十八世紀アムール川下流地方のホジホン

Abstract

From the period of the mid-seventeenth century, the Qing 清 dynasty government organized most of the minorities living in the lower reaches of the Amur River into a group designated as "frontier people 邊民". These people were obliged to pay an annual tribute of a sable pelt per family to Ningguta 寧古塔. In the eighteenth century, some frontier people began to travel to Beijing 北京 privately, outside the purview of the annual tribute missions. These people carried animal pelts such as silver fox, black fox, arctic fox, red fox, and sable. Their purpose was to present these pelts to the emperor and to marry women in Beijing. Such people were termed hojihon, and they, together with their wives, were well-treated. Some hojihons continued to travel back and forth from Amur River region to Beijing, presenting many pelts and receiving much reward. With the conclusion of the treaty of Nerchinsk between Qing and Russia in 1689, the Qing government increased the tribute sites in the lower reaches of the Amur River, and dispatched there annually eight bannermen to collect the pelts. Then, the frontier people carried on a lively trade with both the bannermen and other frontier people. The hojihons were those who actively participated in this trade and successfully gathered many animal pelts.