The Meaning of Thirty-Three Taels of Silver#
In ancient times, many dynasties had a saying similar to "thirty-three taels of silver." The meaning of this saying is:
- Survival Needs: The common people need about thirty-six taels of silver a year to meet all aspects of their family's clothing, food, housing, and transportation needs.
- Actual Income: However, no matter how hard they work, they can only earn thirty taels of silver a year. The remaining three taels of silver can only be earned through official work (such as digging ditches and repairing roads).
The Living Conditions of Farmers#
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Taxation and Levies:
- In areas with good harvests, the government will impose higher taxes;
- In areas with poor harvests, the government will reduce taxes;
- In areas affected by disasters, the government will provide grain for disaster relief.
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Basic Living Standard: Thirty-three taels of silver is regarded as the poverty line for basic living. No matter how hard they try, farmers are always struggling around the "lack of three taels of silver" line.
Modern Analogies#
This phenomenon still exists today:
- Income and Living Costs:
- For example, twenty years ago, the monthly salary was 3000 yuan, and the living cost was also about 3000 yuan;
- Twenty years later, the salary has risen to 8000 yuan, and the living cost has also risen to 8000 yuan.
Regardless of how income grows, living costs always accompany it, which is another form of "thirty-three taels of silver."
Social Rules and Distribution#
This design of income and survival costs ensures that most people live near the survival baseline, maintaining a certain level of poverty. This is not a conspiracy of any individual but a consensus among the upper echelons of society, a kind of unspoken rule.
Perspective on Social Operation#
- Perspective of the Lower Class: Work hard, earn money, and aspire to a better life.
- Perspective of the Upper Class: How to make people work harder to create wealth and how to distribute that wealth.
Metaphor of the Farm#
Society can be likened to a farm:
- Ordinary People at the Bottom: Like small animals on the farm, working hard to make a living;
- Upper-Class Farmers: Focused on how to make the small animals work efficiently while maintaining their survival status.
Design of Poverty#
- Most small animals are kept near the basic living line, which increases their sense of survival urgency while ensuring they have the strength to work.
- Although this practice may seem sinful from the perspective of the small animals, historically, farmers who could maintain this balance are considered wise rulers.
Conclusion#
- Wealth Concentration: With the change of dynasties, wealth and resources have always been concentrated in the hands of a few.
- Fantasy of Small Animals: Most people's lives are spent as small animals on the farm, fantasizing about becoming farmers.
- Importance of Cognition: Becoming a farmer relies on cognition, not merely hard work. Those with low cognition cannot see the essential rules of social operation and ultimately can only live in the designed poverty.
The idea that hard work leads to wealth is the biggest lie of modern times, deceiving many small animals. True wealth comes from understanding and recognizing social rules.