A Study Of The Tempororary Township Head In Liye Strips Of Qin

According to the Maleskine of Qin Dynasty found at Liye,all the three townships of Qianling County were set with a "township guardian".After studying the names,number and term of duty magistrate in the three townships,I found that there is a great number of township guardian in Qin Dynasty with a frequent replacement.This system had been basically sustained in Qianling County during the reign of Qin Dynasty.It is witnessed in the second volume of "collations and notes for Maleskine of Qin Dynasty found at Liye" that "township guardian" is indeed the agent of "township official for labor and taxes".When the position of township official for labor and taxes is vacant or the township official is on a business trip,the county government will set the post of township guardian as the interim agent.Those who undertake the position of township guardian are the officials who continue the original post without an assignment for business trip.The interim township guardian is basically undertaken by the staff member of the county magistrate,assistant of the county magistrate,official for the storage of rice,official for the storage of treasures and official for the manufacturing of vehicles.During their term,they may be promoted or transferred,depending on their credit or crime.There are very few materials with the regard to the township official for labor and taxes in Qin Dynasty for which the scholars are not able to conduct a deep research.And it is not possible for us to learn the specific responsibility of the township official for labor and taxes in Qin Dynasty,either.However,a large number of bamboo and wooden slips in the Maleskine of Qin Dynasty found at Liye with the regard to the township guardian provide us the important clues for our research.I have summarized the responsibilities of township guardian in accordance with the Maleskine found at Liye.Their responsibilities include the management of prisoners for civil engineering,handicraft and other trivial labor,the release of food for prisoners,government officials and garrison soldiers,the charge of taxes and contributions from the people of township,the requisition and recount of corvee,the draft and registration for the document of property transfer between the people oftownship,the record for the year of migration,the submission of work record for the township officials of the county and balancing the price of commodities.Since township guardian is the duty magistrate of the township official for labor and taxes,their responsibilities should be completely identical for which we can deduct that the township official for labor and taxes in Qin Dynasty is truly the master of township with extensive responsibilities.Considering the role of the township official for labor and taxes at the bottom of the official system,we cannot help wondering for the reason of long-term service from township guardian for the business of township official for labor and taxes.According to the Maleskine found at Liye,Qianling County had an acute shortage of officials for which the government had to take special measures.For example,set duty magistrate for the government affairs when the official in charge is absent or no longer in service,mitigate penalty for the officials who violate the law or transfer to a new land for a position,break the system of birthplace for the appointment of outlanders.Besides,it is common for the officials in Qin Dynasty to go for labor force,a businss trip,for which they have to leave their original responsibilities.Considering the expansion of land after the unification of Qin Dynasty,officials always go somewhere far away from home for labor force.To ensure the normal operation of the official business,township guardian is set for the service of the original official.