass China.

“华夷”的概念在其历史早期并没有阻碍中国向世界扩张，尤其是在汉朝（公元前206年-公元220年）和唐朝（公元618年-公元907年）等强盛时期。那时，国家的强大使得中国皇帝有足够的信心与外界进行开放的接触，“天朝”和中华文化的优越感可能在心理上达到了最高水平。但自16世纪以来，特别是自17世纪以来，高度发达的中华文明面临着欧洲人凭借战舰带来的前所未有的新文明的冲击，这种文明至少在物质层面并不逊于中国，甚至在许多方面超越了中国。

This situation has shaken the "Tian Dynasty" of the emperors. So as an instinctive reaction to Western influence, the emperor's attitude toward the outside world began to turn increasingly negative. Of course, they never wanted to admit to being on an equal footing with Western nations: not only because Westerners are still considered primitive peoples, but also because Western countries trading with China still conduct their own imperialism. drain. But this is also only for the purpose of protecting the self-esteem of "Tian Trieu" in appearance and psychology only. In fact, "Tian Trieu"'s confidence in his own strength had collapsed. Therefore, the kings of the Ming-Qing dynasties shifted their ancestors' position of opening up to the world to protect Chinese civilization and the ruling order from foreign influence by its own borders. This was the basic reason why the emperors of this period emphasized and valued the demarcation between the Chinese and the foreigners and practiced a conservative foreign trade policy.

这一局面动摇了帝王们的"天朝"信念。作为对西方影响的本能反应，统治者对外态度日趋消极。当然，他们决不愿承认与西方国家平起平坐——不仅因西方人仍被视为化外之民，更因来华贸易的列强始终在进行经济掠夺。但此种坚持，终究只是为维系"天朝"在表象与心理上的自尊。事实上，"天朝"对自身实力的自信已然崩塌。
明清帝王遂将祖辈的开放立场，转为通过闭关锁国来守护中华文明与统治秩序免受外来侵蚀。这正是该时期统治者强调"华夷之辨"、奉行保守外贸政策的根本原因。

Peter Pappas
Many societies did not respect merchants. Remember merchants amassed a lot of wealth (often more than even the nobility). However merchants were commoners and so the nobles looked down on them. Merchants had to work for their money (unlike the nobles who inherited their wealth) so Nobles viewed them as scheming and manipulative and cut throat to amass such large fortunes without a family name and being of low birth. It was out of partial jealousy and partial fear that merchants would overtake the noble ruling class who were often in debt and while owning lots of land and power in government tended to have limited liquid funds compared to the merchants who could usually out bid nobles on many purchases. It was a conflict of new money vs old money. Eventually nobles realized they needed the merchants and many nobles would marry daughters of wealthy merchants. This allowed the merchants heirs to get a title of nobility and the noble families to get an influx of funds through dowries and property agreements.

历史上诸多社会都曾轻视商人。须知商人虽积累巨额财富（往往超过贵族阶层），却始终属于平民阶级，自然为贵族所鄙薄。在贵族眼中，商贾之辈既无显赫家世，又出身卑微，却能通过钻营算计、不择手段聚敛财富（不同于依靠世袭的贵族），实在有违纲常。这种轻蔑背后，实则夹杂着对商人的忌惮与妒忌——贵族虽掌握土地与政权，却常陷于债务困局，流动资金反不如商人充裕，在竞购资产时屡屡败北。这本质上是新兴商业资本与传统封建势力的对抗。
最终贵族阶层不得不向现实妥协：他们开始接纳商人，甚至频繁与富商联姻。通过让商人子嗣获得贵族头衔，以及收取丰厚嫁妆与财产协议，没落的贵族门第得以重获资金活力。

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