秦漢代手工業の展開 : 秦漢代工官の變遷から考える

Abstract

This paper is a consideration concerned with the vicissitudes of the structure and of the labor organization of the central and local Government Workshops (gong guan 工官) in the Qin and Han dynasties. The conclusions are as follows: During the Qin dynasty, the period when the Government Workshop system was established, the Workshops were controlled by the Privy Treasury (Shao fu 少府). This system was continued during the Former Han dynasty. The Qin dynasty unified China in 221 B.C.E., and they also reorganized the weapon manufacturing systems in the other six states. As a result, workmen (gong 工) all over the country were freed from various restraints and were thus able to form a driving force behind the development of private manual industries. Under the militaristic structures of the Qin and Former Han dynasties, however, many central and local Government Workshops were assigned to produce weapons, vessels and other items for imperial and military use. In the Later Han period, after the era of Wang Mang, the number of government workshops decreased, and another type of governmental office, the Office of Work (gong guan 工官), was established in local districts. This office was in charge of levying taxes. Late in the period of the Former Han dynasty patrimony became predominant in areas of skilled work, and actual work skills became limited to a few people. In addition, the over all decline in commerce and industry caused a decrease in the number of workmen. In this context, hierarchical restraints on workmen came to be enforced during and after the Three Kingdoms period.