Ye Shi


Ye Shi, courtesy name Zhengze, pseudonym Mr. Shuixin, was a Chinese neo-Confucian of the Song dynasty.
A native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang, he was the most famous figure of the Yongjia School, a neo-Confucianism School composed mostly of philosophers from today Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang province. In contrast to other scholars in the same period like Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan, he stressed practical learning and applying Confucian doctrine to real world problems. This school had important influence on later thinkers from Zhejiang province, including Wang Shouren and Huang Zongxi, who were the most important philosophers in the Ming and Qing periods.

Economic views

Ye Shi wrote numerous articles and extensive discussions on topics such as finances, government organization, and the military. His approach towards tackling issues of the state caused puzzlement among Southern Song government officials.
Ye Shi criticized the expansion of fiscal apparatus by the Song dynasty and advocated for fiscal conservatism deeming the expansion as morally bankrupt "exploitation" and "money grubbing". However, many Confucian moralists were sanguine regarding to this topic.
He also defended Wang Anshi's stance that the New Policies falls on "li cai" even though he argued that the actual policies crossed the line into "yan li".
He served as Director of Studies in the Directorate of Education during the reign of the Southern Song dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Ningzong, he was labeled as a "factionalist" and part of the "heretic scholar faction". Due to this, he lost his office in government.

Monetary theory

During a time of opposition against the adoption of paper money, Ye introduced a view of money which emphasized its role as a medium of exchange created by merchants for trade. Ye argued that during the age of sage-kings, people were self-sufficient, producing all necessary goods. As societies became more complex, a division of labor emerged, leading to a need for exchange and the use of money as a measure of value. This transition allowed various commodities to be quantified: cloth in feet and inches, grain in pecks and bushels. The establishment of the Qin and Han empires significantly expanded trade, with coinage becoming the preferred medium of exchange due to its convenience. By the end of the Former Han dynasty, precious materials like jade and gold were primarily ornamental. Ye believed that a stable currency system was not realized until the Tang dynasty began minting the Kaiyuan coin in 621.

Works

Some of his important surviving works of Ye Shi include:

Collections

  • Shuixin wenji
  • ''Shuixin bieji''

    Books

  • ''Xuexi jiyan xumu''