“农为政本,食乃民天”——试析宋代“重农”思想在国家层面的反映

"Farming is the Cornerstone of Government and Food is Regarded as Heaven by the Mass":An Analysis on the Reflection of "Agriculture Priority"Ideology at the State Level in the Song Dynasty

为了稳定政局促进生产,宋太祖在充分总结前代治国经验的基础上,于宋初提出了"农为政本,食乃民天"的重要思想。这一指导性方针,迅速成为祖宗之法的组成部分,从而在最高统治者的治国理念中占据了绝对重要的地位。为了使"重农"思想得以贯彻,宋代中央政府别出心裁地将"劝农"名号植入各级地方长官官衔中,并通过一系列的法律法规予以强化,使得各级亲民官员皆以农务为重中之重,成为推进农业生产建设的重要力量。与此同时,中央政府还出台了一系列相关规定,为最终将"重农"思想落实到位提供了有力保证。

In order to stabilize the political situation and boost the production, drawing on the experience of for- mer generations in running the country, Emperor SONG Taizu proposed an important conception that ＂Farming is the Cornerstone of Government and Food is Regarded as Heaven by the Mass＂ in the early years of the Song Dynasty. This guiding principle was quickly accepted as a part of the legacy in the governance of the country, occupying an important position in the governing principles of the highest authority. In order to put the ＂Agriculture Priority＂ in effect, the Song government ingeniously instilled the epithets of ＂promoting agriculture＂ into the local officials＇ titles, and guaranteed the practice through a series of laws and regulations. As a result, all the responsible officials at various levels treated agriculture as their priority and became a driving force for the development of agriculture. At the same time, the central government made some policies for the implementation of the ＂agriculture priority＂ principle.