『史記』 「貨殖列傳」의 구성과 “自然之驗”의 의미

Abstract

Citing the article ‘Small Country, a few people小國寡民’of Laozi老子, the preface of Shiji Huozhiliezhuan emphasizes that the most ideal politics is to follow the nature of the people. Therefore, Sima-Qian司馬遷’s economic view shown in Huozhiliezhuan emphasizes“Signs of Nature自然之驗”which is consistent with truth and carried out by itself not compulsory and artificial separation of agriculture and manual industry and distribution and exchange of products by traders or business. The emphasis of “Signs of Nature”is to reflect Sima Qian’s economic view and is highly related with the meaning of “Time”, natural order not artificial order. Therefore, the comment of Huozhiliezhuan that agriculture and commerce are very important but traders and iron metallurgy dealers or salters who accumulated goods did not help the urgency of the country, making the people’s lives more impoverished (Shiji, Pingzhunshu 平準書,“不佐國家之急 黎民重困”) can be interpreted to have criticised the economic order not meeting “truth” or “Signs of Nature”such as concentration of goods by profit and wealth accumulation of merchants and craftsmen, poverty of the people and destitution of national finance etc. That is, Sima Qian’s criticism resulted from the concern about small farmers’ breakaway from land due to the development of commerce and the collapse of peasant economy. The understanding of Sima Qian who emphasized “Signs of Nature”shows a clear difference with BanGu班固 who emphasized the artificial order such as the difference of positional order by ‘System made by the late king (先王之制)’ or establishment of economic order through ‘Realization of royal statesmanship.’That is, BanGu thought that “Food(shi 食)” is the beginnning of politics. Such understanding is significantly different from that of Sima Qian arguing that politics must follow the nature of the people. These differences in understanding can be also found in the description about ‘Teaching about using soil power’, Li Kui's(李悝) reform conducted in the Warring States period trying to strengthen the national finance by limiting traders’multiple ownership through the stability of agricultural production and preventing the bankruptcy of self-cultivating farmers. While Huozhiliezhuan describes Baigui白圭’s comment as only 6 letters of “李克務盡地力”, it describes Baigui who put emphasis on the observation of ‘Changes in nature’in detail. That is, it showed more interest in Baigui who regarded relative changes that is, the observation of changes in market price as important rather than Li Kui’s agriculture centered reform valued by the national power. Such description show a notable difference from the description of‘Jindilizhijiao盡地力之敎’described in Hanshu(漢書) Shihuozhi(食貨志) and emphasizes that the distribution of goods is highly related to ruling a nation by using a direct expression, “Institutions governing the country(治國之道)”. It is “Institutions governing the country”that price changes by many and few goods and grain prices and inflation adjustment are the most important factors in governing the country and goods or currency naturally circulates like flowing water depending on many and few goods, the need for goods and circulation of currency.