Licorice

original: 甘草, Gancao

Mountain Herbs, Volume 7

...the distribution of income and expenditures, and all the hardships inherent in the people's livelihoods—these are matters that must be expressed with repeated concern and care. This allows virtuous officials to consult these records and understand which situations should be guided according to existing trends and which require a complete change in strategy. Perhaps some areas should be encouraged to plant onions and chives, while others focus on tea or mulberry trees.

Whether it be the records concerning the lychees of Jiaozhi Jiaozhi, a historical region in northern Vietnam, was famous for its lychees. During various dynasties, the demand for these as imperial tribute caused great suffering for the local population who had to transport the perishable fruit over vast distances., the blue lilies duruo; an aromatic herb, Pollia japonica, often mentioned in classical poetry of Fangzhou, the petitions of Han Yu Han Yu (768–824) was a Tang Dynasty statesman who wrote famous memorials to the Emperor advocating for the common people against unfair levies on local products like cornelian cherries and seafood. regarding cornel and clams, or the "Story of the Snake Catcher" by Zihou Zihou is the courtesy name of Liu Zongyuan (773–819). His essay "Catching Snakes" is a famous critique of predatory taxation, describing a man who would rather risk death by a viper than face the tax collector.—all these writings make the suffering of the people as clear as looking at a blazing fire.

By correcting imbalances and addressing abuses, and through the principle of utilizing resources to enrich the lives of the people liyong housheng; a classical Confucian governance ideal from the Book of Documents, suggesting that the proper use of natural resources should always result in the material improvement of the people's lives, we can ensure that the natural world serves as more than just a source of tax.