唐寓之の亂と士大夫

Abstract

Most previous studies of the Tang Yu-zhi Rebellion, which occurred on the west coast of Zhejiang 浙江 in 485 A.D., have focused on the question of whether or not this can be considered as a rebellion of the peasantry. However, it is the opinion of this author that a group of sailors and merchants formed the core of this rebellion. At that time, the Nan-Qi Wu-di 南齊武帝 government, in an effort to secure a sound financial basis, had carried out a close census of taxpayers and had increased the circulation taxes. The great increase in circulation taxes may have placed a heavy burden on sailors and merchants, who had been omitted from the census. Although forming the rearguard rather than the vanguard, peasants and wealthy farmers who were discontented with the close census also took part in the rebellion, swelling the rebel army from 400 to 30, 000 persons. This rebellion was suppressed by the Imperial Guards, however, the Nan-Qi Wu-di government, which was under the control of the emperor's favorites, was opposed to the Shidafu faction, which included some Imperial princes and officials, on the issue of measures devised to deal with this rebellion. Even in the period before this rebellion, the Shidafu had sharply criticized the fact that the tax increase weighed heavily on the public welfare, and they had demanded a tax reduction. However, the Nan-Qi-shu 南齊書, which includes detailed documents of this rebellion, emphasizes the opposition between the Nan-Qi Wu-di government and the Shidafu faction, in light of the Shidafu. Therefore, we cannot place absolute trust in the Nan-Qi-shu as a documentary basis.