<論説>応劭「火耕水耨」注より見たる後漢江淮の水稲作技術について

Abstract

火耕水耨に関しては、従来漢より南北朝に至る江淮・江南の普遍的な水稲栽培法で、その技術的内容は、一年休閑の直播農法、或は器具を以つて除草しない、原始的な農法と考えられていた。この定説に対して最近西山武一氏から次の反論が出た。即ち氏は火耕水耨と齊民要術に見える江淮水稲栽培とは一線を劃すべきであるが、後者も一年休閑の直播で、手条播 (鎌で除草したことを意味する) であった点が異なつていると言う。しかし私は、これらの説に多少の疑念を持ち、後漢の人応劭の火耕水耨の注を手がかりとして、後漢の稲作は手まき条播で一年休閑ではなく、除草の注意もゆき届いた進歩した栽培法であることを述べ、この農法の萌芽はすでに前漢にも考えうるが、当時の豪族の大土地経営にともなつて普遍化したものであることを論じた。尚火耕水耨の技術的内容は不明であるが、晋代ではすでに過去の、或は開拓地の農法とみられ、当時の普遍的な水稲作技術と考えられていないことを併せて明らかにした。

It has been said that Huo Kêng Shui Nou (火耕水耨) was a universal method of rice cultivation in Ch'iang Huai and Ch'iang Nan (江南) at Han through the Six Dynasties (六朝), and its technique was primitive, dependent upon the direct sowing, and the manual weeding, using the same field only every other year. On this concurrent theory, Mr. B. Nishiyama (西山武一) has quite recently given a short comment. According to his theory, we should distinguish Huo Kêng Shui Nou from the cultivation method of Ch'iang Huai described in Ch'i Min Yao Shii (斉民要術). Nevertheless, the latter is different from the former only in that whether they weeded with hands or with tools. Having some doubt in these theories, the author discussed as the following by referring to the comment on Huo Kêng Shui Nou of Ying Shao (応劭) of Later Han. That is, the rice-cultivation-method of Later Han was a rather developed one, using the same field continually, with excellent devices for weeding. This new method might have been originated at Former Han (前漢) and no doubt that it became prevalent in connection with the large plantation system adopted by the local nobility. The technical details of Huo Kêng Shui Nou are not clear as yet, but at any rate this method was taken to be out-of-date or that of the frontier at Chin Dynasty (晉朝).