前漢の戸ロ統計について

Abstract

It is generally assumed that the Former Han dynasty gradually declined after the reign of Emperor Wu 武帝. In this article, however, I would like to examine this assumption anew from the point of view of the history of population and, economy. The presentation includes the following three points. 1. Upon analyzing the nature and reliability of the population statistics contained in the "Section on Geography" (dilizhi) 地理志 of the Hanshu, 漢書, I found that they were entirely obtained by the state and did not include the slaves. Yet in comparison with statistics of other periods they are relatively reliable. The sum total of the whole country as given by Ban Gu 班固 differs from the total as calculated from the numbers of all the districts. One seems to be based on an inquiry done under Emperor Ai 哀帝, the other on one under Emperor Ping 平帝. 2. Following the movements in population during the Former Han one observes that there was a marked decrease in the last year of Emperor Wu, whereas after this the population gradually increased again, reaching a peak under Emperor Ai. 3. As regards the distribution of the population towards the end of the Former Han, it is notably concentrated between the middle course of the Yellow River 黄河 and the Huai River 淮水.This appears to be related to the particularly high development of waterways in this area.