爰書新探 : 漢代訴訟論のために

Abstract

In this paper, the author discusses a type of official document known as "yuanshu" during the Han period, utilizing the Han wooden strips discovered at Edsen-gol sites (Juyan-Hanjian 居延漢簡), and concludes as follows:--Since "yuanshu" documents always ended with the set phrase 'taru yuanshu 它如爰書, ' and sometimes started with the word 'yuanshu, ' all the wooden strips bearing these formulae, even in the case of tiny fragments, should be recognized as belonging to this category of document. The "yuanshu" was a kind of document through which government officials attested something. Thus, it can be defined as a kind of official certificate. This definition can be well applied to the "yuanshu" during the Qin period which appears in the bamboo strips discovered in the Qin tomb at Shuihudi (Shuihudi-Qinjian 睡虎地秦簡) as well. Despite commonly accepted opinion to the contrary, documents which start with the phrase 'ziyan 自言' (lit. '[a person] himself states') were not the "yuanshu" but rather a kind of application which should be named "ziyan." The "yuanshu" was always exchanged between officials and never produced by private persons.