モンゴル時代のウイグル農民と佛教教團--U 5330(USp 77)文書の再檢討から

Abstract

The Uigur document housed in the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Science, U 5330, was first published as No.77 in Uigurische Sprachdenkmaler by W.W. Radloff and has been referred by many scholars. However its contents have not yet been clarified. The author of this paper presents the fully revised edition of the document, and proves that the document is an alliance covenant of Uigur peasants against a possible conflict with a Buddhist monastery. Furthermore, the author reconstructs the historical background of the document U 5330, based on a comparison with other Uigur and Mongol texts. The author points out the following: (1) Uigur Buddhist monasteries in Turfan were bestowed with the priviledge of tax exemption throughout the West Uigur period (9th-12th cc.) and the Mongol period (13th-14th cc.); (2) However, during the reign of the fifth Mongol Emperor, Qubilai, the land tax (uig.-mo. sang) was levied on the Buddhist monasteries in Turfan as well as on those in China; (3) The qalan-tax levied on the Uigur secular peasants was a heavy burden; (4) Donation of land from peasants to the Buddhist monastery suited the economic interests of both sides, and the Mongol administrations granted it; (5) However, the interests of the peasants and the monastery were sometimes in severe conflict which also involved the government and officials. Those facts should provide the groundwork for further historical studies on the economic activities of the Uigur Buddhist monasteries.