後漢後半期における盗賊の収拾と赦免

During the second half of the Latter Han period, particularly after the reign of Andi 安帝 (106–125), a large number of bandits took up arms. Most of the bandits were suppressed by the central government and local government forces while others were pardoned by the emperor and dissolved. In the second half of the Latter Han period, the method in which local governors persuaded bandits to dissolve became increasingly popular. This study examines the background of the implementation and success of this method, which is referred to as “recovery” in this paper During the Han dynasty, bandits were mostly suppressed by force, but some were dissolved by imperial pardon. Although pardons are known to have disrupted social order, they are also believed to have played a role in restoring public order, albeit temporarily. In the second half of the Latter Han period, however, some bandits continued to ignore the pardons or re-uprose after the pardons were granted. This scenario indicated a decline in the effectiveness of these pardons. Specifically, such decline was due to the fact that pardons were no longer able to fundamentally alleviate people’s hardships as natural disasters and other problems, such as the spread of poverty, degraded government officials, and rampant corruption, became increasingly serious in the second half of the Latter Han period. During the same period, a recovery policy emerged in which local governors unconditionally forgave bandits and accepted their surrender. However, the forgiveness of bandits was originally the exclusive prerogative of the emperor. In fact, during the Former Han dynasty, local governors were sometimes punished for forgiving bandits on their own. However, in the second half of the Latter Han period, this punishment was not apparent as local governors were recognized and honored by the imperial court instead. Specifically, this shift was due to the recovery policy implemented by regional governors that included measures for rebuilding people’s lives, such as reducing harsh administration. These measures were more effective than pardon in dissolving bandits and preventing their re-emergence.