고려말 四件奴婢의 유형화와 노비정책

Abstract

King Ch΄ngsŏn had been aware of the seriousness of the abuses of the illegal seizure of slaves since his days as Crown Prince. In this regard, he exhibited a willingness to resolve the issues associated with slavery during both his tenureas acting regent and during the early portion of his rule. His confiscation of illegally seized slaves from the so-called ‘four classes of slaves (sagŏn nobi)’ can be seen as having been motivated not only by his desire to put an end to the evil practices associated with the seizure of slaves, but also as politically motivated steps designed to weaken the power of the close associates of the previous king. However, the limits of the steps taken by King Ch΄ngsŏn are clearly evidenced by the fact that his own close associates were actively engaged in such practices. A campaign to confiscate individuals who belonged to the four classes of slaves was once again implemented during the fourth year of King Ch΄nghye. The rationale behind the confiscating of these slaves was identicalto that which had motivated a similar move during the reign of King Ch΄ngsŏn, with the degree of damage incurred based on the extent of the slaveholders’ relationship with those in charge of the implementation of this campaign. The confiscation of individuals falling under these four categories of slaves was closely related to the retrieval and reversion of kongsinjŏn (merit-subject land). However, the fact that King Ch΄nghye was sent into exile bythe Yuan dynasty of China after a mere few months on the throne ensured that his actions taken in this regard were limited interms of their efficiency and consistency. A comparable situation occurred during the early period of the reign of King Ch΄ngsuk, when King Ch΄ngsŏn, despite his status as abdicated king, continued to exercise a powerful political influence. The class of people known as kisang nobi (slaves presented as bribes), which constituted one of the above-mentioned four classes of slaves, came into being as a result of the search for methods to increase the number of slaves which could be offered to the powers that be as a bribe. This type of slave was generally forcefully seized or acquired by those in power. However, during the reform process, ownership of these slaves was reverted to the royal Buddhisttemple or royal treasury, where they could be used as the private property of the royal family, rather than to their original owners or government organizations. This type of situation makes clear thetwisted manner in which the slavery system was managed. The slaves granted by the previous king to his meritorious subjects or close associates representedthe economic basis upon which the latter maintained their power. However, these slaves were subsequently confiscated in accordance with the prevailing political dynamics. More often than not, these slaves were confiscated and then granted to new officials. T΄sok nobi (entrusted slaves) were individuals who voluntarily offered themselves as slaves to the powers that be or to the large-scale landlords that developed during late Koryŏ. However, while the slaves obtained through this t΄sok system appeared on the surface to have been seized through legal means, there is much reason to believe that such individuals werein fact forcefully turned into slaves by the powers that be. This assertion is supported by the fact that this type of slave also became the subject of confiscation on the part of the state during the above-mentioned reforms. In this regard, the fact that the insang muyŏk nobi (slaves obtained through personal transactions) were, like the t΄sok nobi, made the object of confiscation only serves to further heighten the possibility that this type of slave was also initially seized through illegal means. These four classes of slaves (sagŏn nobi) were regarded as being separate from the choŏp nobi, or private slaves inherited from one’s ancestors. However, the marked increase in the number of slaves resulting from the practices of amnyang wich΄ŏn (壓良爲賤, degradation of a commoner to slave or lowborn class) and sap΄e (賜牌, deeds to land and slaves granted by the king) raises the possibility that some choŏp nobi were in fact included within the four classes of slaves as either t΄sok nobi or kisang nobi. These choŏp nobi in all likelihood were included amongst these four classes of slaves (sagŏn nobi) either as part of indirect efforts to curry the favor of those in power, or of direct subjugation to the latter. Furthermore, the increase of slaves granted to meritorious subjects andof the kisang nobi offered to those in power led to a decrease of oegwan nobi (public slaves). Therefore, the emergence of these four classes of slaves (sagŏn nobi) in many ways clearly illustrates the serious problems which plagued the management of the slave system during this particular period. Several institutional mechanisms were put in place to overcome the evil practices associated with the slave system. These included the establishment of the Panggo gamjŏn pyŏlgam (房庫監傳別監, Office of Land and Slave Property Documents), Ch΄lli pyŏnjŏng togam (察理辨整都監, Directorate for the Return of Illegally Seized Slaves to the Original Ownership), and Chŏnmin pyŏnjŏng togam (田民辨整都監, Directorate for Reclassification of Farmland and the Farming Population). However, the emergence of a host of pressing issues during the final period of Koryŏ such as the restoration of the king to the throne, conflicts betweenthe various political factions, and the deterioration of relations with Yuan, all but ensured that the reforms failed to achieve the desired results. Furthermore, the ability to maintain aconsistent slave policy was further hindered by the fact that the main actors behind these reformseffectively switched places with the initial targets of these reforms; and by the fundamental contradiction that saw the king andother members of the royal family become the recipients of the slaves that had been confiscated.