唐帝國とソグド人の交易活動

Abstract

The imperial rule of the Tang extended to the neighboring foreign countries, and continuing up until the period of the high Tang, the government exercised a loose control over these countries by setting up ji-mi zhou-fu 羈縻州府 ("loose reign" prefectures). The residents of these foreign countries were also entered as households of commoners in the household registers, as was prescribed by the lu-ling 律令 system. Among these foreign countries, almost all Central Asian countries extending as far as Sogdiana were included in this system. As a result, the trading activities of Sogdians were arranged in accordance with system. Within the lu-ling system, Sogdians were treated as merchants who were permitted to be entered in the household register of their domicile of choice after they had left their legal domicile. The Tang government ensured the safe passage of Sogdians via issuing them passports and allowing them access to the Tang communication system that connected them with the imperial capital. The Sogdian trading state established by Tang imperial order in the first half of the Tang era was entirely distinct from indigenous Sogdian states established both before and after this period.