- Guan Zhong
Guan Zhong (Chinese: 管仲, Wade-Giles: Kuan Chung) (born 725 BC, died in 645 BC) was a Chinese politician in the
Spring and Autumn Period . Hisgiven name was "Yíwú" (夷吾). "Zhong" was hiscourtesy name . Recommended byBao Shuya , he was appointedPrime Minister byDuke Huan of Qi in 685 BC.Guan Zhong modernized the
state of Qi by starting multiplereforms . Politically, hecentralize d power and divided the state into differentvillage s, each carrying out a specifictrade . Instead of relying on thetradition alaristocracy formanpower , he appliedlevies to the village units directly. He also developed a better method for choosing talent to begovernor s. Under Guan Zhong, Qi shifted administrative responsibilities fromhereditary aristocrats toprofession albureaucrat s.Guan Zhong also introduced several important
economic reforms. He created a uniformtax code . He also used state power to encourage the production ofsalt andiron ;historian s usually credit Guan Zhong for introducing statemonopolies of salt and iron. During his term of office, the state of Qi became much stronger andDuke Huan of Qi gained hegemony among the states.He is listed as the
author of the "Guanzi"encyclopedia , actually a much later (of the late "Warring States " period) of works from the scholars of theJixia Academy .External links
*gutenberg author|id=Guan_Zhong|name=Guan Zhong (in Chinese)
*http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Diverse/guanzi.html
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