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825 X Public Works Administration CHAPTER : CULTIVATING AND MANAGING MOUNTAIN FORESTS Since Mountain Forests Are One of the Sources from Which Tribute and Taxes Are Derived, the Sage Kings Paid Special Attention to Administering Them. In Rites of Zhou there is a record as follows: “Mountains are graded into three categories in terms of their sizes: large, medium, and small. So are the forests. Thus they are divided into dalu, zhonglu, and xiaolu and are maintained by twelve managers. During the eleventh lunar month [Zhongdong] logging is allowed , but there is a time limit for the ordinary people engaged in logging. However , there is no such restriction for the artisans hired by the government. Those who log trees without authorization are subject to punishment as criminals.” The Spring and Autumn Annals states, “The forests are kept and managed by a forest manager [henglu].” According to “Proceedings of Government in the Different Months [“Yueling”],” during the sixth lunar month the forester [yuren] takes care of trees, and during the eleventh lunar month trees are cut down to make arrows. Since the law concerning forests has been made like this since the times of Yao and Shun, Shun served as dalu, an official in charge of timber. According to Book of Rites, the great steward of the Ministry of State collects taxes from mountain forests and streams and ponds in order to prepare for funerals because 1. Large, medium, and small forests, respectively. 2. Dalu, which means “large forest,” is also a designation for an official who was in charge of timber. 826 book X the coffins and the items buried with the dead are derived from them. In the ages preceding the Zhou dynasty there was not an inch of land that did not belong to the king, so the king distributed farmland, mountains and forests, and streams and ponds to the people and collected taxes and tribute, which became the source of revenue for his rule. After the Qin dynasty, however, it happened that the king possessed no land of his own, and for this reason, the people complained when they paid taxes on their land and the government logged the trees in the mountains. Since the hilt of the Taia sword was held by the subjects, not by the king, and it has been that way for a long time, the king became powerless, and his people became ignorant of the virtue of the king. This is one thing about which those who are well informed on state affairs are deeply worried. Since our government policy on forests is simply limited to the prohibition of logging pine trees, it has virtually no restrictions on trees like firs, nut pines, maples, and nutmegs . As for the prohibition against logging pine trees, the law is very strict, and its details are extremely elaborate. This policy, however, completely shuts off all ways of obtaining the supplies necessary for ordinary people who have to raise those who are alive and bury the dead; thus it looks like an overflowed dam that is in danger of breaking out any moment. Since orders from above are already disorderly, the people are at a loss about them. Although the government keeps issuing prohibitions despite the fact that its words sound empty, or pretends to punish violations of the law, the mountains increasingly become barren, and the forests fail to provide the revenues necessary for the use of the government. So the forests at the present time contribute very little to the finances of the state, on the one hand, and fail to meet the demands of the people, on the other. Since this problem is beyond the power of the magistrate, the best thing that he can do under the circumstances is to carry out his duty carefully within the boundary of the law and thereby keep himself safe from making potential mistakes. Since Logging of Pine Trees Raised in the Government-Reserved Forests [Pongsan] Is Strictly Prohibited, the Magistrate Must Try to Follow the Law, Paying Close Attention to All the Attempts and Abuses Related to Law Enforcement. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Special crop assessors [kyŏngch’agwan] shall be dispatched to the government-reserved forests of each province where pine trees of the highest quality are raised, and in Kyŏngsang Province and Chŏlla Province logging shall be carried out every ten years, and in Kangwŏn Province, every five years, for the supply of timber used for the coffins...

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