Studies On The Jamchi And Chidebeo System In Yuan Dynasty

The thesis consists of three parts. In the introduction, the influences on the establishment of the Jamchi system of Yeke Monghol Ulus are analyzed. The customs of a nomadic society had produced a strong influence on the establishment of the Jamchi system at that time, while the influence from the ancient tradition of Cathayan post and traffic station system in the former dynasties which based on centralization of state power was rather weak. These influences might explain why the management of the Jamchi system of Yeke Monghol Ulus and even the whole Yuan Dynasty was quite careless. The functions of the Jamchi system in Yuan dynasty is described in detail in Part One. There are many problems existed at that time. It is rather common for merchants of Yeke Monghol Ulus using Jamchi system, though illegal. In Yuan Dynasty, the prominent questions are that the princes ordered the Jamchis to offer services for their personal affairs and that monks from Tibet abused Jamchis. Related rules and regulations about the system are observed. The officials wrong doings in serving their private purposes are discussed in Part One too. Although the management of the Jamchi system of Yuan Dynasty is very imperfect, it is enough to guarantee the operation of the whole system so that it played its proper role. Many concrete matters concerning the operation of the Jamchi system of Yuan Dynasty are analyzed in this part, such as the distribution methods and its change of the credentials for the use of a Jamchi, the construction of Jamchi buildings and the size of a Jamchi, the change of the standards of food and drink provision, the source of materials provided, and some about which the scholars who specialized on the Jamchi system often neglected-horses prepared for the convenience of the temporal coming officials, the safety guarantee of the Jamchi routes and special envoy who enjoyed the accommodations of a Jamchi. Through the possibly detailed discussion about these issues, the specious understanding to the Jamchi system is cleared off. The study on the deliverance of the official documents through Chidebeo is also included in this part. In Part Two, the textual research on the Jamchi routes in Yuan Dynasty is carried out as the sample of observation. Based on the preceding researches, literary works which described the Jamchi routes are collected so as to make the reader form a vivid visual picture of the transportation system between Shangdu and Dadu (大都) . The main routes connecting Dadu and central area, south area and southwest area of Cathay, and the routes in the ancient Jiangzhe (江浙) Province are studied in order to form more exact knowledge of the Jamchi system of Yuan dynasty.