The man who gave us Gongbao chicken

[Photo provided to China Daily]

3 Administration of the salt industry in Sichuan province: Before he became governor of the province, salt production was in the hands of a small group of businessmen who, obsessed with the desire to maximize profits, ganged up with corrupt government officials to control the salt market, extorted money from ordinary people and evaded taxes.

As soon as he became governor of the province, Ding took measures to change the situation.

He did this in three ways: putting corrupt officials in prison, punishing unscrupulous merchants and cracking down on speculation and smuggling.

To record his experiences, he organized a number of government officials and scholars to compile a document called the Salt Administration Law for Sichuan Province, the first of its kind in the country.

This document is still in use today.