마도 출수 묵서명 중국 도자기에 적힌 ‘강(綱)’의 의미 고찰

Abstract

The Mado waters of Tae-an, Chungnam were used for many years as a transport route for cargo vessels shipping grain paid as a tax and regional products and at the same time, playedan inevitable role as an international marine trade route. Between 2009, when full-blown investigations began in the Mado waters and 2019, there were several rounds of exploration, prospecting, and excavation investigations in the waters. They discovered four wrecked ships from Goryeo and Joseon, various kinds of artifacts including pottery, anchor stones, and wooden tags(mokgan), and 246 pieces of Chinese pottery to show exchanges with China. Of the Chinese pottery found in Mado waters, ones with letters or signs written in Chinese ink on the surface are called Mukseo墨書 or Mukseomyeong墨書名 pottery. There are 55 pieces of pottery with Mukseo related to “綱” written on the surface. It used to be believed that 綱 written on pottery generally referred to a business group商團, especially a maritime merchant group海商. A look at its meanings and use cases, however, indicates that it is “massive cargo organized for transportation and sales” or a “unit of organizing many carts and ships in charge of cargo transportation.” It is thus highly likely that Mukseomyeong Chinese pottery with “綱” written on the surface was used as “a tag荷札” to distinguish the cargo of each merchant group for massive transportation and sales. When the meanings of 綱 are connected to cargo transportation, such terms as Dogang都綱 and Gangsu綱首 can be interpreted differently from before. That is, they can be interpreted as “individuals responsible for the cargo of a ship and its transportation” rather than a merchant or head of a business group. This interpretation can support the opinion that Dogang and Gangsu were shipowners or shipping agents related to cargo transportation.