淸代における踹布業の經營形態(上)

Abstract

Cotton-sizing was developed in Suchou (蘇州) under the Ch'ing (清), where a few cotton merchants were running their business on a large scale; there were approximately 450 mills, 360 operating agents, and over 10, 000 workers. The operating agent was called pao-t'ou (包頭). Not a few scholars regarded the operating agent system as prototype of the capitalistic production system, but the present author proposes a different interpretation based on some new material recently found in Suchou. The operating agent enjoyed license for sizing the cotton cloth, equipped the mill with instruments, and provided the workers with lodging in the form of advancement. The mill was leased on a monthly basis. Neverthless, he was in no sense a "capitalist" because he himself did not employ workers, who were paid by the cotton merchant on a piece work basis. There was another characteristic of the enterprise; though it was a private business, the cottonsizing industry was under the control of the local government which regulated the duties of the operating agent as well as wages for workers. The industry may be regarded as a kind of deformity caused by the peculiar nature of production facilities, i.e., home industry.