On the Decay of the Poll Tax in the Han 漢 Dynasty

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Other Title
  • 漢代人頭税の崩壞過程 : 特に算賦を中心として
  • カンダイニントウゼイ ノ ホウカイ カテイ トクニ サンフ オ チュウシン ト シテ
  • 漢代人頭税の崩壊過程 : 特に算賦を中心として

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Description

It is well known that the tax system of the Han dynasty had a poll tax or capitation called suan-fu (算賦). This tax derived from the chun-fu (軍賦), a tax which was paid in lieu of military service. All those, including women, who were recognized to be fifteen years old by the census periodically taken in every August through the rural organization system (hsiang-li (鄉里)), were required to pay 120 ch'ien (錢) a year for suan-fu until the time they reached the age of fifty-six. But this capitation system disappeared with the fall of the Han dynasty, and a new system, levying a tax on each house, appeared in the Three Kingdoms period. The author inquires why the suan-fu tax vanished, and finds an answer in the abandonment of the rural organization system and the decay of the money economy. The former became impracticable because of the appearance of wanderers and the increase of slaves and tenant farmers among the lower orders. The decay of the latter was brought about by the decrease of the amount of currency and the tendency of currency to become concentrated in the hands of the privileged classes. The author concludes that the suan-fu vanished because of these conditions.

Journal

  • 東洋史研究

    東洋史研究 18 (4), 546-568, 1960-03-31

    東洋史研究会

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