後漢 光武帝의 官制・행정조직 개편과 그 배경― 인구 및 재정문제와의 관련성을 중심으로

Abstract

I proved that the Emperor Guangwu’s abolition of commandery defender(duwei), commanderies and prefectures and reduction of official salary was related to financial problems by calculating the salaries and cuts of government posts. Although no specific figures were given in history book called Diwangshiji by Huangfu mi(215 A.D.~282 A.D.), the scholar, doctor and historian in the period of Xi Jin Dynasty, it was recorded that the numbers of households in the founding of the Latter Han decreased to 20% of that of households in 2 A.D., the period of Former Han dynasty. Emperor Guangwu implemented a policy to increase the number of households, and succeeded in increasing numbers to 4,271,634 households, and 21,007,820 persons in 57 A.D.. But it was only 32.3% of households and 35.5% of persons in 2 A.D. This sharp decline in households meant a decline in fiscal revenue, so the Emperor Gwangmu had to reduce fiscal spending. The reorganization of the government post and abolition of local administration systems was a measure to reduce fiscal expenditure. Liao Boyuan, Taiwan scholar, criticized that the Emperor Guangwu’s transfer of the capital from Chang’an to Luoyang lead to no interest in territorial expansion, instead, he took a policy of complacency by removing some commanderies and prefectures of the northern provinces and moving the people to the inland, resulting in the decline of Guanzhong and Liangzhou regions, and frequent rebellion. Though his criticisms are sufficiently valid, the Emperor Gwangmu system could not have taken active foreign policy due to a decrease in households and fiscal income during the first stage of the Latter Han dynasty.