中晚唐人重商说

A Comment on Laying Stress on Trade in the Middle and Later Tang Dynasty

中国传统文化中,儒家思想深入人心,趋利的商人阶层历来备受轻视和贬抑。当然,相反的观点也一直存在。中晚唐时代,不少文人更自觉不自觉地表现出一种反主流的商人观。李商隐及其前辈韩愈、柳宗元等人的文章中就有赞商、扬商的言论,这反映了他们对社会生活的感受与思考,也印证了时代的发展和新变。

Because of Confucian mainstream position in Chinese traditional culture, businessmen, who pay attachment to their profits, have always been ignored and underrated. Of course, there is also the opposite view. For example, in the middle and later Tang Dynasty, quite a few scholars, consciously or unconsciously, display a view on merchants that is against the mainstream. Li Shang-ying and his elders such as Han Yu, Liu Zong-yuan, etc, all express praises in their works about merchants, which not only reflect on their feeling and thinking of social life but also confirm the development and evolution of the times.