Chang'an in the Ledger

Account books are not only records of numbers, but also slices of time and codes of civilization. This book takes a unique approach, travels through time and space, and salvages a real Chang'an with vivid colors and rich textures from the account books, contracts, books and official documents of the Tang Dynasty that have been silent for thousands of years. We do not enter that prosperous age through the great achievements of emperors and generals, but through a series of simple numbers, a trivial income and expenditure, and pages of rigorous calculations. In the goods list of Hu merchants in the West City, you can see the pulse of Silk Road trade; in the tax and grain records of ordinary farmers, you can touch the operating texture of land equalization and rent adjustment; in the official salary distribution book, you can glimpse the precise gears of the imperial bureaucracy; you can even feel the fireworks and warmth of the Tang Dynasty market from the purchase expenses of a wedding banquet, the sesame oil account of a temple, and a labor contract of a hired worker.