摘要
The practice of hiring labor appears very early in Chinese history, and there are numerous examples of it as early as Ch'in and Han times. Then again, prior to the T'ang dynasty, it was only sporadically employed; it had yet to become either commonplace or systematized. Meanwhile, the distinction between free-lance and slave labor is frequently impossible to make. The increased popularity of using hired labor during the T'ang period, on the one hand, demonstrates the gradual flowering of handicraft industries and commerce, while on the other hand, demonstrating the long-term transformation of T'ang China's socio-economic structure. The purpose of my research is to describe the procedure used in hiring labor and the overall context of the system during the T'ang; moreover, I have attempted to gain insight into several problems related to the T'ang socio-economic environment through my analysis of the relationship between hired labor and its employers.
The conclusions reached from my study of hired labor are as follows:
1. T'ang dynasty hired labor was a type of salaried labor. Its origins are related to increased demand for manual labor, the inability to satisfy this demand through compulsory service, and the resulting necessity for the government and potential employers to use either commodities or cash to hire laborers. Thus, the increase in hired labor during the T'ang reflects a decline in the use of slave labor.
2. The increased popularity of hired labor during the T'ang is caused by the evolution of the socio-economic structure and the heightened demands upon handicraft industries and commerce.
3. The range of publically and privately employed labor is vast: agriculture, handicraft industries, transport, along with conscription and miscellaneous labor were all included within the hired labor group. Furthermore, that demands for these various types of labor came to be met by hired laborers, demonstrates the extent to which the above activities had expanded in both quantity and scope during the T'ang.
4. Demand for hired labor had increased so very much during this period that there came to exist short-term － daily or monthly － contracting of hired labor. Moreover, the appearance of "labor blocks" further proves the extent to which manual labor had become commercialized. Both of these phenomena were built upon a steadily flourishing economic base.
5. The real wage of T'ang dynasty hired labor was by no means high, but they nevertheless remained free of bondage. They could not only change their employment, but also had some opportunity to improve their economic standing; then again, the extent to which most such laborers actually did remains doubtful.