Single whip law

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Single whip law or the "Single whip reform" (simplified Chinese: 一条鞭法; traditional Chinese: 一條鞭法; pinyin: Yì Tiáo Biān Fǎ) was a fiscal law first instituted during the middle Ming dynasty, in the early 16th century, and then promulgated throughout the empire in 1580 by Zhang Juzheng.[1]

The measure aimed primarily to simplify the complex fiscal code under Ming law, by commuting most obligations towards the central government — from land and poll taxes to the labour obligations of the peasantry and the tributes of prefectural and county officials — into a single silver payment, at a level based on the population and cultivated land in each prefecture. Therefore, by reducing complexity, the Single Whip law reduced the costs of tax collection, while also increasing the tax base.

The unit of tax collection was changed from rice to

shipment of silver to Manila from Spanish-controlled America, which, coupled with the Ming government's decision to debase copper coinage, greatly increased the price of silver.[3][4] It was one of the factors leading to the fall of the Ming dynasty
.

References

  1. ^ Flynn and Giraldez. Born with a "Silver Spoon": The Origin of World Trade in 1571.
  2. ISBN 978-0-674-92095-8
    .
  3. ^ a b Bol, Peter K. "Global China: From the Mongols to the Ming".
  4. ISBN 978-1-55786-078-1
    .
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