Take the Qing dynasty, which is the closest to modern times, for example, there are not a few people who have only been the number one scholar for ten years. There is also a saying in the Qing Dynasty: "Three years in the Qing dynasty, 100,000 snowflakes and silver". So, what was the salary of Qing officials? Can you really earn 100 thousand silver when you are a magistrate for three years?
First, the treatment of honest officials.
As can be seen from the major film and television dramas, the official positions in the Qing Dynasty were very popular, and people with money and no money wanted to be officials. People with lofty ideals realize their ideals through scientific research, while those who are not strong enough to support their dreams but are rich are simply rude and can get them directly with money. This is the so-called "donating officials". At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong earned almost more "official donations" than the official income of the national treasury in one year.
First of all, the scribes, officers and solicitors of the yamen have to be hired by the county magistrate at his own expense. The court doesn't care, plus the magistrate of a county has to serve. The old lady's daily food expenses, the servants of a large family, and colleagues have to walk around for dinner, and they have to honor their superiors on holidays. This money is really not enough. "Da Ming Code Daquan" records that "the magistrate of a county earns 320 yuan a month, and the family wants money to feed the horses."
Before answering this question, we must first understand the concept of "100,000 taels of silver" in the Qing Dynasty. When watching TV series, I often see people spending money in teahouses, leaving a few taels of silver after drinking tea. When you meet some exaggerated TV dramas, you will always come up with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
However, we know that throughout the history of China, the salaries of officials in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were pitifully low. The annual salary of first-level officials is only 182 yuan. After that, it gradually declined to become a magistrate of a county. 40-50 Liang a year ... is 40-50 Liang enough? Not enough, even far from enough.
How high is the value of ancient silver? Take rice, which people need most in their lives. From Kangxi to Qianlong, the price of rice is about ten pence a liter, and one or two silver can buy 150 meters of rice. According to the current rice price, it will probably take 450 yuan to 500 yuan to buy 150 kg of rice. That is to say, the value of one or two pieces of silver in the early Qing Dynasty is probably 450 yuan now.
There was chaos in the late Qing Dynasty, and prices were no longer stable. However, on average, one or two pieces of silver can still buy about 100 kg of rice. In other words, one or two pieces of silver in the late Qing Dynasty were roughly equivalent to those in modern 300 yuan.