The Contract of Kung-Na 貢納 by Buddhist Monks during the Li Dynasty : Especially at the End of Syǒi-jong's Reign and in Mun-jong's Reign

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  • 李朝における僧徒の貢納請負：世宗末・文宗朝を中心として

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During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there appeared frequently in the Kingdom of Korea economic activities of undertaking the collection of the people’s Kung-Na 貢納. This was not being done by contract with individual commoner, but in a far larger scale with several dozen commandaries or prefects as a unit. Accordingly the profit was so large that it meant a heavy compulsory burden for the people.For almost ten years after 1449 A. D., Buddhist monks exclusively enjoyed the right of contracting Kung-Na. Even merchants and government officials took part in this economic activity either by entrusting the monks with the business or by doing it themselves in the monks’ name. These conditions began in 1449 when a part of the right of the contraction was given to the monks who were building a great temple called Cin-koan-sa Syu-ru-sya 津寛寺水陸社 for the purpose of financing its construction.In this article the author studies the following problems: the process and the change of this economic activity, the worship of Buddhism in the late years of Syŏi-jong, the protection of Buddhism by the upper class of nobles, the policy of the government to check the priests’ rampancy, the socio-political conditions and governmental finances, and the functions of T’u-thŭing 都廳 or the private organization of the royal court for engineering and construction.

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