by Tyler J. Hayward Introduction to the Text             Huan Kuan’s (first century BCE) Discourses on Salt and Iron (鹽鐵論Yantie Lun) documents a series of debates held during the Shiyuan era (86-81 BCE) between the Lord Grand Secretary Sang Hongyang and the Ruist literati.[i] These debates, while initially focused on the usefulness of government monopolies in the salt, iron, and alcohol industries, open up into … Continue reading Discourses on Salt and Iron