清代中期,貴州東南部清水江流域における木材の流通構造 : 『採運皇木案牘』の記述を中心に

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In the 18th century, the Miao in southeastern Guizhou began to produce shanmu timber [Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.] in great abundance. The timber used for the construction of the palace in Beijing was procured from this region. Every year, a bureaucrat from Hunan province traveled to southeastern Guizhou to procure the timber. In this article, the author examines the distribution mechanism of timber in this area, using the historical records Caiyun Huangmu Andu [Archives on felling and transporting imperial timber], written by a lower bureaucrat who was in charge of the procurement in the years 1777 and 1781. Two things made it difficult for the bureaucrat to procure the timber. First, large-size timber was rare and valuable. Second, the actual cost of the timber far exceeded the legal statutory budget. Under these circumstances, the bureaucrat had to carry out a smooth procurement while saving on costs and also managing to gain private profit for himself. At times, the bureaucrat conflicted with the local middleman, and at times he cooperated with him; and he also cooperated with the merchants from the lower area of Yangtze valley, e.g., Huizhou merchants. The manager of the forest, meanwhile, sold timber when the price was high and thus earned capital for reforestation.
2007-01-25