Abstract: In Northern Song Dynasty, faced with the national financial crisis at that time, Su Zhe put forward a number of ideas, including eliminating “those who harm the state wealth” means “increasing the wealth”; cutting the superfluous personnel by extending the time of imperial examination system, abolishing the system to bestow favours, reforming the system of having priority of becoming officials through the privilege given to the later generations of higher officials, and reducing the state affairs; cutting down the military expenditures by selecting the generals, increasing the number of spies and soldiers, and reducing the imperial guards; reducing the “unprofitable expenditures” used for imperial clans, water transport and awards; and coordinating the financial management rights between the central and local governments. These ideas can contribute a certain amount of enlightenment to contemporary China to correctly handle the problem of centralization and decentralization between the central government and the local governments in the financial management system.

Key words: financial thought; Su Zhe; Song Dynasty