廣開土王碑文中的烟戶——兼論古代東亞的守墓人制度

The Yan-household Inscribed in the Stele of King Gwanggaeto: A Discussion of the Tomb Keeper System in Ancient East Asia

This paper focuses on the historical records of the “Yan-household” （烟戶） inscribed in the Stele of King Gwanggaeto （廣開土王碑）. To analyze these records, this paper will discuss the tomb keeper system in ancient East Asia and the relationship between the working class and the monarchies in ancient East Asia. First, Yan （烟） should be regarded as the human resources from the lower class; they were households belonging to the grand clans during fourth and fifth centuries. Second, both Guoyan （國烟） and Kanyan （看烟） refer to the system of household registration: Guoyan were the groups of laborers who were registered in the capital of Goguryeo, and Kanyan were those registered under the local government. This system of household registration probably has a connection with the Tomonomiyatsuko （伴造） and Bemin （ 部民 ） system in Japan. In addition, the Stele of King Gwanggaeto can also be viewed as a law promulgated by the central government of Goguryeo. Thus its key words were Chinese character terms that had been current among the political elite for centuries, such as Yan, Guoyan, and Kanyan. Finally, this paper also emphasizes the importance of analyzing the Stele of King Gwanggaeto as a household registration document: the first half of the inscription uses martial and ritual accomplishments to demonstrate the legitimacy of the kings of Goguryeo's right to these human resources; the second half, as a household registration document, specifies how local elites were to share these resources with the central government.