Yantielun 鹽鐵論

Yantielun 鹽鐵論 "Discussions on salt and iron" is a report on the discussions on the state monopoly during the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 AD). Its author is Huan Kuan 桓寬 (early 1st cent. BCE).

In 81 BCE, Emperor Zhao 漢昭帝 (r. 87-74 BCE) summoned to the capital scholars from each district of the empire to discuss the most important problems of the time. The various scholars stressed that the state monopoly on the production and distribution of salt and iron was the main reason for the suffering of the people. When Censor-in-chief Sang Hongyang 桑弘羊 contradicted this thesis a vehement discussion spun off. The scholars are often seen as the representatives of Confucian thought, which stressed a benevolent government, and the government's side as representatives of legalist thought, which laid emphasis on the overall power of the state.

Based on the notes made during the discussions, Huan Kuan wrote a 60-chapters-long literary report on the main topics of the discussion. He was, as a Confucian-trained scholar, on the side of the scholars and criticized Sang Hongyang and Tian Qianqiu 田千秋, the main representatives of the government side.

The best early print of the Yantielun is the Tuzhen edition 涂禎本 from the Hongzhi reign-period 弘治 (1488-1505). The most important modern commentaries are Guo Moruo' 郭莫若 (1892-1978) Yantielun duben 鹽鐵論讀本 and Wang Liqi's 王利器 (1912-1998) Yantielun jiaozhu 鹽鐵論校注.

There is a partial English translation (ch. 1-28) by Esson M. Gale. 1931. Discourses on Salt and Iron: a Debate on State Control of Commerce and Industry in Ancient China. Leiden: Brill.