<論説>戸部と戸部則例

Abstract

清代の戸部は、中央政府の一機関として地方衙門を監督する位置にあったが、それは地方衙門の請願・報告を機械的・技術的な側面から検討するという高度に専門化した諮問機関・大量情報処理機関として機能するものであり、政治的見地からの判断を行なう皇帝や内閣・軍機処とは補完関係にあった。そのような戸部の性格から、地方衙門は膨大な量の細則・前例を了解している必要があり、しかも細則・前例は必然的に増加する一方であった。そのために生じる行政効率の悪化に対応するため、乾隆四十一年には『戸部則例』という戸部の条例集が編纂頒行される。これは網羅的でもなく権威も低く、単なる便宜的な編纂物に過ぎない。しかしその後定期的に改訂する制度ができたように、これはある程度有用なものであり、そうした制度の確立は画期的であった。こうして官僚制度運営上の一つの行き詰まりが弥縫され、従来のシステムの延命が行なわれることになった。

This article attempts to make clear the character of the supervisory functions of the central government in regard to its local governments during the Qing dynasty, and to analyze the problems that arose from such supervision and the countermeasures taken against them. Specifically, the article will deal with the Board of Revenue, one of the boards of the central government. First, this study analyzes the functions of the Board of Revenue as it functioned within the central government and specifies that its function was as a consultative or information bureau with a highly specialized responsibility. Second, the article analyzes the relationship between the Board and the local governments and makes it clear that the former generally controlled the latter by both rather mechanical inspections of the local governments' observance of regulations and precedent as well as by means of mere technical guidelines. In addition, the emperor could make decisions on issues independent of the inspections of the Board of Revenue. However, because his decisions were based on political judgements, the emperor and the Board worked in a complementary fashion concerning the supervision of the local governments. Thus, when the Board inspected the local governments, these governments were under the double control of the central government, that is, under the mechanical or technical jurisdiction of the Board and under the political prerogative of the emperor. Such a system required the local governments to understand a large number of regulations and precedents. However, ' it was difficult for them to do so because of the complexity of these regulations and precedents, and because of the lack of the capability to administer their own documents. Moreover, as the number of regulations and precedents continued to increase, the efficiency of the local governments gradually decreased. One countermeasure to this trend was the periodic compilation of regulations and precedents. In the 18th century, several ministries and provinces compiled the regulations and precedents concerning them. the Regulations of the Board of Revenue was one of these. Although this compilation was only temporary, and neither complete nor authoritative, such a systematic compilation was revolutionary. Yet, this countermeasure was only an attempt to prolong the already inefficient system and was thus unable to reform the system itself.