唐代の職田制とその克服

Abstract

One of the remarkable differences, which distinguishes Sui and T'ang from those earlier empires from the 3rd century A. D., is reinforced soverign power supported by the organized bureacracy in the former. Since the bureacracy was parasitic to the ruler, they enjoyed various priviledges granted by him. Chih-ch'ien or a kind of fief constituted one of these priviledges. The resistance of the peasantry against the chih-ch'ien system, which was supported by forced labour, led to re-allotment of chin-ch'ien land to peasants in the period from the beginning of T'ang to the first half of the 8th century. The revolt of An-Lu-shan and invasions of the Tangut made the upkeep of serfdom extremely difficult, and necessitated a transition from the older system of corvee to a new system of property tax. Neverthless, forced labour was requisitioned to maintain chih-ch'ien land. Then, the Ching-yuan revolt further weakened the T'ang dynasty, leading to differentiation of the ruled, whose upper strata became participtated in politics and encroached on chih-ch'ien land. The author concludes that the final breakdown of the chih-ch'ien system was only put into effect by the concerted effort of the peasantry, who were opposed to the bureaucracy and the collaborating upstarts.