<論説>宋代の公使庫について : 地方財政の研究

Abstract

宋代地方官の機密費を公使銭という。これを貯蔵しておく倉庫が公使庫である。公使銭は衙門の修理、その他地方政治の運営のために使用されるが、その主なる目的は外国使臣、通過官吏の接待、軍隊の犒賞にあった。ところで中央政府の財政が困窮すると、公使銭は中央に引揚げられ、また官僚の個人的な上司への贈遺、宴会費に流用され、その本来の目的がゆがめられた。特に公使庫では酒の醸造が許されていたので、これが官僚の宴会を容易ならしめ、この酒がまた上司に贈遺され宮界の腐敗を招く大きな原因となった。一方醸造米は人民に強制的に割りあてられ、またその酒が強制販売されて政府の酒専売収入に大打撃を与えた。本稿では公使庫を通して近世中国社会の官僚の性格を追求している。

The secret service fund for the local officials in the Sung 宋 dynasty was called Kung-Shih-Ts'ien 公使銭, which was stored up in the storehouse, Kung-Shih-K'u 公使庫. Kung-Shih-Ts'ien was spent for repairing the city-gate and operating the local government, but its main pruposes consisted in reception of foreign envoys or officials passing-through and in entertainment of the army. When the finance of the central government was badly off, Kung-Shih-Ts'ien was transfered to the central govenment, or was diverted to the privated bribes of local officials to their superior officials or to the cost of banquest, different from its original aim. As especially in Kung-Shih-K'u brewing was authorized, this made the officials' banquest easy and this wine was presented to their superior officials, which generally caused the corruption of the official world. Rice for brewing, however, was assigned by force to the people for nothing and its wine was forced to sell, giving a great blow to the governmental income of wine monopoly. This article persues the character of modern Chinese officials through the research of Kung-Shih-K'u.