秦漢代における佐史の變遷について

Abstract

In the Qin and Han dynasties, the Zuoshi 佐史 sustained the development of the local and central bureaucracies and document administration at the lowest level of the government. Appearing for the first time in the middle of the Warring States period, the Zuoshi continued to exist until the Latter Han dynasty, despite major changes in the organization of county and prefectural offices. This paper traces the evolution of the Zuoshi from the Qin dynasty to the Han dynasty, examines how the Zuoshi was formed from the late Western Han dynasty onward, and presents a new perspective on the gradual fusion of the two separate systems of Zuo 佐 and Shi 史 within administrative organizations from the Unified Qin dynasty to the Han dynasty. From the Latter Han dynasty onward, the term Zuoshi had two main meanings: first, it was the general term for the lowest-ranking officials, and second, it also referred to the lowest official salary. While the characteristics of the two posts of Zuo and the Shi had become quite similar in the Han dynasty, prior to the Han during the Qin dynasty, the Zuo and the Shi performed their duties in parallel, and the term Zuoshi became a collective term used to refer to both the Zuo and the Shi in a bureaucratic office, a township, or penal institution in the prefectures. The Zuo and the Shi differed in the manner of their appointments and roles. While the post of Zuo was generally selected by the local populace and engaged in practical operations, the Shi was appointed by examination and was mainly responsible for documentation. Also, in the Qin state during the Warring State period, the Zuoshi can be further categorized into two types of officials, those who worked continuously and those who worked on a rotating basis. This paper thus confirms that there were differences in the treatment among the lowest-status officials including the Zuoshi. This paper has also examined the case of Qianling 遷陵 Prefecture during the Unified Qin dynasty, and has shown that, although there was a parallelism between the Zuo and the Shi in each office in the prefecture, the duties originally performed by those within the purview of the Shi could also be performed by officials within system of the Zuo. As for the difference in treatment within the Zuoshi, officials who worked continuously became the mainstream during the Unified Qin dynasty, while the rotating system gradually died out. It can be inferred that the shortage of officials, especially in the newly occupied areas during the period of unification, was one of the factors that contributed to this change in the Zuoshi. Based on the above arguments, this paper has presented new insights into the external factors that led to the bureaucratic transformation from the Qin dynasty of Warring States period to the early Han dynasty.