Li Kaizhou, a scholar of culture and history, said that in the book of Han Dynasty, the biography of Dongfang Shuo recorded such a story: when Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty recruited people, Dongfang Shuo went to apply for a job and wrote in his self recommendation book: “if a genius like me can’t be the prime minister, it’s really unreasonable.” When the letter of recommendation was handed over, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty assigned him a post: waiting for the imperial edict bus.
“Waiting for the imperial edict” is waiting for the emperor to call, “bus” is the unit responsible for reception. Together, this post is for you to stay in the state-owned guest house. When do you think of you and when do you work.
Dongfang Shuo stayed in the hostel for several months, choking to death. He wanted to see Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and asked the big boss to interview in person. He came up with a plan. At that time, the court raised a group of dwarfs, who were mainly responsible for acting, singing, telling jokes, acrobatics and performing magic for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Dongfang Shuo found these dwarfs, scared them and said, “do you know who I am? I’m Dongfang Shuo. If I move my mouth, I can make your head fall!” The dwarfs believed it and begged Emperor Hanwu for help, saying that a guy named Dongfang Shuo wanted to kill them. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very strange. It was said that Dongfang Shuo entered the palace.
Emperor Hanwu said, “Dongfang Shuo, why do you want to scare my dwarf?” Dongfang Shuo said: “Your Majesty Shengming, those dwarfs are less than one meter tall, but they can get a bag of millet and 240 yuan a month, and they can’t eat or spend; I Dongfang Shuo is one meter nine tall, and I also get a bag of millet and 240 yuan a month, which is not enough to eat or spend. The dwarfs are struggling to death, and I Dongfang Shuo is starving to death, this world is too unfair. If you think I’m a talent, give me a raise; if you think I’m not even as good as a dramatist, Just let me pack my bags and go home, so as not to starve here. “
Emperor Hanwu laughed, changed Dongfang Shuo to a better position and increased his salary.
Li Kaizhou said that this story can be found in the book of Han Dynasty biography of Dongfang Shuo. In the original text, Dongfang Shuo mentioned his salary, saying “salary is a bag of millet, money is 240”. A bag of millet refers to a bag of millet without shelling; Money 240 refers to 240 three baht coins. Three baht coins were the main currency in the early period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and later five baht coins were minted. Two hundred and forty three baht coins plus a bag of millet without shelling are all the salaries of Dongfang Shuo in one month when he first started working.
He told reporters that the “civil servants” in the Western Han Dynasty were divided into nearly 20 levels, the highest level being the prime minister, followed by the censor doctor, followed by zhongerqianshi, followed by erqianshi, followed by bi2000shi, followed by Qianshi… Until Baishi, Doushi, and Sashi. The so-called “two thousand stones”, “two thousand stones”, “one thousand stones” and “one hundred stones” are the nominal amount of grain that can be received every year. In the Han Dynasty, this indicator was usually used to refer to the administrative level. However, the actual payment of wages is not necessarily food.
Dongfang Shuo first made a “waiting for imperial edict bus”, which was a Doushi or Sashi below the level of Baishi, equivalent to a small clerk in the current organ.
What is the salary of “senior civil servants”? Li Kaizhou said that the salary composition of “senior civil servants” such as the prime minister, the censor doctor and erqianshi is relatively complex, including monetary wages, in kind subsidies, such as grain and cloth, and fiefs that can collect land rent and taxes. For “low-level civil servants” like Dongfang Shuo, there are only two salaries: monetary wages and food subsidies. The monetary wage of Dongfang Shuo is 240 yuan per month. How much is the grain subsidy? It can be seen from the salary documents of the low-level officials in the late period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty contained in the Juyan Han bamboo slips that for “civil servants” at the level of 100 stones and below, there are three stones of Millet (or wheat) per month. “A bag of millet” mentioned by Dongfang Shuo refers to three stone millet.
“Stone” is a unit of capacity. A stone in the Han Dynasty is about 20 liters today. Three stones without shelling millet can produce more than 70 kilograms of net rice. If you send so many meters a month, the average day is more than two kilograms. Modern adult men with a normal appetite, even if they eat rice three times a day, they can’t eat two kilograms a day. Dongfang Shuo said that these rice are not enough, probably because he is a big man (one meter nine) and Shandong people, and his appetite is extraordinary. Of course, it is also possible that he has got married at this time. In addition to supporting himself, he has to support his wife and children with that little salary. The family is naturally nervous with a few mouths, “a bag of millet”.
In addition to the grain subsidy of a bag of millet, Dongfang Shuo also has a monetary wage of 240 yuan. In order to facilitate the estimation, the 240 yuan is also changed into grain. According to the grain price of the Western Han Dynasty contained in Volume 1 of the records of the historian and the Juyan Han bamboo slips, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in a good year, there were a total of 46 bushels of corn a month, with 15 yuan a bushel, plus the subsidized three stones (30 bushels), which could yield more than 100 kilograms of net rice. More than 100 kilograms of millet are sold for about 300 yuan in the modern market. Therefore, Li Kaizhou concluded that Dongfang Shuo’s monthly salary was only 300 yuan based on the grain price alone.
When the subsidy and salary are added together, they only get about 300 yuan a month. Is the salary of “civil servants” in the Han Dynasty too low? Actually not. Li Kaizhou said that only small staff members like Dongfang Shuo who have just joined the work, such as the prime minister, the censor doctor, zhongerqianshi and other “high-level cadres”, receive low salaries, which are frighteningly high. Let’s say that the prime minister’s monthly monetary salary alone is 60000 yuan. Plus food subsidies and manor taxes, the actual monthly salary is more than 900 times that of Dongfang Shuo.
The salary of “senior civil servants” is so much higher that “grassroots civil servants” are naturally dissatisfied. Therefore, after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, “grassroots civil servants” also began to increase their salary. The book of the Han Dynasty Xuandi Ji contains an imperial edict to raise wages: “today, small officials are all diligent and poorly paid, so it is difficult for them not to invade the fishing people. Their beneficial officials have a salary of 15 below 100 stones.”
In vernacular, it means that grass-roots cadres are allowed to do all the difficult jobs, but the government only pays them extremely meager salaries. It’s hard not to let these people dig into the pockets of the masses. In order to reduce corruption, the salary of “civil servants” below 100 stone will be increased by five tenths.