元代佛教寺院赋役的演变

The Development of Taxes and Corvee of Buddhist Temples in the Yuan Dynasty

元朝时期,佛教兴盛,元朝诸帝,为尊崇佛教,采取了多种措施,如建造大量皇家佛寺,向寺院赏赐巨额田土和其他财产,封藏传佛教领袖为帝师、国师,减轻甚至豁免佛教寺院的各种赋役负担等。有元一代,围绕僧人、佛寺的纳税、免税和当役、免役问题,一直存在争论。帝师、宣政院要为僧人、佛寺争取尽可能多的利益;中书省则为了保证财政收入和统治机构的运转,对僧人、佛寺的经济活动加以必要的限制。元朝诸帝经常依违于两者之间,既要给佛教寺院种种优遇,又要使国家机器能够运转,于是有关僧人、佛寺赋役的政策,便不断改变,多次反复,这在中国历史上是罕见的。从僧人、佛寺赋役的前后演变,可以说明佛教在元代的特殊地位。

Buddhism flourished in the Yuan Dynasty, and all the Yuan emperors worshiped Buddhism. Many imperial Buddhist temples were built, and large amount of money, fields, and properties were offered to the temples. Tibetan Buddhist leaders were honored as imperial teachers and were free from any taxes and corvee. There has been controversy over taxes and corvee for Buddhist monks and temples. Imperial teachers wanted to guarantee as much benefit as possible for the monks and temples, but the secretariats wanted to set limits to them so as to secure the financial income and the ruling operation. The Yuan emperors often felt embarrassed in between. On the one hand, they wanted to give Buddhist temple various benefits, but on the other hand, they had keep the state machine well operating. So many revisions concerning the taxes and corvee of Buddhist monks and temples. This is a rare phenomenon in Chinese history, which shows the particular significance of Buddhism in the Yuan Dynasty.