Book II 181
“1. Provisions and post-horses specified by the law should be provided
to royal messengers as well as civil and military officials below rank 2, and
the amount and number fixed by the law should serve as reference for
all cases.
“1. Each province should be required to recommend people learned in the
classics, exemplary in conduct, and experienced in world affairs, and there-
fore capable of achievements; also people good at literature and calligraphy,
and therefore capable of drafting official documents; also people well versed
in law, accounting, and administration, and therefore capable of governing
the people; also people knowledgeable in military strategies and coura-
geous, and therefore capable of commanding the army; also people who are
outstanding in archery, horsemanship, pole weapons, and slings, and there-
fore capable of taking charge of military affairs; and also people learned in
any of the following, such as astronomy, geography, divination, medicine,
and so forth. Investigations should be made of these people, and if they
are found to have a talent in any of the aforementioned areas, the office
concerned should make a visit to the individuals and send them to the court
so that they can be employed for public service. If anyone among the
commoners is exemplary in filial piety and brotherly love and diligent
in farming, his taxes should be reduced so that the good custom can be
preserved.
“1. An able-bodied male aged sixteen to sixty is required to fulfill his
labor duty. If a household has more than ten men, it is registered as large; if
more than five men, medium; and if less than four men, small. When there
is a need for labor service, the large household sends one man. However, in
the cases of the medium and small households, two medium households
send one man and three small households one man, which is fair. If there are
vagrants, arrangements should be made for them to live together with their
families after making investigations on the reason for their vagrancy.
“1. The Righteous Granary (ŭich’ang) was originally established in order
to save the poor people. At the beginning of the farming season, provision
and seed should always be provided to the poor people first, measuring the
exact amount. After the harvest, the grain distributed to the people should
be collected, but it should not exceed the amount of the loaned grain. The
grain distributed and collected should be reported to the State Finance
Commission in the last month of the year, and the magistrates who do not
use the proper measurement in distributing grain, or distribute to affluent
people, should be punished.