It's the annual 315 Consumer Rights Day again. In ancient times, how did people protect consumer rights and punish behaviors that infringed on consumer rights and damaged the business environment? As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, positions such as market masters, officials, and officials responsible for managing the market were established, which played a positive role in maintaining market trading order and ensuring the normal exchange of goods. During the Han Dynasty, there were positions such as city officials, mayors, city magistrates, and city officials responsible for managing business activities in the market, inspecting the quality of goods, managing the market registration of merchants, craftsmen, etc., regulating prices, collecting market taxes, maintaining market transaction order, and safeguarding consumer rights and interests. The responsibilities of municipal officials at all levels are clearly defined, and their supervisors are responsible for their respective duties. An example of protecting consumer rights is recorded in the "Dongguan Han Ji: Biography of Min Gong": Min Gong's family was poor and plagued by illness, unable to afford meat. He could only buy a piece of pork liver to eat every day, but the butcher who sold the meat refused to sell it to him because he felt the money was too little. After learning about this matter, the magistrate of Anyi County did not hesitate due to its small nature and immediately instructed the city officials to mediate and handle it. Food quality and safety have been the focus of management since ancient times. As early as the Han Dynasty, there was a relatively complete management mechanism. The Han Dynasty's "Two Year Law" stipulated that if meat products for everyone to eat spoil, it will cause poisoning or even death, and must be completely burned. If it should be burned but not, the person in charge will receive the same punishment as theft. In the Tang Dynasty, it became even stricter, and if a seller was found selling problematic meat, there was a risk of being sentenced to death. There is a provision in the "Tang Law Commentary" that states: "Preserved meat is poisonous. Once a patient, if there is excess, it should be burned quickly. Violators will be punished with a cane of ninety. If it is eaten and sold to others, causing illness, it will be punished for one year, and if it causes the death, it will be punished according to the law of manslaughter. If it is stolen and eaten, it will not be punished." When Bai Juyi was serving in the local government, he tried cases of food poisoning and severely punished those who made problematic preserved meat according to the law. In the Song Dynasty, strict management was implemented for water injected meat. At that time, it was stipulated that if a seller injected water into pork or beef, they would be punished with a "sixty degree cane". The Ming Dynasty imposed an additional 20 lashes on the punishment of water injected meat. Food safety is very important, and those who deceive and exploit customers must also be dealt with. In the 19th chapter of "Water Margin", it is written about the story of Yang Zhi angrily killing the hooligan Niu Er, which can be regarded as acting for heaven and repairing the street bully who bullies and bullies customers. In fact, during the Great Song Dynasty, there were indeed "big worms" and "small worms" who bullied the market and were dealt with by the government. According to Volume 96 of the "Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government", during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, the father and son duo of Dong Dechang and Dong Liyong colluded with the Imperial City Bureau to patrol the streets and defraud money. The common people and merchants were afraid of them and called them "big worms" and "small worms". After being reported by the people, the Kaifeng Prefecture ruled that Dong Dechang and his son Dong Li were punished for using canes, tattooing their faces, and being sent to Shamen Island. They were pardoned but not returned, and their gang members were also punished accordingly. During the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, the governor of Suzhou, Kuang Zhong, dismantled a group of corrupt officials who had bribed, accepted bribes, and bullied the market, causing harm to the people. The people called him "Kuang Qingtian". The Anecdotes of Ming Dynasty Figures "records that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Cha, the inspector general of Zhejiang, received a large number of lawsuits from the public against the river bullies on the Qiantang River, claiming that they had long occupied the river, extorted money and goods from passengers, inflated prices, and caused great harm to passing merchants. Chen Cha personally went to the ship to secretly visit and witnessed the evil behavior of Jiang Ba's forcing passengers to add money and accumulate wealth. After he returned to the yamen, he immediately ordered the police station to arrest Jiang Ba, and from then on, there were no more Jiang Ba rampant on the Qiantang River. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a specialized market management agency called the Five Cities Military and Horse Bureau in the capital, responsible for public security, fire safety, urban management, and other matters throughout the entire capital (outside the Forbidden City). A system was also introduced, which stipulated that anyone who bullied and monopolized the market in their operations would be detained for two months and punished with a cane of 100. During the Kangxi reign, merchants and merchants gathered in Beijing, and every inch of land on both sides of Zhengyangmen Street was valuable. Everyone wanted to occupy a place, resulting in the formation of a road market that "occupied the road and hindered traffic". Regarding this, a censor has requested the demolition of shops and the clearing of streets. The court only demolished the illegal buildings that blocked traffic, and ensured the normal operation of law-abiding shops, making the commercial prosperity of the capital beneficial to the people. (New Society)