元代「社制」の政治的考察

Abstract

The she was a kind of rural organization established by an imperial edict issued in 1270. The she was an administrative unit consisting of 50 households under a chief who was well grounded on agriculture. The Yuan dynasty adopted the she policy for reclaiming the devastated land of north China due to the uninterrupted warfare from Chin to Yuan. Under the system the she chief was charged with duties of reporting migration of the villagers, and increase or decrease of the population, keeping a census register, etc. Prohibition of carrying weapons by the populace was another important objective of the system to prevent popular uprising. It was not only the she chief but the individual villagers who were obliged to make surveillance over the village. The relative social stability created in this way seems to have contributed to the Yuan's offensive against the Sung.