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Chapter 91

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    The tenth day of October is Jiexisi's birthday[1].

    Early in the morning, Zhen Youqian took his family to Jiexisi's house to celebrate his birthday.  Because of their filial piety, it was inconvenient for the Qingwan siblings to go, so they stayed at home with the maid, Caiwei.

    Jiexisi was born on May 5th [1274.6.10.] in the tenth year of Xianchun in the Southern Song Dynasty, which was the day of the Dragon Boat Festival.  The ancients were very taboo on this day, saying that children born on this day could easily pass their parents.

    Things in the world are just so weird.  When Jiexi was fourteen years old, both his parents passed away Even his only younger sister died of illness a few years after giving birth to Xiuran.

    People who have lost their father or mother must never feast and have fun on their birthday, and they will not even celebrate their birthdays in the future.  But Jiexisi is a senior official, and his subordinates are always looking forward to his birthday.  Jiemusi learned from Song Huizong and changed his birthday from the fifth day of May to the tenth day of October.

    In fact, the ancients did not celebrate birthdays every year.  In a lifetime, there are only five or six times like that.

    Generally, the first birthday of a child is celebrated when the child is born to the age of ten, which is called "long tail"; after the age of ten until the age of forty, it is not a birthday, but on the day of the birthday, the family will add  There are only some meat dishes, which is called "small birthday"; at the age of knowing the fate, birthday banquets are held, and the fiftieth birthday is also called "Daqing";  ", children need to celebrate their parents' birthdays on their parents' birthdaysthey will also have a "big birthday" every ten years in the future.

    [1] "Dream of Wuchang" Jiemusi Poem

    The parrot island in front of the Yellow Crane Tower is like traveling in the past in the dream;

    Cangshan slopes into Sanxiang Road, and the setting sun flattens Qizeliu.

    ? The drum horns and Shen Xiong move the ground, and the sails and masts are high and low, and the boat is chaotic;

    Although the old man is scattered in many places, he only looks at the white gulls in Nanchi.

    This year is Jiexisi's fifty-second birthday, which is not considered a "full life", but a "small birthday".  Therefore, he only informed his sisters to come to the house for a gathering.

    At the birthday banquet, Jiexisi lamented the hardships of the first half of his life. He said sadly:

    "I had a dream last night. I dreamed that my younger sister [Xiuran's biological mother] and I went back to Yellow Crane Tower and Yingwu Island. There, I led her to have fun as before. Cangshan went deep into the  Between the main roads of Sanxiang, the setting sun covered the water surface of Qize. In the evening, the sound of drums and horns from the top of the city rang in unison, spreading far and wide, shaking the earth.  The arrangement is uneven and dizzying. Although the old friends are still alive, it is difficult to get together because they are scatteredSuddenly, I lost my sister, and I couldn't find her no matter how hard I tried, I could only face Nanchi alone  Look at the white gulls playing" Jiexisi wiped his tears and said, "But now, the only flesh and blood left by my sister has become a monk again, how can this not make the old man sad?"

    Zhen Youqian said: "Brother-in-law, you don't need to be overly sad about such small things. There are many monks now! I think it may not be a good thing for Xiuran to do so."

    Yu Xin retorted: "What you said is light and easy. Could it be that being a monk has become a blessing?"

    "Yes, big sister!" Zhen Youqian said, "Brother-in-law is an official, so he doesn't know anything better than me. Didn't he go home and tell you?"

    "What are you talking about?" Yu Xin said, "You don't know your brother-in-law yet, so you don't tell me anything! Maybe your second sister knows some things much better than me!"

    Yougan said: "Since the founding of our Yuan Dynasty, temples and Taoist temples have been exempted from sending and paying taxes. Therefore, most Han landlords entrust their private properties to the temples, which can avoid paying taxes.  If you are a monk, you can entrust the whole family¡¯s land property to a certain monk and no longer pay taxes. Some landlords give up their land to the monastery and become monk landlords[2], and then inherit the tenant from the monastery. In this way, they can no longer pay taxes to the government, and also  There are also some landlords who nominally donate family property to become monks in temples, but still live with their wives and concubines, occupying land for rent, which is no different from not being out of the house, but because of this, they can escape taxes, taxes and all the troubles of the government  "

    When the sister-in-law Yu Lu was overjoyed, she said without hesitation: "Hey, can our fields also be entrusted to Xiuran?"

    Brother-in-law Yu Yannian's face sank, "Third Sister, what are you thinking! Did you lose money? My brother-in-law and I are imperial officials, how can we learn from them to do things that harm the public and private interests!"

    You Gan said: "Of course my family's land doesn't need to be exempted from tax in the name of Xiuran, but the property of the second sister's family can always be exempted from tax! Besides, Xiuran is not a fake monk, he is a real monk, so he can't be wasted.  A lot of discounts"

    Yannian asked puzzledly: "You said Xiuran, how did you become a monk after doing well?"

    The second aunt Yu Tian said: "I heard from his friend Ji Xu thatThe water, land, and fields distributed in Hejian, Xiangyang, Jianghuai, etc. total more than 100,000 hectares. In addition, there are a large number of mountains, rivers, and ponds.  Dacheng Tianhusheng Temple, when Emperor Wenzong granted the land at one time, it reached 160,000 hectares.  Emperor Shun gave another 160,000 hectares.  Generally, monasteries also occupy varying amounts of fields.  Dade's "Changguozhou Illustrated Records" records that there are more than 2,900 hectares of land in the prefecture, of which more than 1,000 hectares are occupied by Buddhist temples and Taoist temples.  There are many temples in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and the number of fields they occupy is unknown. There are more than 500,000 tenants of temples under the jurisdiction of the province.  Temples around the country also occupy mountains and forests as temple properties.

    Xu Youren's "Qianming Temple Ji" said: "Famous mountains in the country, the temple is occupied by eighteen or nineteen, rich and princely".  Although the fields, soil, and forests of temples belong to the temple households and are not privately owned, they are actually controlled by monks and officials at all levels.  The monks and officials of the big monasteries are big landlords who wear cassocks and are richer than princes.

    The large amount of land occupied by the monastery came not only from royal rewards and the expansion of civilian land, but also from the name of the Han landlords, or brought the land into the temple.

    In the Yuan Dynasty, temples and Taoist temples were exempt from taxation, so Han landlords entrusted their private property to monasteries to avoid taxation.  Some wealthy households make one of their children become monks, so they can entrust the whole family property to a certain monk and no longer pay taxes.  Some landlords put their fields in the monastery and then took over the tenancy from the monastery. In this way, they no longer need to pay taxes to the government and no longer bear the burden of errands.  There are also some landlords who nominally donate family property to become monks in temples, but still live with their wives and concubines, occupying land for rent, which is no different from not going out, but because of this, they can escape all the troubles of taxes and government officials.  In 1291, the Xuanzheng Yuan reported that there were more than 213,000 monks and nuns across the country.  Actually more than that.  During the reign of Renzong, Shen Mingren, a local tyrant in western Zhejiang, founded Baiyunzong, under the name of Buddhism, seized 20,000 hectares of land from the people, gathered 100,000 disciples, saved their hair, married wives, and owned their own land and houses, forming a group of landlords under the name of Buddhism.

    (2) Situation of Taoism

    Taoism also had great influence in the Yuan Dynasty. It is said that there were 300,000 male and female Taoists.  Followers of Taoism are mainly Han Chinese.  Jiangnan Taoism is headed by Zhang Tianshi in Longhu Mountain, and has been passed down from generation to generation.  It is said that Zhang Tianshi "indulged in concubines, set up farms widely, solicited power, and conquered the government. He is a great tyrant in the south of the Yangtze River."  Northern Taoism originally had Quanzhen, Zhenda, and Taiyi sects, and Quanzhen was the most prosperous.  Quanzhen Taoism was founded in the Jin Dynasty. It turned out to be a gathering of some Han landlords who refused to accept gold and escaped from reality.  Because Qiu Chuji was invited by Genghis Khan, Quanzhen Taoism was the first to receive special privileges and developed greatly for a time.  Although Quanzhen Taoism was suppressed by Buddhism at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, it was given You Rong during the reign of Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan Dynasty.  Like Buddhists, Taoist priests are exempted from taxes and servants, but they can also legally farm and farm, live with their wives, and indulge in pleasure.  Famous Confucianists in the early Yuan Dynasty, such as Wang E, Yao Shu, Wang Pan, Dou Mo, etc., also communicated with Taoists.  Daoist landowners became a special class among Han landlords.

    The Nestorians and Islamic priests in the society of the Yuan Dynasty, mainly Semu people, also received the same preferential treatment as monks and Taoist priests from taxation and labor.  At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, there was an imperial edict issued by Yeli Kewen, Da Shiman, monks and Taoists to "farm for rent and trade for tax".  It can be seen that Nestorianism and Islam also had people occupying land and farming, but most of them still took business as their main occupation.  Some aristocratic believers entered the Yuan Dynasty and became officials at all levels.  (Remember the site URL: www.hlnovel.com
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