貨殖列傳

Laozi said: “In the most perfect government, neighboring states are within sight of each other, the sounds of roosters and dogs are heard across the border, yet the people are content with their food, pleased with their clothing, comfortable in their customs, and happy in their work, and they grow old and die without ever visiting one another.” If one were to make this the guiding policy in the present age, it would mean stopping the people’s ears and covering their eyes — and it would be almost impossible to put into practice.

The Grand Historian remarks: Of the age before the Divine Farmer, I know nothing. But from the time of the Yu and Xia dynasties as described in the Odes and Documents, the ears and eyes have craved the finest sounds and sights, the mouth has sought the richest flavors of grain-fed meat, the body has pursued comfort and ease, and the heart has gloried in power and ability. These customs have soaked into the people for a long time. Even if one were to visit every household and preach the most subtle doctrines, one could never transform them. Therefore the best rulers go along with human nature; the next best guide it toward profit; the next best instruct it; the next best regulate it; and the worst rulers contend with it.

West of the mountains the land is rich in timber, bamboo, grain, hemp, yak-tail hair, jade, and stone. East of the mountains there is abundant fish, salt, lacquer, silk, music, and beauty. South of the Yangtze come fragrant woods, catalpa, ginger, cinnamon, gold, tin, lead, cinnabar, rhinoceros horn, tortoiseshell, pearls, ivory, and hides. North of Longmen and Jieshi there are horses, cattle, sheep, felt and fur, sinew and horn in abundance. As for copper and iron, they are smelted from mountains scattered across a thousand li. This is the broad outline. These are all the things that the people of the Central States delight in — the goods of popular custom for clothing, food, living, and burying the dead. Therefore farmers are needed to produce food, foresters to bring out natural resources, artisans to craft finished goods, and merchants to circulate them. Is there any government policy, conscription order, or scheduled meeting that commands this? Each person exerts his own ability and exhausts his own strength to obtain what he desires. When goods are cheap, it is a sign they will become dear; when dear, a sign they will become cheap. Each person is encouraged in his trade and delights in his work, like water flowing downhill, ceaselessly day and night, coming without being summoned, produced by the people without being demanded. Is this not the verification of the Way and the proof of what is natural?

The Documents of Zhou says: “If the farmer does not produce, food will be scarce; if the artisan does not produce, goods will be lacking; if the merchant does not produce, the three treasures will cease to circulate; if the forester does not produce, wealth will run short.” When wealth runs short, the mountains and marshes go unexploited. These four are the root of the people’s clothing and food. When the root is large, there is abundance; when the root is small, there is scarcity. The enrichment of the state above and the family below — no one bestows or takes away the way to wealth and poverty; the clever have surplus and the clumsy have want. Thus when the Grand Duke was enfeoffed at Yingqiu, the soil was saline and barren and the population sparse. The Grand Duke then encouraged women’s handicrafts, perfected technical skills, and opened the fish and salt trade. People and goods flowed to him; infants were carried there and wagon spokes converged. Thus Qi dressed the entire realm in its caps, belts, robes, and shoes, and the people between the sea and Mount Tai tucked in their sleeves and came to pay court. Later, when Qi fell into decline, Guan Zhong reformed it, establishing the system of price equalization and the Nine Treasuries. Duke Huan thereby became hegemon, nine times assembling the lords and setting the realm in order. Guan Zhong himself held the Three Returns, and though a mere minister’s minister in rank, he was wealthier than the rulers of other states. Thus Qi remained rich and powerful down to the reigns of Kings Wei and Xuan.

Therefore it is said: “When the granaries are full, the people know propriety and ritual; when there is enough clothing and food, the people know honor and shame.” Ritual is born from sufficiency and dies from want. When a gentleman is rich, he delights in practicing virtue; when a common man is rich, he applies his energies to practical ends. When the pool is deep, fish breed in it; when the mountain is deep, beasts go to it; when a man is rich, benevolence and righteousness attach themselves to him. The rich man who gains influence grows more illustrious; the one who loses it finds that even his guests have nowhere to go — and the result is unhappiness. For the foreign peoples this is even more the case. The proverb says: “The son of a man with a thousand pieces of gold does not die in the marketplace.” These are not empty words. Therefore it is said: “All-Under-Heaven bustles — all come for profit. All-Under-Heaven hustles — all go for profit.” If even the king of a thousand chariots, the lord of ten thousand households, and the head of a hundred families all worry about poverty, how much more the common man of registered households!

Long ago, King Goujian of Yue was trapped atop Mount Kuaiji. He then employed Fan Li and Ji Ran. Ji Ran said: “Knowing that a conflict is coming, prepare your supplies. Understanding the seasons’ demands, you will understand commodities. When these two factors are clear, the nature of all goods can be observed. When the year is governed by Metal, the harvest is abundant; by Water, there is ruin; by Wood, famine; by Fire, drought. In drought, invest in boats; in flood, invest in carts — this is the principle of things. Six years of abundance, six years of drought, one great famine in twelve years. When grain is sold at twenty cash, the farmer suffers; at ninety, the merchant suffers. When the merchant suffers, goods do not circulate; when the farmer suffers, the fields go uncleared. Keep the price no higher than eighty, no lower than thirty, and both farmer and merchant profit. Stabilize grain prices and equalize goods, and the markets will never run short — this is the way to govern a state. The principle of accumulating wealth: deal only in finished goods, do not let your money sit idle. In trading goods for goods, do not hold perishables; do not dare to hoard waiting for high prices. Observe what is in surplus and what is in deficit, and you will know what is dear and what is cheap. When prices reach their peak, they reverse and fall; when they reach their bottom, they reverse and rise. When prices are high, release goods as though they were dung and dirt; when prices are low, acquire goods as though they were pearls and jade. Let your money flow like water.” Goujian practiced these methods for ten years. The state grew rich. He lavished rewards on his warriors, and they charged into arrows and stones as though they were parched men reaching for water. He thus avenged himself on mighty Wu, paraded his troops before the Central States, and was honored among the Five Hegemons.

After Fan Li had wiped clean the shame of Kuaiji, he sighed deeply and said: “Of Ji Ran’s seven strategies, Yue used five and achieved its aim. I have already applied them to the state; now I wish to apply them to my household.” He took a small boat and drifted across the rivers and lakes, changed his name, and went to Qi as ‘Master Owl-Hide.’ He then moved to Tao and became known as Lord Zhu. Lord Zhu reasoned that Tao was at the center of All-Under-Heaven, where all the lords’ roads converged and goods were exchanged. He built up his estate and accumulated inventory, pursuing the market’s timing without pressuring anyone. The skillful manager of wealth knows how to choose good people and seize the right moment. In nineteen years he amassed a fortune of a thousand pieces of gold three times over, and twice distributed it among his poor friends and distant kin. This is what is called ‘a rich man who delights in practicing virtue.’ In his old age, he entrusted the business to his sons and grandsons, who continued the enterprise and multiplied it, eventually reaching immense wealth. Therefore whenever people speak of the rich, they all cite Lord Zhu of Tao.

Zigong studied under Confucius, then withdrew and served in Wei, buying and selling goods for profit between Cao and Lu. Among the seventy disciples, Zigong was by far the wealthiest. Yuan Xian could not even afford chaff and hid in a back alley. But Zigong rode in four-horse chariots with a mounted escort and brought bundles of silk as gifts when he visited the lords. Wherever he went, no ruler failed to divide the courtyard with him and receive him as an equal. It was Zigong who, going before and after, spread the name of Confucius throughout All-Under-Heaven. Is this not what is called ‘gaining influence and thereby shining brighter’?

Bai Gui was a man of Zhou. During the time of Marquis Wen of Wei, when Li Ke strove to exhaust the potential of the land, Bai Gui delighted in observing the shifts of the seasons. His principle was: ‘What others discard, I take; what others take, I give.’ When the harvest was good, he bought grain and sold silk and lacquer; when silkworms had spun their cocoons, he bought silk floss and sold food. When Jupiter was in mao, the harvest would be abundant, but the following year poor. When it reached wu, there would be drought, but the following year good. When it reached you, abundance again, then decline. When it reached zi, a great drought, then a good year with flooding. By the time the cycle returned to mao, his accumulated inventory would have doubled each year. If he wanted to increase his cash, he bought cheap grain; if he wanted to increase his grain reserves, he bought the finest seed. He ate frugally, suppressed his appetites, wore plain clothes, and shared the toils and pleasures of his working servants. When the moment came to act, he struck like a beast of prey or a raptor swooping down. He therefore said: “My management of business is like the stratagems of Yi Yin and Lü Shang, the warfare of Sun and Wu, the legal reforms of Shang Yang. If a man’s intelligence is insufficient for adapting to change, if his courage is insufficient for decisive action, if his benevolence is insufficient for knowing when to give and take, if his firmness is insufficient for holding his ground — though he wishes to learn my methods, I will never teach him.” Thus all who speak of wealth management throughout the realm trace their origin to Bai Gui. Bai Gui had put his methods to the test and excelled at what he tested — this was no idle boast.

Within the passes, from Qian and Yong eastward to the Yellow River and Mount Hua, there stretches a thousand li of rich soil and fertile fields. Since the tribute system of Yu and Xia, these have been ranked as the finest farmland. Duke Liu settled at Bin; the Great King and King Ji were at Qi; King Wen built Feng; King Wu ruled from Hao. Therefore the people still preserve the ways of the former kings — they love farming and planting the five grains, the land is valued, and they are reluctant to do wrong. When Dukes Wen, De, and Mu of Qin held court at Yong, they exploited the gap in the trade of Long and Shu and produced many merchants. Duke Xian moved to Yueyi, which held back the Rong and Di to the north and connected with the three states of Jin to the east — it too produced great merchants. When Duke Zhao governed Xianyang, it became the Han capital in turn. Chang’an and the various imperial tombs drew people from all four directions converging at once. The land is small but the population dense, so the people have grown ever more clever in skill and devoted to commerce. To the south lies Ba and Shu. Ba and Shu too have fertile fields, rich in gardenia, ginger, cinnabar, stone, copper, iron, bamboo, and timber products. To the south they border Dian and the Bo; the Bo provide slave labor. To the west they adjoin Qiong and Zuo, which supply Zuo horses and yak-tail cattle. Though enclosed by barriers on four sides, plank roads extend a thousand li and connect everything — only the Bao and Xie passes serve as the bottleneck — and the region trades its surplus for what it lacks. Tianshui, Longxi, Beidi, and Shangjun share the same customs as Guanzhong, but to the west they have the profits of the Qiang territory and to the north the herds of the Rong and Di — their pasturelands are the richest in the realm. Yet the terrain is also perilous and remote; only the capital commands its trade routes. Thus the land within the passes accounts for one-third of All-Under-Heaven in area, and its population is no more than three-tenths of the total; yet measured by its wealth, it holds six-tenths.

Qi is girdled by mountains and sea, with a thousand li of rich soil suited to mulberry and hemp. Its people produce fine textiles, cloth, silk, fish, and salt. Linzi is a great metropolis of the region between the sea and Mount Tai. The customs are broad-minded and relaxed, the people intelligent, fond of debate, attached to their land, and hard to uproot. They are timid in mass battle but brave in individual assassination — hence the many highway robbers. This is the spirit of a great state. Its population comprises all five classes of people.

Zou and Lu, along the banks of the Zhu and Si rivers, still preserve the legacy of the Duke of Zhou. The customs favor Confucian learning and are meticulous about ritual, so the people are staid and reserved. There is some mulberry and hemp production but no wealth from forests and marshes. The land is small and the population dense; the people are frugal and parsimonious, fearful of crime, and avoid wrongdoing. But when times grow hard, they pursue trade and chase profit more avidly than the people of Zhou.

Yan is a metropolis of the region between the Bo and Jie seas. To the south it connects with Qi and Zhao; to the northeast it borders the barbarians. From Shanggu to Liaodong, the distances are vast, the population sparse, and the region has been raided many times. Its customs are broadly similar to those of Zhao and Dai — the people are tough and fierce, with little forethought — but it has the bounty of fish, salt, dates, and chestnuts. To the north it borders the Wuhuan and Fuyu; to the east it commands the trade of Huimo, Joseon, and Zhenfan.

Yue and Chu have three distinct regional customs. From Pei, Chen, Runan, and Nan Commandery north of the Huai River — this is Western Chu. Its customs are sharp and impetuous, quick to anger. The soil is thin and people accumulate little. Jiangling was the old Chu capital of Ying, connecting west to Wu Gorge and Ba, with the riches of the Yunmeng marshes to the east. Chen lies at the junction of Chu and the Xia lands, trading in fish and salt; its people are mostly merchants. Xu, Tong, and Qulü are austere and exacting, priding themselves on keeping their word.

From Pengcheng eastward — Donghai, Wu, and Guangling — this is Eastern Chu. Its customs resemble those of Xu and Tong. North of Qu and Zeng, the customs are like Qi’s. South of the Zhe River is Yue. Wu, from the time of King Helü, Lord Chunshen, and King Bi of Wu — these three men attracted adventurous young men from All-Under-Heaven. It has the bounty of sea salt to the east, the copper of Mount Zhang, and the profits of the Three Rivers and Five Lakes. It too is a great metropolis of the region east of the Yangtze.

Hengshan, Jiujiang, Jiangnan, Yuzhang, and Changsha — this is Southern Chu, and its customs broadly resemble Western Chu’s. After the fall of Ying, the capital moved to Shouchun, which also became a metropolis. Hefei receives the tides from north and south and is a collection point for hides, salted fish, and timber. Mixed with the customs of Min and Gan-Yue, Southern Chu is fond of rhetoric, clever in argument, and short on good faith. South of the Yangtze the land is low and damp, and men die young. There is much bamboo and timber. Yuzhang produces gold; Changsha produces lead and tin — but these are meager in quantity, and the cost of extraction exceeds the yield. From Jiuyi and Cangwu south to Dan’er, the customs are broadly similar to those south of the Yangtze, but with a stronger Yang-Yue element. Panyu is also a major metropolis — a convergence point for pearls, rhinoceros horn, tortoiseshell, fruit, and cloth.

Seen from this perspective, where do the worthy ministers who plot deeply in the corridors of power, debate in the court, guard their integrity and die for principle, or live as hermits in mountain caves and fashion a lofty reputation — where do they all end up? They end up at wealth. Thus honest officials serve long, and the longer they serve, the richer they become. Honest merchants end up wealthy. Wealth is human nature — something all desire without being taught. The brave warrior in the army who scales the wall first, breaks through the enemy line, cuts down the opposing general, seizes his flag, and faces arrows and stones without flinching from boiling water or fire — he does it for the promise of heavy reward. The young toughs of the back alleys who rob and kill, ambush and plunder, break into tombs, forge coins, play the knight-errant, swallow up their neighbors, avenge their friends’ grudges, pursue fugitives in dark places, defy every law and prohibition, and rush toward death as eagerly as ducks to water — all of this is ultimately for money. The beauties of Zhao and the courtesans of Zheng, who perfect their appearance, play the sounding lute, trail long sleeves, step in sharp shoes, allure with glances and beckon with their hearts, traveling a thousand li without caring whether their patrons are old or young — they run toward wealth. The idle young lords who ornament their caps and swords and parade in linked carriages do so for the appearance of wealth and status. Hunters and fishermen who brave the dawn and dusk, endure frost and snow, race through ravines, and risk the harm of wild beasts do so for choice flavors. Gamblers, chariot-racers, cockfighters, and dog-runners who put on fierce expressions, boast, and fight to win — they dread losing their stake. Physicians, cooks, and every kind of specialist who exhaust their minds and push their skills to the limit do so for generous fees. Officials and clerks who manipulate the letter of the law, forge seals and documents, and do not shrink from the executioner’s blade do so because they are lost in bribery. Farmers, artisans, merchants, traders, and herdsmen all seek to grow richer and increase their goods. This is human intelligence exerting itself to the utmost — no one holds back effort and yields his wealth to another.

The proverb says: “Do not haul firewood a hundred li; do not haul grain a thousand li.” For one year’s investment, plant grain; for ten years, plant trees; for a hundred years, cultivate virtue — meaning, cultivate people and relationships. Now there are those who receive no official salary, hold no fiefdom, yet live as well as those who do. They are called the ‘untitled nobility.’ The enfeoffed lord consumes rent and tax at a rate of two hundred cash per household per year. The lord of a thousand households receives two hundred thousand, from which he pays for court audiences, diplomatic gifts, and ceremonial expenses. Among commoners — farmers, artisans, merchants, and traders — the going rate is also ten thousand in capital yielding two thousand in annual interest. A family with a million in capital thus earns two hundred thousand, from which come labor service, rent, and taxes. What remains amply covers all desires for food and clothing. Therefore: on open land, raise fifty horses; keep a thousand head of cattle; a thousand sheep; a thousand pigs in the marshes; maintain a thousand-bushel fish pond; on a mountainside, a thousand large timber trees. At Anyi, a thousand date trees; in Yan or Qin, a thousand chestnut trees; in Shu, Han, or Jiangling, a thousand orange trees; between the Huai and north, south of Changshan, between the Yellow River and the Ji, a thousand catalpa trees; in Chen or Xia, a thousand mu of lacquer trees; in Qi or Lu, a thousand mu of mulberry and hemp; along the Wei River, a thousand mu of bamboo. In a famous city of ten thousand households, a thousand mu of high-yield farmland outside the walls — or a thousand mu of gardenia and madder, a thousand plots of ginger and leeks. Each of these puts a man on par with a lord of a thousand households. This is the capital that makes one wealthy — without peeking into the marketplace or traveling to another city, sitting and waiting for the harvest, one has the dignity of a reclusive gentleman while drawing one’s livelihood.

The ancestor of the Zhuo family of Shu was a man of Zhao who made his fortune in iron smelting. When Qin conquered Zhao, the Zhuo family was forcibly relocated. When the deportees were being led away, the Zhuo couple alone pushed their own handcart and walked to the resettlement site. The other deportees who had any remaining wealth competed to bribe the officials for a nearby location and were settled at Jiameng. Only the Zhuo patriarch said: “This land is narrow and poor. I have heard that below Mount Wen there are fertile fields, and below the fields lies taro — one will never starve to death there. The people are skilled at market trade, and commerce is easy.” He requested to be sent farther away. When he reached Linqiong, he was overjoyed. He immediately began smelting iron from the mountains, managing his operations with calculation and strategy, drawing in the people of Dian and Shu. His wealth reached the point where he owned a thousand slaves. His pleasures of farms, ponds, and hunting rivaled those of a sovereign.

Cheng Zheng, also a deportee from east of the mountains, likewise smelted and traded with the topknot-wearing peoples. His wealth equaled the Zhuo family’s, and both resided in Linqiong.

The ancestor of the Kong family of Wan was a man of Liang who engaged in iron smelting. When Qin attacked Wei, the Kong family was relocated to Nanyang. They smelted on a grand scale, invested in reservoirs and ponds, maintained carriages and riding horses, traveled among the lords, and through their commercial connections acquired the reputation and gifts of leisured young nobles. Yet their profits exceeded what was normal — far beyond what mere penny-pinching could achieve. The family accumulated wealth of several thousand pieces of gold, and so all the traveling merchants of Nanyang emulated the Kong family’s elegant style.

The people of Lu are frugal by custom, but the Cao and Bing families were exceptionally so. They rose through iron smelting to immense wealth. Yet within the family, from fathers and brothers to sons and grandsons, they maintained the rule: pick up anything found on the ground, take anything offered from above. They lent at interest and traded throughout the commanderies and kingdoms. It was because of the Cao and Bing families that many in Zou and Lu abandoned scholarship to pursue profit.

In Qi, the custom was to despise slaves, but Dao Jian alone valued them highly. Rebellious and cunning slaves were everyone else’s problem, but Dao Jian collected them and put them to work pursuing the profits of fish, salt, and commerce. Some drove linked carriages and consorted with governors and chancellors — and he trusted them all the more. In the end he harnessed their power and rose to wealth of tens of millions. Hence the saying: “Better a noble title than Dao Jian’s knife” — meaning he could make even the most powerful slaves prosper and give their utmost.

The ancestor of the Ren family of Xuanqu served as a granary official on the imperial courier road. When Qin collapsed, the heroes all scrambled to seize gold and jade, but the Ren family alone stored away their grain in underground pits. When Chu and Han confronted each other at Xingyang and the people could not farm, the price of rice reached ten thousand per bushel, and all the gold and jade the heroes had grabbed ended up flowing to the Ren family. The Ren family rose to wealth on this. While other rich families competed in extravagance, the Ren family restrained themselves and lived frugally, devoting their efforts to farming and herding. When others in farming and herding competed to buy cheap, the Ren family alone bought the finest and most expensive stock. They remained wealthy for several generations. The Ren family’s rule was: do not eat or wear anything not produced by your own farms and herds; do not drink wine or eat meat until all public obligations are fulfilled. This made them the model of their neighborhood, so they were wealthy and honored by the sovereign.

When the frontier was opened, only Qiao Yao amassed a thousand horses, twice that in cattle, ten thousand sheep, and grain measured in the tens of thousands of bushels. When the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion broke out, the marquises and lords in Chang’an who marched with the campaign army needed to borrow money at interest. The moneylenders calculated that the lords’ estates were in the east, and the outcome of the eastern campaign was uncertain, so none would lend. Only the Wuyan family put up a thousand pieces of gold at ten times interest. In three months, Wu and Chu were pacified. Within a single year, the Wuyan family’s interest had multiplied tenfold, and they became as wealthy as anyone within the passes.

These are the most conspicuous and extraordinary cases. None of them held titles, fiefs, or official salaries, nor did they bend the law or commit crimes to grow rich. All of them drove hard bargains, moved with the times, and seized their profits, building wealth through commerce and protecting it through land, using boldness for the initial acquisition and propriety for its maintenance. Their adaptations followed a pattern — there was a method to it. As for those who became rich through farming and herding, crafts and forestry, commerce and trade, leveraging opportunity to build their fortunes — the greatest dominated entire commanderies, the middling dominated counties, the least dominated villages — they are beyond counting.

Frugality and hard work are the orthodox path to making a living, but the truly rich always prevail through the extraordinary. Farming is a humble calling, yet Qin Yang used it to overshadow an entire province. Tomb-robbing is a criminal pursuit, yet Tian Shu rose through it. Gambling is a despised trade, yet Huan Fa used it to grow rich. Itinerant peddling is considered beneath a man’s dignity, yet Yong Lesuo prospered by it. Selling grease is a degrading occupation, yet Yong Bo made a thousand pieces of gold. Selling drinks is a trivial business, yet the Zhang family reached ten million. Knife-grinding is the thinnest of skills, yet the Zhi family ate from bronze tripods. Stomach tripe is the humblest of products, yet the Zhuo family rode with linked carriages. Horse-doctoring is a shallow art, yet Zhang Li struck bronze bells at his feasts. All these were achieved through single-minded dedication.

Seen from this perspective, there is no fixed trade for wealth, and goods have no permanent owner. The capable draw them in like spokes to a hub; the incapable let them crumble away like tiles. The family worth a thousand pieces of gold lives like the ruler of a city; the family worth ten million shares the pleasures of a king. Are these not what we call the ‘untitled nobility’?

The profits of money-making: industry and commerce manage them. Skillful hoarding and accumulation, leaning on the market for windfall gains. Bai Gui enriched the state; Ji Ran strengthened the army. The herder Luo attended court audiences; the woman built the Huaiqing Terrace. The untitled nobility of a thousand households — the Zhuo and Zheng families are equally renowned.