Kinden method

A land system invented by Li Anshi of the Northern Wei period in China, implemented in 485, and abolished in 780 during the Tang dynasty. It was also inherited in Japan under the name of the Handen Shuju Law. The Equal Field Law allocated rice fields to farmers as state property, and collected taxes and miscellaneous duties in return. The background to the development of this system was the destruction of rice fields and land due to wars after the Later Han Dynasty, and the land consolidation of powerful clans. After the collapse of the Later Han Dynasty, the Wei Dynasty implemented the Tonden Law, and the Jin Dynasty implemented the Senden Law and the Kaden Law. These land policies aimed to limit large land ownership, stabilize farmers, and improve productivity, but the Equal Field Law was established based on the Occupation and Tax Laws, and took their intent to the extreme. Under the Northern Wei Dynasty's Equal Field Law, rice fields were divided into exposed fields (kubunden in the Tang Dynasty), mulberry fields (eigyōden in the Tang Dynasty), hemp fields, and residential land. 40 bu of exposed fields were provided to men (aged 15-69), 20 bu to women (the same for slaves and maids), and 30 bu for plowing oxen, and the same amount of rice fields were given twice as much to leave fallow. Exposed fields were returned to the state upon death or reaching the age of 70. Men and slaves were given 20 bu of mulberry fields each, and there was no need to return them. Hemp fields were provided only to areas producing hemp cloth, and men and slaves were given 10 bu (5 bu for women and maids). The provision stipulated that one acre of garden land should be provided for every three citizens, and one acre for every five slaves and maids. The distinctive feature of the Northern Wei Equal Land Law is that it did not completely reject the large land ownership system, as is clear from the provision of land to slaves and maids and culverts.

The equal-field system of the Northern Zhou and Northern Qi dynasties was largely a continuation of that of the Northern Wei dynasty, but in the case of the Northern Qi dynasty, restrictions were placed on the number of slaves and maids that could be owned depending on the rank of the official. The Sui dynasty completed the unification of China, and implemented the equal-field system, which was the land system in the North China region, throughout the whole of China. Emperor Yang stopped providing land to women, slaves, and maids, and established a system of permanent land for officials, making it impossible for people to legally own large amounts of land unless they had official rank. This is important as it is connected to the equal-field system of the Tang dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty's Equal Field Law, as stipulated in 719 and 737, was as follows: 80 acres of land for kubunden and 20 acres of land for eigyō were provided to those aged between 18 and 59 (middle and common men), and the kubunden were returned to the state upon death or turning 60, while the eigyō fields were hereditary. Heads of households without common men were given 30 acres of land for kubunden and 20 acres of land for eigyō. Widows, monks, and Taoist priests were also given 30 acres of land for kubunden, and nuns and female guardians (Taoist nuns) were also given 20 acres. The amount of land for gardens varied depending on the legal status of the ryōsen, but was provided according to the number of people. In areas where there was a shortage of land (narrow villages), half of the amount provided for by the land supply regulations was provided. Land was returned every year, with priority given to those with poor land, households with many chō, and those with taxes. The buying and selling of rice fields was prohibited, but it was permitted to sell Nagayo-den fields when people emigrated to other areas or to cover funeral expenses.

In the Tang Dynasty, the equal-field system was, in principle, only eligible men to receive land, and did not allow anyone other than government officials to own large tracts of land. However, due to a shortage of land, peasant flight, and the development of the manor system, this system rapidly collapsed, peaking at the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods (713-755), and private land ownership developed, leading to the establishment of the two tax laws based on private land ownership in 780.

The implementation of the Tang Dynasty Equal Field Law is becoming clearer through the household registers found in Dunhuang and the Tang Dynasty documents unearthed in Turfan, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In early research, the household registers found in Dunhuang showed that the fields owned by peasants were merely classified into nominal fields, kobunden, and yongye fields, and the prevailing view was against the implementation of the Equal Field Law. However, the analysis of the Turfan documents has demonstrated that the return of fields was actually carried out, although not according to the regulations. It is expected that the Turfan documents will be unearthed and research will be deepened. When trying to place the extremely unique land system known as the Equal Field Law in Chinese history, there are conflicting views on whether the fields were state-owned or privately owned, and whether the peasants who received the allocation of fields were generally considered slaves, and no consensus has been reached. In the view that peasants were slaves, the period up to the Tang Dynasty is defined as ancient society, and the period after the Tang Dynasty is defined as medieval society. Either way, it remains an extremely important indicator for dividing China into periods.

[Yuichi Nakamura]

"Study of the Equal-field System" by Toshikazu Hori (1975, Iwanami Shoten) " "Study of the Chinese Economic History - Equal-field System" by Gensuke Nishimura (1968, Oriental History Research Association)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、北魏(ほくぎ)時代の李安世(りあんせい)によって創案され、485年に施行、唐代の780年に廃止された土地制度。日本でも班田収授法(はんでんしゅうじゅほう)の名で継受された。均田法は田土を国有として農民に班給し、その反対給付として租庸調雑徭(そようちょうぞうよう)を収取するもので、その制度が展開する背景には、後漢(ごかん)以降の戦乱に伴う田土の荒廃と豪族の土地兼併がある。後漢崩壊後の魏が屯田(とんでん)法を行い、晋(しん)は占田(せんでん)法・課田(かでん)法を実施した。これらの土地政策は大土地所有の制限、農民の安定化、生産力の向上などを目的としたが、均田法は占田・課田法を基礎に成立し、その趣旨を徹底化したものである。北魏の均田法では、田土を露田（唐の口分田(くぶんでん)）、桑田(そうでん)（唐の永業田(えいぎょうでん)）、麻田(までん)、園宅地に区分する。露田は丁男(ていだん)（15～69歳）に40畝(ぽ)、婦人に20畝（奴(ぬ)・婢(ひ)も同じ）、耕牛に30畝を支給し、同額の倍田が与えられて休閑地とした。露田は死亡または70歳になれば国家に返還した。桑田は丁男・奴に各20畝が支給され、返還の必要はなかった。麻田は麻布の産地のみに給付される田で、丁男・奴に10畝（婦人・婢は5畝）が支給された。園宅地は良民3人に1畝、奴・婢は5人に1畝の割合で支給される規定であった。北魏均田法の特色は奴・婢・耕牛への給田から明らかなように、大土地所有制を全面的に否定するものではなかった点にある。

　北周、北斉(ほくせい)の均田法はほぼ北魏のそれを継承したものであるが、北斉の場合は官身分の高下によって、奴・婢の所有数に制限を加えた。隋(ずい)は中国統一を完成し、華北地方の土地制度である均田法を全中国に施行した。煬帝(ようだい)は婦人・奴・婢への給田を停止し、官人永業田の制度を設け、官身分を有しなければ合法的大土地所有は不可能とした。これは唐代均田制に連なるものとして重要である。

　唐代の均田法は719年、737年の規定では次のようになっている。18～59歳（中男、丁男）に口分田80畝、永業田20畝を給付し、口分田は死亡または60歳になれば国家に返還し、永業田は世襲とした。丁男のない戸主には口分田30畝、永業田20畝を給付し、未亡人、僧侶(そうりょ)、道士にも口分田30畝、尼、女冠（道教の尼）にも20畝が与えられた。園宅地は良賤(りょうせん)の法身分によって相違するが、人数によって支給された。田土の不足する地域（狭郷(きょうきょう)）では給田規定の2分の1が支給された。田土の還授は毎年行われ、給付は貧丁、多丁戸、課役ある者を優先した。田土の売買は禁止されていたが、他郷に移住する場合とか葬儀費用のために永業田を売ることは認められた。

　唐代の均田法は原則的には丁男だけが給田の対象とされ、官人以外は大土地所有を許さない制度となった。しかし、田土の不足と農民の逃亡、荘園(しょうえん)制の発達により開元(かいげん)・天宝(てんぽう)期（713～755）を頂点に急速に崩壊し、土地私有制が展開し、780年、土地私有に基礎を置く両税法が成立することになる。

　唐代均田法の実施状況に関しては、敦煌(とんこう)発見の戸籍や新疆(しんきょう／シンチヤン)ウイグル自治区トルファン出土の唐代文献により、具体的状況が解明されつつある。初期の研究においては、敦煌発見の戸籍から、農民が所有していた田土を名目上、口分田、永業田に分類したにすぎず、均田法施行に否定的見解が有力であったが、トルファン文献の分析によって、田土の還授は規定どおりではないが実際に行われていたことが実証されるようになった。トルファン文献の出土と研究の深化が期待される。きわめて特異な均田法という土地制度を中国史上に位置づけようとするとき、その田土は国有か私有か、田土の班給を受ける農民は総体的奴隷と位置づけられるか否かをめぐって見解が対立し、一致点に達していない。均田農民を奴隷とする見解では、唐代までを古代社会、唐代以降を中世社会と規定する。いずれにせよ、中国の時代区分を行ううえで、きわめて重要な指標であることに変わりはない。

［中村裕一］

『堀敏一著『均田制の研究』（1975・岩波書店）』▽『西村元祐著『中国経済史研究――均田制度編』（1968・東洋史研究会）』

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