명대 공문용 종이의 종류, 공급과 소비

Abstract

This paper is a study on the supply system of official paper (gongyong zhizha 公用紙札) in the Ming dynasty. Previous scholarship has largely focused on the formal and institutional aspects of official documents, whereas this research highlights the evolution of paper—the material basis for official writing—in its production, supply, and use. First, the paper examines the concept of official documents, clearly distinguishing between official paper used for bureaucratic documents (gongwen 公文) and imperial paper (shangyong zhizhang 上用紙張) employed by the court. It then reviews the types and characteristics of writing paper, as well as the specific categories of official paper in the Ming dynasty. The supply system of official paper was initially overseen by the Ministry of Revenue (Hubu 戶部) in the early Hongwu reign, but after the thirteenth year of Hongwu it was transferred to the Ministry of Justice (Xingbu 刑部). In the early period, procurement relied mainly on revenues from confiscated property (zangfa 贓罰), but due to the instability of such income, alternative methods became necessary. The practice of “prisoners’ paper contribution” (qiuren nazhi 囚人納紙) first appeared in 1394 (Hongwu 27), initially operating alongside zangfa, but from the Hongzhi reign onward it gradually became the principal means of supplying official paper. In this process, paper contributions were categorized into guanzhi 官紙, minzhi 民紙, and gaozhi 告紙, with the types and quantities varying over time. This study also confirms that Ming administrative institutions secured their paper supplies through the prisoner contribution system, while examining the legal issues associated with paper collection. It thus demonstrates that official paper in the Ming dynasty was not merely an administrative consumable, but a systemic device closely linked to state finance and the judicial order.