Han

Japanese: 漢 - かん

This dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) unified and ruled China after the Qin dynasty. It was interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9 AD - 23 AD) under Wang Mang, but the period before that was called the Western Han dynasty (202 BC - 8 AD), and the period after that was called the Eastern Han dynasty (25 AD - 220 AD). As the capital of the Western Han dynasty was Chang'an in the west and the capital of the Eastern Han dynasty was Luoyang in the east, they are also called the Western Han and Eastern Han dynasties.

[Naohiro Goi]

Overview

Western Han Dynasty

After the death of Qin Shi Huang (210 BC) and his succession by the second emperor, rebellions broke out in various places, including the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebellions. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, also led 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers in Pei (Pei County, Jiangsu Province) in 209 BC. Liu Bang, who was a peasant and merely a low-ranking police officer, was weak at first, but he gradually grew stronger with the support of influential people in Pei, and in 202 BC he defeated Xiang Yu, a descendant of a Chu general, in the Battle of Gaixia (southeast of Lingbi County, Anhui Province), becoming emperor, and the following year he established his capital in Chang'an. After ascending to the throne, Gaozu awarded fiefs to members of his clan as feudal lords and feudal lords as princes, and used the system of prefectures and counties that had existed since the Qin Dynasty. This system is generally called the "gun and kingdom system." However, during his reign, Gaozu destroyed many of his noble kings, including Han Xin. When the second emperor, Emperor Hui, died young, Gaozu's wife, Empress Dowager Lü, took over the government and the Lü clan held real power. However, with the help of Zhou Bo, a founding nobleman, and others, the Lü clan was overthrown, and by the time of the fifth emperor, Emperor Wen, the foundation of his government was almost solidified. When the sixth emperor, Emperor Jing, strengthened his measures to reduce the territories of the feudal lord kingdoms, the seven kingdoms of Wu and Chu rebelled (154 BC), but after the rebellion was put down, he took away the governing rights of the kingdoms, and they became kingdoms in name only. Gaozu also pursued Han Xin to the vicinity of Datong (Shanxi Province), where he was surrounded by the Xiongnu. After that, the Han adopted a policy of appeasement towards the Xiongnu, but during the reign of the 7th emperor Wudi, the Han adopted an aggressive policy, and launched several expeditions to the Xiongnu, as well as advancing into Korea in the east and Vietnam in the south. Wudi also sent Zhang Qian to the Great Yuezhi in the west to attack the Xiongnu from both sides. Although he failed to achieve his goal, the result was the opening of a transportation route to the west, known as the Silk Road. However, as finances became strained due to repeated expeditions and civil engineering works, he implemented policies such as raising taxes, re-coining currency, monopolizing salt, iron, and alcohol, and implementing equalization and equalization laws.

The period from Emperor Wu to the ninth Emperor Xuan was the golden age of the Western Han dynasty, symbolized by the emergence of harsh legalistic bureaucrats who severely enforced legal punishments. Their repression was mainly directed at powerful clans, but on the other hand, during this period many of these clans also entered local and central political circles. Meanwhile, in the central political circles, the real power was held by the emperor's close associates (inner court), such as his maternal relatives and eunuchs, as opposed to government agencies (outer court) such as the Prime Minister. This tendency was particularly strong from the 10th Emperor Yuan onwards, and in AD 9, Wang Mang, a member of his maternal relatives, took the throne in place of the Liu clan and changed the country's name to Xin.

Wang Mang idealized the various Zhou systems found in the "Rites of Zhou" and other works, and often carried out reforms that were detached from reality, which quickly led to chaos, peasant rebellions such as those of the Red Eyebrows, and uprisings by various powerful clans, leading to his demise in just 15 years.

[Naohiro Goi]

Later Han Dynasty

Amid this chaos, a man who emerged was Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, a descendant of the 6th Emperor Jing and backed by the powerful clans of Nanyang (southwestern Henan Province). Emperor Guangwu ascended to the throne in 25 AD, established the capital in Luoyang, defeated rivals of the Liu clan such as Wei Xiao and Gongsun Shu, restored Wang Mang's reforms to their original state, and consolidated the foundations of his government. After Emperor Guangwu, the Later Han dynasty was at its peak for about 50 years under the second Emperor Ming and the third Emperor Zhang, during which the Imperial Academy in Luoyang had 30,000 students, and some private schools in the provinces had 2,000 to 3,000 pupils. He was also active in foreign affairs, with Dou Xian attacking and defeating the Northern Xiongnu, and the Western Regions governor, Hu Banchao, subjugating over 50 countries east of the Pamirs, and in 97 dispatching Gan Ying to the westward state of Daqin. However, after Emperor He, there were many young and weak emperors, and power was again held by the in-laws and eunuchs. In response, central and local bureaucrats, who placed great importance on etiquette and education and were called "men of integrity," criticized the in-laws and then the eunuchs, so the eunuchs suppressed the men of integrity twice (the Party Ban). At a time when central politics was in such turmoil, the Qiang people in the northwest rebelled, and in 184 a large-scale peasant rebellion by the Yellow Turbans broke out in northern and central China. In the process of suppressing this rebellion, military forces with powerful private armies emerged in various regions. The eunuchs were defeated by Yuan Shao of northern China, but warlords such as Dong Zhuo, Sun Ce, and Cao Cao fought for power, completely splitting the Later Han dynasty. Eventually, Cao Cao, who supported Emperor Xian, grew powerful and almost unified northern China, but his son Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and founded the Wei dynasty, which completely destroyed the Later Han dynasty and ushered in an era of division into three kingdoms.

[Naohiro Goi]

Political system

The Han dynasty's administrative system largely followed that of the Qin dynasty. The central government system was centered around the Prime Minister, who assisted the emperor, oversaw government affairs, and led the various officials. Sometimes two Prime Ministers, one on each side, were appointed, and after the 12th emperor, Emperor Ai, this was renamed Da Si Tu (Great Prime Minister). The Grand Wei was in charge of military affairs, and was not a permanent official; during the reign of Emperor Wu, this was replaced by the Grand Siba (Great Prime Minister). The Grand Censor-in-Chief (Great Censor-in-Chief) was in charge of the inspectors, and after Emperor Cheng, this was renamed Da Si Kong (Great Prime Minister). The Grand Siba and Grand Si Kong were also in charge of government affairs as deputy prime ministers. These were also known as the Three Dukes, but after Emperor Zhao, the emperor's maternal relatives held real power as great generals, and in the Later Han period, the Shangshu (Secretary-in-Chief), who was merely a close aide to the emperor, performed the duties of Prime Minister. Under the Three Dukes, there were nine temples that shared the responsibility of government affairs, and their chiefs were called the Nine Ministers (Kyukei). These nine ministers were: Taijo (rituals and rituals), Kourokukun (palace guards), Ei (guards of the palace gates), Taiboku (management of the imperial household's carriages and livestock), Tei (trials and justice), Daikoro (visits by feudal lords and foreign tribes), Daishinou (national finances), Sosei (relationships with the imperial family), and Shofu (imperial finances). Together with Shikkingo (police in the capital), Shosakudaisho (civil engineering), and Daichoshu (offices of the empress and the crown prince), they were called the Twelve Ministers.

The local administrative system was based on counties and prefectures, with a county governing several prefectures. The chiefs of the counties were the Shou and Wei, which were renamed Taishu and Duwei after Emperor Jing, and shared civil and military responsibilities. In the Later Han Dynasty, the Duwei was abolished along with the abolition of the county military. Under the Taishu were the Zheng as deputies, the Gong Cao (gong cao) in charge of practical administrative affairs, as well as subordinate officials such as the Tokuyu (director of post) and Enshi (registered censor), who were appointed and dismissed by the Taishu within the respective counties. The chiefs of the counties were the Ling or Chang, and, along with the Taishu and Duwei, they were appointed and dismissed by the central government. Below the county magistrate were subordinate officials such as the Chief, Wei, Dou Shi, and Sashi. Below the county were townships, with You Chi Tsu, Shou Fu, and You Kyo in charge of household surveys, tax collection, and forced labor. In addition, there was a pavilion every 10 li, and the head of the pavilion was in charge of police. The residential area of the people was called a li, and the county, prefecture, and township were one or several li in size, and the counties and counties were generally surrounded by castles. The li had the village elders, and the prefecture and township had the three elders of the prefecture and township who were responsible for educating the people. In 106 BC, the country was divided into 13 prefectures, and the governors (shishi) patrolled the prefectures to supervise the governors and below, but in the Later Han, the prefecture became an administrative unit above the county. All of the above officials, from Chancellor to Assistant Secretary, were ranked according to their salary (paid in money and grain) and promoted according to merit and years of service. However, the children of high-ranking officials, those recommended by filial piety and uprightness, wise and righteous people, and those who were summoned to high-ranking positions were appointed ahead of lower-ranking officials. The number of officials with the rank of Assistant Secretary or above in the 5th year of the BC period was 130,285.

The government was supposed to be governed by laws called ritsuryo (laws), but unlike modern laws, they were more like standards for government officials to govern the people than laws that the people had to follow. Taxes included the rice tax, which was one-thirtieth of the harvest, the sanfu, which was a tax of one san (120 sen) imposed on men and women aged 15-56, and the commission tax, which was a fee of 23 sen imposed on men and women aged 3-14. There were also property taxes, with ordinary people being taxed one san for every 10,000 sen of the assessed value of their property, and from the time of Emperor Wu, merchants were taxed one san for every 4,000 sen, and craftsmen one san for every 4,000 sen. Labor services included forced labor and military service. Forced labor was a type of labor service that required men aged 15-56 to perform labor services in the prefecture or county where they lived for one month each year, and was allowed to be paid in sen, with the payment of 300 sen being called kofu. Military service consisted of able-bodied men aged between 23 and 56 who were required to serve as regular soldiers, and during that time they were required to serve one year as imperial guards or capital guards, and one year as guards in their home county. Regular soldiers and recruited soldiers from nearby areas were used to guard the borders. During the great expeditions of the Emperor Wu era, in addition to recruited soldiers, prisoners and people of other ethnicities were used. During the Western Han dynasty, the number of imperial guards stationed in Chang'an and capital guards reached 50,000, but in the Eastern Han dynasty, the reforms of Emperor Guangwu reduced the standing force to 15,000, and the county guards were abolished. Furthermore, because these soldiers were selected from the descendants of meritorious figures during the reign of Emperor Guangwu for each generation, the conscription system became merely a nominal system, and was not much different from the military household system under Cao Cao.

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Socio-Economic

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Ping, there were 103 counties and provinces, 1,314 prefectures, and 241 marquises, with a total population of approximately 12.23 million households and 59.59 million people. It is unclear how many townships, smaller than a prefecture, or settlements smaller than a township, existed. In the plains of North China, where rainfall is low and loess deposits are thick, dense settlements were built in places relatively blessed with water. After the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, iron farm tools appeared, flood control irrigation works were carried out, and farmland reclamation progressed, but since most of this was done by the warring states, peasants were under strict regulations by the states. When the Qin Dynasty destroyed the other states, peasants were freed from these regulations, but the unified state of Qin and Han tried to incorporate the peasants into the national order and make them targets for exploitation by implementing the prefecture and county system and bestowing titles. On the other hand, the policies of the Warring States to enrich the country and strengthen the military brought about the prosperity of handicrafts and commerce, but at the same time, private craftsmen and merchants appeared. They also tried to accumulate land, which led to peasants losing their land and becoming tenant farmers and slaves. The Han Dynasty often forced the wealthy to move to the vicinity of Chang'an and placed them under direct control, and during the reign of Emperor Wu, heavy taxes were imposed on merchants and craftsmen, and harsh government officials carried out severe oppression. However, the trend toward large land ownership could not be stopped, and this trend expanded even further during the Later Han Dynasty, and some even had private soldiers. They generally lived in groups of their own clans, so they were called powerful clans. As the saying goes, powerful clans had influence over several neighboring villages, and some of them used this to gain the recommendation of the governors of counties and prefectures and entered the government.

In the Han Dynasty, the main crops grown in northern China were foxtail millet, millet, beans, and barley; wheat also began to be grown in the Later Han Dynasty, but flour was not yet common, and rice cultivation in the Jiangnan region was of low technical standard. Iron farm tools were increasingly diversified for different purposes, new techniques such as the substitute rice paddy method and the district method were developed, and ox farming became popular. In addition, flood control and irrigation facilities were constructed by central and local governments or powerful families, and land productivity improved dramatically. However, most of the plowing oxen were owned by government officials or powerful families, and it was often the powerful families who benefited from irrigation, so the gap between rich and poor widened further, and peasants became increasingly impoverished. Various superstitions and folk beliefs spread among them, leading to frequent peasant uprisings by people known as demon bandits, which eventually exploded into the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Following on from the prosperity of the Warring States period, handicrafts also developed further. The Han dynasty stationed salt officials, iron officials, and uniformed officials in major salt, iron, and textile production areas, and monopolized their production and sales. However, handicrafts themselves were not banned, as salt production was left to private businesses, and various private handicraft industries flourished. These included bronzeware, lacquerware, pottery, textiles, and dyeing, and commerce developed accordingly. The main targets of commerce were the emperor and his entourage, the feudal lords, nobles, central and local high-ranking officials, and powerful families, so commerce and industry flourished mainly in the walled cities where these people lived, and Chang'an, Luoyang, Handan, Linzi, and Wan were particularly large cities with populations of hundreds of thousands. In Chang'an and other cities, commercial districts called shi (markets) were established where merchants set up shop, with shops for each type of business lining the streets. There were many large merchants trading in local specialties, and some merchants even engaged in trade with the Western Regions. Grapes, pomegranates, and mokshu (a type of clover) were brought from the Western Regions, and silk textiles and iron were transported as far away as Rome via the Western Regions. In Greek, China was called Ceres, which means land of silk. Trade was also conducted with nomadic peoples in the north through checkpoints established on the northern border, as well as trade with the Southwestern Yi via Sichuan Province and trade with the South Seas based in Guangzhou. During the reign of Emperor Huan of the late Eastern Han dynasty (166), an envoy from King An Dun of Great Qin (who is believed to be the Eastern Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius) visited China by sea.

Furthermore, the First Emperor of Qin minted the circular, square-hole half-liang coin to standardize currency, but in the Han Dynasty, coins were frequently minted and circulated because accounting and other systems were established to accept payment in cash. Among these, the Wu Zhu coin (half liang, Wu Zhu indicates weight), which was instituted during the reign of Emperor Wu (119 BC), was temporarily suspended during the reign of Wang Mang, but remained the basic form of currency until the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin of the Tang Dynasty.

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culture

In the early Western Han dynasty, Huanglao thought (Taoism) was highly respected, and Huainan King Liu An gathered many scholars together to compile the miscellaneous book "Huainanzi" centering on Taoism. However, from the time of Emperor Wen, Legalist thought was respected in actual politics, and capable politicians such as Biao Suo emerged. On the other hand, many of the classics said to have been written in the pre-Qin period were reorganized and expanded from the Warring States period to the early Han period. In particular, Confucianism involved the collection of scriptures lost in the burning of books carried out by Qin Shi Huang at the beginning of the Han dynasty. Among these, the school that used scriptures written in the clerical script commonly used at the time and written by scholars who had memorized the scriptures was called the Modern Scripture School. In contrast, the school that used scriptures written in seal script from the pre-Qin period, such as those discovered in the walls of Confucius' former home during the reign of Emperor Jing or collected by Emperor Jing's son, King Hejian Xian, was called the Ancient Literature School. While the former placed importance on formality, the latter focused on interpretation through exegesis.

The modern literature scholar Dong Zhongshu during the reign of Emperor Wu adopted the idea of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, placing the emperor at the center of politics, morality, ideology and religion, and proposed making Confucianism the state religion and establishing the position of a doctor of the Five Classics. From then on, Confucianism became the guiding principle for imperial rule and national order, and was a prerequisite for becoming a bureaucrat. Meanwhile, ancient literature flourished when Liu Xin promoted it at the end of the Western Han dynasty, and the debate between the two schools continued during the Eastern Han dynasty. The Eastern Han dynasty also saw the development of the study of exegesis, which provides commentary on the classics, and Xu Shen wrote the oldest dictionary, Shuowen Jiezi, which explains the meanings and shapes of Chinese characters, and the ancient literature scholar Zheng Xuan adopted the Modern Classics and compiled the Han dynasty's classical studies. There are various theories about when Buddhism was introduced to China, but it is said that Emperor Guangwu's son, King Ying of Chu, had already established Buddhist temples.

Prose from the Han dynasty, along with Tang poetry and Yuan songs, is called classical Chinese. Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian and Ban Gu's Book of Han are representative examples, and their annals and biographical structure became the model for subsequent Chinese official histories. Verse includes Cifu, which describes facts in detail, ancient poems consisting of five or seven lines instead of the four lines in the Book of Songs, and Yuefu, which was used for court music. In the field of science, there are many works that are a compilation of various theories from before the Qin dynasty. Liu Xin's Three Tong Calendar, which established the basic form of Chinese astronomy and calendar system, the Nine Chapters of Arithmetic, and the medical works Treatises on Febrile Disorders and Yellow Emperor's Internal Canon, were respected not only in China but also in Korea and Japan until later times.

In the fields of art and crafts, there are murals and lacquer paintings in ancient tombs that combine color with painting, and stone images carved into the stone walls of stone mosques, shrines, and stone chamber tombs are valuable in providing insight into the ideas and lifestyles of the time. There was also remarkable development in craft techniques such as inlay and plating, and bronze mirrors with a wide variety of patterns were popular. There was a wide variety of textiles, as seen in the Mawangdui Han tombs, and the embroidery, dyeing, and patterns were also innovative. Green glaze pottery was popular. Large palaces such as Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace were built within Chang'an City, and the palace architectural style of the time can be seen in Han tombs in Mancheng, Hebei Province, and Yinan, Shandong Province, while the homes of noble families can be seen in stone images and pottery towers in the Ming Dynasty. Furthermore, clerical script was highly valued after seal script, and during the Later Han period, regular, running, and cursive calligraphy were established. Stone inscriptions from that time still exist. Paper is said to have been invented by Cai Lun in the early 2nd century, but it appears to have existed before that, and it was generally written on silk cloth or wooden or bamboo strips using brushes and ink, which were invented during the Warring States period.

[Naohiro Goi]

"The History of China 2: The Qin and Han Empires" by Sadao Nishijima (1974, Kodansha)

[Reference items] | Wang Mang | New [Chronology] | Han Dynasty (Chronology)

Han (Liu family) / Brief family tree (Western Han)
©Shogakukan ">

Han (Liu family) / Brief family tree (Western Han)

Han (Liu family) / Brief family tree (Later Han)
©Shogakukan ">

Han (Liu family) / Brief family tree (Later Han)

Scope of influence of the Western Han Dynasty
©Shogakukan ">

Scope of influence of the Western Han Dynasty

Records of the Grand Historian
A later publication: "Annals of the Five Emperors" compiled by Sima Qian, published during the reign of King Seonjo (1567-1608), held at the National Diet Library .

Records of the Grand Historian

Plan of Tomb No. 1 of the Mancheng Han Tombs
©Shogakukan ">

Plan of Tomb No. 1 of the Mancheng Han Tombs

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

秦(しん)に次いで中国を統一し支配した王朝（前202～後220）。王莽(おうもう)の新（後9～23）による中断を挟んで、それ以前を前漢（前202～後8）、以後を後漢(ごかん)（25～220）といい、都が前漢は西の長安、後漢は東の洛陽(らくよう)に置かれたところから、西漢、東漢ともいう。

［五井直弘］

概観

前漢

秦は始皇帝が死に（前210）、二世皇帝が後を継ぐと、陳勝(ちんしょう)・呉広(ごこう)の乱をはじめ各地に反乱が起きた。漢の創始者高祖劉邦(りゅうほう)も紀元前209年に手兵2000～3000を率いて沛(はい)（江蘇(こうそ)省沛県）で挙兵した。農民の出身で下級の警吏にすぎなかった劉邦の勢力は初めは弱体であったが、沛の有力者などの支持を得てしだいに強大となり、前202年には楚(そ)の将の末裔(まつえい)項羽(こうう)を垓下(がいか)の戦い（安徽(あんき)省霊璧県東南）に破って皇帝の位につき、翌年都を長安に定めた。即位後の論功行賞で、高祖は一族功臣に封国を与えて諸侯王とし、列侯を侯国に封じて、秦以来の郡県制と併用した。これを一般に郡国制とよぶ。しかし高祖はその在世中に、韓信(かんしん)をはじめ功臣の王を次々と滅ぼした。2代目の恵帝が若死にすると、高祖の糟糠(そうこう)の妻呂太后(りょたいこう)が政務をとり、呂氏一族が実権を握ったが、創業の功臣周勃(しゅうぼつ)らの力で呂氏を倒し、5代文帝の時代になって、政権の基礎がほぼ固まった。6代景帝が諸侯王国の領地削減策を強化すると、呉楚(ごそ)七国が乱を起こしたが（前154）、乱の鎮定後は王国の統治権を奪い、王国とは名のみにすぎなくなった。また高祖は韓信を追って大同（山西省）付近に至り、匈奴(きょうど)に囲まれた。以後、漢は匈奴に対して宥和(ゆうわ)策をとったが、7代武帝の時代になって積極策に転じ、数回の匈奴遠征を行ったほか、東の朝鮮、南のベトナムにも進出した。武帝はまた匈奴を挟み撃ちにするため、張騫(ちょうけん)を西方の大月氏(だいげっし)に遣わした。目的は達せられなかったが、その結果、西方との交通路いわゆる絹の道（シルク・ロード）が開かれた。けれども、たび重なる遠征や土木工事のために財政が逼迫(ひっぱく)すると、増税、貨幣の改鋳のほか、塩・鉄・酒の専売、均輸法、平準法などの施策を行った。

　この武帝から9代宣帝に至る間が前漢の最盛期で、それを象徴するのは法律刑罰を過酷に執行した法家的官僚酷吏の出現である。彼らの弾圧の対象はもっぱら豪族に向けられたが、反面この時期には豪族の地方・中央政界への進出も多くなった。一方、中央政界においては、丞相(じょうしょう)などの政府機関（外朝）に対して、外戚、宦官(かんがん)など皇帝の側近者（内朝）が実権を握るようになった。10代元帝以降はとくにこの傾向が強く、紀元9年には外戚出身の王莽が劉氏にかわって帝位につき、国号を新と改めた。

　王莽は『周礼(しゅらい)』などにみえる周の諸制度を理想とし、現実遊離の改革を行うことが多かったから、たちまち混乱を招き、赤眉(せきび)などの農民反乱や諸豪族が蜂起(ほうき)して、わずか15年で滅んだ。

［五井直弘］

後漢

この混乱のなかから頭角を現したのが、6代景帝の子孫で、南陽（河南省南西部）の諸豪族を背景にしていた光武帝劉秀(りゅうしゅう)である。光武帝は25年帝位につき、洛陽に都を定めるとともに、劉氏一族の対立者、隗囂(かいごう)、公孫述(こうそんじゅつ)などの諸勢力を倒し、王莽の改制を旧に復して政権の基礎を固めた。光武帝以後、2代明帝、3代章帝の時代約50年間が後漢の最盛期で、洛陽の太学は学生3万人を数え、地方の私学にも弟子2000～3000人をもつものがあった。対外的にも積極的で、竇憲(とうけん)は北匈奴を討ってこれを破り、西域都護班超(はんちょう)はパミール以東の50余国を服属させ、97年には甘英(かんえい)を西方の大秦国に遣わした。しかし、和帝以後は幼弱な皇帝が多く、外戚、宦官がふたたび権力を握るようになった。これに対して、礼教を重んじ、気節の士とよばれた中央・地方の官僚は、外戚、ついで宦官を論難したから、宦官は二度にわたって気節の士を弾圧した（党錮(とうこ)の禁）。中央政治がこのような混乱にあるとき、西北の羌(きょう)族が反乱を起こし、さらに184年には黄巾(こうきん)の大農民反乱が、華北、華中に蜂起した。この乱の鎮圧の過程で、各地に強大な私兵をもつ軍事勢力が現れた。宦官は華北の袁紹(えんしょう)によって討滅されたが、董卓(とうたく)、孫策(そんさく)、曹操(そうそう)らの群雄が割拠して、後漢王朝は完全に分裂した。やがて献帝を擁した曹操が強大となってほぼ華北を統一し、その子の曹丕(そうひ)が献帝に迫って帝位を譲らせ、魏(ぎ)王朝を創建したために後漢は完全に滅び、三国分裂の時代を迎えた。

［五井直弘］

政治制度

漢の行政制度はほぼ秦制を踏襲した。中央官制は、皇帝を補佐して政務を総覧し百官を統率する丞相が中心で、ときに左右2丞相を置くこともあり、12代哀帝以後は大司徒(だいしと)と改められた。軍事をつかさどるのが太尉で、常置の官ではなく、武帝の時代にはかわって大司馬(だいしば)を置いた。監察官である御史を統率するのが御史大夫(ぎょしたいふ)で、成帝以後大司空(だいしくう)と改められた。また大司馬、大司空は副丞相として政務を担当した。以上は三公ともよばれたが、昭帝以後、外戚が大将軍として実権を握り、また後漢時代になると皇帝の側近にすぎなかった尚書(しょうしょ)が丞相の職務を行った。三公の下に政務を分担する九寺があり、その長官は九卿(きゅうけい)とよばれた。太常(たいじょう)（礼儀祭祀）、光禄勲(こうろくくん)（宮廷衛護）、衛尉(えいい)（宮門守護）、太僕(たいぼく)（帝室の車馬、牧畜の管理）、廷尉(ていい)（裁判、司法）、大鴻臚(だいこうろ)（諸侯、異民族の来朝）、大司農(だいしのう)（国家財政）、宗正(そうせい)（皇族関係）、少府(しょうふ)（帝室財政）の九卿で、執金吾(しっきんご)（京師(けいし)の治安）、将作大匠(しょうさくだいしょう)（土木工事）、大長秋(だいちょうしゅう)（皇后職、東宮職）をあわせて十二卿ともいわれた。

　地方行政制度は郡と県が基本で、いくつかの県を郡が統轄した。郡の長官は守と尉で、景帝以後太守、都尉と改められ、民政と軍事を分担した。後漢では郡兵の撤廃に伴って都尉が廃止された。太守の下に副官として丞、行政実務を担当する功曹(こうそう)のほか、督郵(とくゆう)、掾史(えんし)などの属官があり、当該郡内から太守が任免した。県の長官は令または長で、太守、都尉とともに中央の任免であった。県令の下に丞、尉、斗食(としょく)、佐史(さし)などの属官があり、県の下に郷があって、有秩(ゆうちつ)、嗇夫(しょくふ)、游徼(ゆうきょう)などが戸口調査、徴税、徭役(ようえき)などを担当し、ほかに10里ごとに亭があり、亭長が警察にあたった。人民の居住区は里とよばれ、郡、県、郷は1里または数里からなっていて、郡や県はおおむね周囲を城郭で囲ってあった。里には里父老、県・郷には県・郷三老がいて民の教化にあたった。また前106年には全国を13の州に分け、刺史(しし)が州内を巡察して太守以下の監察にあたるようになったが、後漢では州が郡の上の行政単位となった。以上の官吏は丞相以下佐史に至るまで、すべて俸禄（銭と穀物で支給）によってランクがつけられており、功労、年次によって昇進した。ただ高官の子弟や、孝廉(こうれん)、賢良方正(けんりょうほうせい)などに推薦された者、高官に召された者などは下級の吏を飛び越して任用された。なお前5年のときの佐史以上の官吏は13万0285人に上った。

　行政は律令(りつれい)とよばれる法に基づいて施行されるのがたてまえであったが、現今の法律とは異なって、民の遵守すべき法というよりは、官吏が民を支配するにあたっての規準ともいうべきものであった。そのうち租税は、収穫量の30分の1を収納する田租、15～56歳の男女に一算（120銭）を課する算賦(さんふ)、3～14歳の男女に23銭を課する口銭、そのほか財産税があり、一般の民は財産評価額1万銭につき一算、武帝の時代から商人は2000銭、手工業者は4000銭につき一算となった。力役には徭役と兵役とがあった。徭役は15～56歳の男子に、毎年1か月、居住する郡県の労役にあたらせる更卒(こうそつ)、これは銭による代納が許され、300銭を代納することを更賦(こうふ)といった。兵役は23～56歳の男子で強健な者を正卒とし、兵役期間のうちに1年間は近衛兵(このえへい)または首都の警備兵として上番し、1年間は出身郡内の警備にあたらせた。辺境の警備にはその近くの正卒や募兵を用いた。武帝時代の大遠征などには募兵のほか、刑徒や異民族が用いられた。前漢時代には長安に常駐した近衛兵、首都警備兵は5万人に上ったが、後漢になると光武帝の改革によって常備兵力1万5000と減じ、郡兵も廃された。そのうえ、これらの兵士には、光武帝時代の功労者の子孫が代々選ばれたから、徴兵制は名目にすぎなくなり、曹操による兵戸制とあまり変わらなくなった。

［五井直弘］

社会経済

前漢末、平帝の時代には、郡・国の数103、県邑(けんゆう)1314、侯国241で、戸口は約1223万戸、5959万人であった。県以下の郷、あるいは郷よりもさらに小さい集落がどれほどあったかは不明である。降雨量が少なく、黄土の堆積(たいせき)が厚い華北の平原では、比較的水に恵まれた所に密集集落が営まれた。春秋戦国時代以降、鉄製農具が現れ、治水灌漑(かんがい)工事も行われて、農地の開拓が進んだが、その多くは戦国諸国の手になるものであったから、農民は国々の強い規制下に置かれていた。秦が列国を滅ぼすと、農民はその規制から解放されたが、秦・漢統一国家は郡県制の施行、爵位の賜与などによって、その農民を国家秩序のなかに組み入れ、収奪の対象にしようとした。一方、戦国諸国の富国強兵策は手工業や商業の繁栄をもたらしたが、それに伴って私営の手工業者、商人が出現した。彼らはまた土地の集積を図ったから、それは農民の土地喪失、小作人化、奴婢(ぬひ)化を招いた。漢はしばしば富者を長安付近に強制移住させて、彼らを直接の管理下に置き、また武帝時代には商人、手工業者に重税を課し、酷吏が過酷に弾圧を行った。けれども大土地所有の趨勢(すうせい)を阻止することはできず、後漢時代にはこの傾向がいっそう拡大し、なかには私兵をもつ者さえ現れた。彼らは一般に一族が集居したから、豪族とよばれている。豪族は「郷曲に武断する」といわれるように、近隣の数集落にもその勢力を及ぼす者があり、それを利用して郡県の長官の推挙を受け、官界にも進出した。

　漢代の農業は、華北ではアワ、キビ、豆、大麦などが主要作物で、後漢時代には小麦もつくられるようになったが、粉食はまだ一般的ではなく、また江南の水稲耕作は技術水準が低かった。鉄製農具は用途別の多種類化が進み、代田法、区種法などの新しい技術も開発されて、牛耕も盛んになった。また中央・地方政府あるいは豪族による治水灌漑施設も築造され、土地生産力は飛躍的に向上した。けれども耕牛などの多くは官牛や豪族の所有であり、灌漑の利を得たのも豪族が多かったから、貧富の差はいっそう拡大し、農民の貧窮化が進んだ。彼らの間にはさまざまの迷信や民間信仰が広がって妖賊(ようぞく)とよばれる農民蜂起が頻発し、やがて黄巾の乱として爆発した。

　手工業も戦国時代の繁栄の後を受けて、さらに発展した。漢は塩、鉄、織物などの主要な生産地に塩官、鉄官、服官を置いて、その生産あるいは販売を独占した。しかし塩の生産は民間業者にまかされていたように、手工業そのものを禁止したわけではなかったから、さまざまな民間の手工業が栄えた。青銅器、漆器、陶器、繊維、染物工業などで、それにつれて商業も発展した。商業のおもな対象は、皇帝ならびにその側近、諸侯王、列侯、中央・地方の高官、豪族などであったから、商工業はこれらの人々が居住する城郭都市を中心に繁栄し、なかでも長安、洛陽、邯鄲(かんたん)、臨淄(りんし)、宛(えん)などは人口数十万という大都会であった。長安などでは商人が店舗を構える市(いち)とよばれる商業区域が設けられており、市のなかには業種別の肆(し)（みせ）が軒を並べていた。各地の特産物などを交易する大商人も多く、西域との貿易に従事する商人も現れた。ブドウ、ザクロ、苜宿(もくしゅく)（クローバーの一種）などが西域からもたらされ、絹織物や鉄が西域を経由して、遠くローマにまで運ばれた。ギリシア語で中国のことをセレスとよぶのは、絹の国という意味である。また北辺に設けられた関市(かんし)を通じて、北方の遊牧民との間でも貿易が行われ、四川(しせん)省を経由する西南夷(い)との貿易、広州を拠点とする南海貿易も行われた。後漢後期の桓(かん)帝のとき（166）には、大秦王安敦(あんとん)（東ローマ皇帝マルクス・アウレリウス・アントニウスに比定される）の使者が、海上から中国を訪れている。

　なお秦の始皇帝は円形方孔の半両銭を鋳て、貨幣を統一したが、漢では算賦などが銭納をたてまえとしたところから、銭の鋳造、流通が頻繁となった。なかでも武帝のとき（前119）に制定された五銖銭(ごしゅせん)（半両。五銖は重さの表示）は、王莽の時代などに一時中断はあったが、唐の開元通宝に至るまで貨幣の基本形式となった。

［五井直弘］

文化

前漢初期には黄老思想（道家(どうか)）が尊ばれ、淮南(わいなん)王劉安は多くの学者を集めて、道家思想を中心に雑家の書『淮南子(えなんじ)』を編纂(へんさん)した。しかし文帝のころから実際政治の面では法家思想が尊重され、鼂錯(ちょうそ)などの有能な政治家が輩出した。一方、先秦時代の著作と伝えられる古典には、戦国時代から漢初にかけて整理、増補されたものが多い。なかでも儒学は、漢の初めに秦の始皇帝が行った焚書(ふんしょ)によって失われた経典の収集が行われた。そのうち経文を暗唱してきた学者によって当時通行の隷書で書き定められた経典を用いる派を今文(きんぶん)学派といった。これに対して、景帝のときに孔子の旧宅の壁の中から発見されたり、景帝の子の河間献王が集めたといわれる先秦時代の篆書(てんしょ)などで書かれた経典を用いる学派を古文学派といった。前者が名分を重んじたのに対し、後者は訓詁(くんこ)解釈を主とした。

　武帝時代の今文学者董仲舒(とうちゅうじょ)は、陰陽五行思想を取り入れて、皇帝を政治、道徳、思想宗教上の中心に位置づけ、儒学の国教化と五経博士の設置を献策した。これ以後、儒教は皇帝支配、国家秩序の指導理念となり、官僚となるための必須(ひっす)要件となった。一方、古文学は前漢末の劉歆(りゅうきん)が推重したころから盛んになり、後漢時代には両派の論争が続いた。後漢時代にはまた古典の注釈を行う訓詁の学が発展し、許慎(きょしん)は漢字の字義、字形を説いた最古の字書『説文解字(せつもんかいじ)』を著し、古文学者鄭玄(じょうげん)は今文経をも取り入れて、漢代経学(けいがく)を集大成した。なお仏教が中国に伝えられた時期については諸説があるが、光武帝の子の楚王英はすでに仏寺を祀(まつ)っていたといわれている。

　漢代の散文は、唐詩や元曲と並んで漢文と称せられる。司馬遷(しばせん)の『史記』や班固(はんこ)の『漢書』はその代表で、これはまた紀伝体による構成が以後の中国正史の模範となった。韻文には事実を細かに描写する辞賦(じふ)、『詩経』の四言をかえ、五言または七言からなる古詩、宮廷音楽のための楽府(がふ)などがある。科学の分野には先秦以来の諸説を集大成したものが多く、中国の天文学、暦法の基本型を決定した劉歆の三統暦、数学の『九章算術』、医学の『傷寒論』『黄帝内経(こうていだいけい)』などは、中国はもちろん、朝鮮、日本でも後世まで尊重された。

　美術、工芸の分野では、絵画に彩色を伴う古墓の壁画や漆画があり、石闕(せっけつ)、祠堂(しどう)、石室墓などの石材の壁面に彫り付けられた画像石は、当時の思想、生活様式を知るうえでも貴重である。象眼(ぞうがん)、めっきなど工芸技術にも目覚ましい発達がみられ、多様な文様の銅鏡が流行した。馬王堆(まおうたい)漢墓にもみられる織物は種類も多く、刺しゅう、染色、文様も新鮮である。陶器では緑釉(りょくゆう)が盛行した。長安城内の未央(びおう)宮、長楽宮など大規模の宮殿が造営されたが、当時の宮殿建築様式は河北省満城、山東省沂南(きんなん)などの漢墓などから、また豪族らの家屋は画像石や明器(めいき)の陶楼などからうかがうことができる。さらに文字は篆書についで隷書が重んぜられ、後漢時代には楷(かい)・行・草の書法が成立した。当時の石刻碑文が現存する。紙は2世紀初めに蔡倫(さいりん)が発明したといわれるが、それ以前にもあったようで一般には絹布や木竹簡に、戦国のころに発明された筆と墨を用いて記載された。

［五井直弘］

『西嶋定生著『中国の歴史2　秦漢帝国』（1974・講談社）』

[参照項目] | 王莽 | 新[年表] | 漢の時代（年表）

漢（劉氏）／略系図〈前漢〉

漢（劉氏）／略系図〈後漢〉

前漢の勢力範囲

『史記』
後世の刊本。「五帝本紀」　司馬遷撰　宣祖年間（1567～1608）刊国立国会図書館所蔵">

『史記』

満城漢墓1号墓平面図

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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