宋代商税制度補説

Abstract

The late Dr. Shigeshi Kato has already described in outline the system of taxes on merchants in the Sung dynasty, but the details of the system remain unclear. The author has here attempted to discover the details by investigating some of the aspects of the system: the organization of the tax-collecting posts (shui-wu (稅務)), the routes of tax-collecting, the relation between the amount of the taxes and the revenue of the dynasty, some difficulties caused by tax-collecting, and the taxes on special goods. Through the above method, he concludes that in the Sung dynasty goods were circulated all through, the country by the merchants. The prosperity of K'ai-feng (開封) or Hang-chou (杭州) was brought about by the development of these merchants' business. The funds collected from the shui-wu established throughout the country began to occupy an important part of the dynasty's revenue from the Sung dynasty. The importance which commercial business had in the dynasty is recognized from the tax-system for the merchants. Nevertheless, we must not over-estimate the volume of such business, since it was found only in the cities and not in the rural districts.