宰の研究

Abstract

The tsai was an office which succeeded from the Shang 商 to Chou 周 dynasties. In regard to the duties of officials who held the offices of tsai under the Shang, we know only that they served as attendants to the Shang king. In regard to the position and duties of those who held the office of tsai from the Western Chou to the Eastern Chou periods, however, we can use Bronze Inscriptions and classical sources to draw the following conclusions. The tsai of the Western Chou dynasty controlled the Wang-chia 王家; that is, the greater household or "Oikos" of the Chou king. This greater household included the army that belonged personally to the Chou king, and it was organized as a means to satisfy the kings' financial needs. The office of tsai was charged with the control of those who belonged directly to the Wang-chia, and with the transmission of the orders of the Chou king. From the Bronze Inscriptions recording the granting of benefices we can determine that one of the duties of the tsai was that of executor. The duties and position of the Ta-tsai 大宰 which can be confirmed from the Chou-li 周禮 do not coincide with the actual duties of the tsai under the Western Chou dynasty. The tsai who served as the Yu-che 右者 in the Bronze Inscriptions recording appointments only appeared in relation to ordered concrete duties. We cannot, therefore, assume the existence of a system of governmental hierarchy between the tsai and those who received the Ts'e-ming 册命. The prestige of the position of the tsai under the Western Chou did not yet reach that of the position of the Ta-tsai in the Chou-li, however, the fact that the Tsai Chou-kung 宰周公 appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period suggests that the prestige of the position of tsai continued to rise. The official title of the Ta-tsai appeared in principalities of the Eastern Chou. The Ta-tsai of principalities took over the duties and position of the tsai of the Eastern Chou. Moreover, the person who was in the center of power at that time was referred to as the tsai. In this instance, the official who held the office of the tsai served as intellectual advisor and attendant to his lord, and as such gradually evolved into the position of the Ta-tsai of the Chou-li. Among the vassals of the Ministers and Grand Masters of the Spring and Autumn Period was the position of tsai, whose incumbents served as head of the grand households and as intellectual advisors to these dignitaries. It can thus be concluded that the position of the tsai as a patrimonial bureaucrat assumed the important function of maintaining a state organization based on the Feudal System from the Western Chou to Eastern Chou periods.