前漢 文帝時期 諸改革에 대한 一考察 - 『張家山漢簡』 二年律令과의 비교를 중심으로 -

Abstract

The Emperor Wendi (漢文帝) of Han Dynasty ascended to the throne by the helps of princely families and meritorious retainers who brought down the regime of the Lu clan (呂氏). In Chinese history, he has been highly regarded as a benevolent and wise ruler who has built up the national strength and paved the path for the prosperity of the Han empire. However, due to the recently excavated historical sources such as Zhangjiashan Han Bamboo Strips (張家山漢簡), which contains information on the earlier penal system, a new approach on the interpretation of the Han Wendi’s penal reforms has become possible by comparing the Han Wendi’s and the earlier laws. Although Han Wendi’s reform used to be recognized mainly as a transitional measure to transform the government system into a centralized one, latest research suggest that his penal reform was a recovery action of the social productivity, which was done by diverting the labor force subordinate to the government back to the civil society. This article, therefore, demonstrates that the Han Wendi’s penal and economic reforms were initiated by the same socio-economic environment and were closely related to each other. In terms of the penal reforms, above all, Han Wendi abolished the guilt-by-association system, which was a law that the government could confiscate the criminal’s entire family and could enslaved them. Next, in 167 B.C he also prohibited the corporal punishment and switched it to penal servitude for a definite time. Meanwhile, Han Wendi also introduced various economic reforms such as the deregulation of the private coin-making, the removal of curfew for ordinary people in the city, the removal of restrictions on forest utilization, and the abolishment of the farm rent as a kind of land tax. These actions were designed to regain the social productivity by relieving the national monopoly and guaranteeing ordinary people’s liberalization of economic activities. These reforms were backed up with the penal reforms. As a result the economic reforms could make a significant effect in society. On the whole, Han Wendi’s new economic and penal system has distinct features from the earlier ones which have strongly clung to the legalistic traits of the Qin Dynasty’s to govern people. By implying these reforms, the early Han Dynasty expected to propagate the manipulated image of Emperor’s as a benevolent parent. Since the reign of Han Wendi, the later Chinese emperors not only had underlined the significance of the autocratic leadership to strengthen their sovereign powers but also had made great efforts to spread their images as benevolent parents over civil society to rule their subjects effectively.