Transformation - Nuhen

A rebellion by people called "nuhi" or "nuboku" occurred in various parts of central and southern China during the transition period between the Ming and Qing dynasties in the mid-17th century. During the Ming dynasty, the majority of private servants in the households of government officials, merchants, landlords, etc. were employed as "hired workers" or "hired men" as legitimate citizens, but in the operation of the law and in the customs of the people, they were treated as slaves, distinct from legitimate citizens. Their masters held a document of their sale called a "shinkei," and they were not only in a servile position to their masters, but were also looked down upon by the general population of the local community. With the exception of the "Kikou no boku," who was the head clerk of the master's household, the majority of them were engaged in various practical labors such as agriculture, industry, commerce, and acting as slave laborers under the strict management and direction of their masters. Individual escapes and resistance had already begun in the latter half of the Ming Dynasty, but after the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 1644, they intensively murdered, imprisoned, beat, raped, and set fire to the heads of their households, often on a county-wide scale, and in the process of these acts of violence, they recaptured their liberties. The damage was particularly severe, and social order was shaken, as many slaves were employed in the households of government officials, known as the "Kyoshin," who were the ruling class in the local community. As the Qing Dynasty expanded into central and southern China, it used force to suppress slavery in various regions, and returned slaves to the servitude of their masters. However, due to the impact of these violent rebellions, the Qing Dynasty made efforts to limit the scope of slave treatment as much as possible in the application of laws, and restrictions of a status-based nature became more relaxed.

[Masao Mori]

"History of the Chinese People's Rebellion 4" edited by Michio Tanigawa and Masao Mori (Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国の華中・華南各地で、17世紀中葉、明(みん)・清(しん)交替期に起こった奴婢(ぬひ)・奴僕(ぬぼく)とよばれていた人々の反乱。明代、官僚、商人、地主などの家の私的な使用人の大部分は、雇傭(こよう)された良民として「雇工人(ここうじん)」「雇傭人」の身分にあったが、法律の運用や民間の慣例では、良民とは区別された奴婢としての扱いを受けていた。彼らは主人によって身契(しんけい)という身売り証文を握られており、主家に対して隷属的な地位にあるだけでなく、地域社会の一般住民からも賤視(せんし)されていた。主家の番頭格にあたる「紀綱(きこう)の僕(ぼく)」を除き、彼らの大部分は主人の厳しい管理・指揮の下に、農・工・商業や徭役(ようえき)の代行など各種の実労働に従事していた。明代後半期にはすでに個別的な逃亡や抵抗が始まっていたが、1644年の明朝倒壊を機に、多くの場合全県的な規模で彼らによる主家の人々の殺害、監禁、殴打、凌辱(りょうじょく)や放火が集中的に行われ、これらの暴行の過程で身契が奪回された。地域社会の支配層としての郷紳(きょうしん)といわれる官僚の家では多人数の奴婢が使用されていたため、その被害はとりわけ大きく、社会秩序は動揺した。清朝は華中・華南を版図に入れる過程で各地の奴変を武力弾圧し、奴婢をふたたび主家の隷属下に戻した。しかしながら、この激しい反乱の影響により、清代には、法律の運用においても奴婢扱いの範囲をできるだけ限定する努力がなされ、身分的性質をもつ規制はより緩やかなものになっていった。

［森　正夫］

『谷川道雄・森正夫編『中国民衆叛乱史4』（平凡社・東洋文庫）』

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