CONFUCIAN STATECRAFT 29Economic Policy
Industry. Chong Tojon wrote only a few lines on the topic of artisans and mer-
chants, but he did so only to stress the need for the imposition of punitive taxes
on both to reduce the number of people engaged in these "lesser occupations"
so that peasants would not abandon agriculture in pursuit of higher profits from
commercial and industrial activity.5 The Confucian reformers were thus not that
specific about their prescriptions for an economic policy, but the policies
adopted by the new government that were geared toward the control and restric-
tion of commerce and handicrafts were generally in conformity with the con-
servative spirit of the Neo-Confucians.
The early Chason economy was primarily agrarian, with most production com-
ing from self-sufficient peasant families who produced grain mainly for sub-
sistencc and wove thcir own clothes at home. There was only a small number
of professional artisans (chang'in or kongjang), who were either "good" or "base"
(commoner or slave) in status. Those of good status were free and independent
artisans, but most were also employed by agencies of the central government or
by provincial governors or district magistrates where they were registered by
those agencies as part of their labor service obligation. Officials meted out pun-
ishment if the goods they produced for the government were not up to par. When
they were off official duty in government manufactories, they were free to work
on their own but owed an artisan's tax to the state.
These professional artisans were engaged mainly in producing specialized
ramie and silk textiles, shoes, furniture and cabinets, kitchen utensils, leather
goods, tiles, paper, lacquerware, pottery, weapons, and armor and in smelting
and metallurgy. The number of the artisans employed by the central government
throughout the country was limited by law to about 6,600 men of which 2,800
in 130 categories were employed in the capital, and 3,800 in 27 categories in
the provinces. These artisans, concentrated to a serious degree in the capital,
were employed primarily to produce the goods needed to maintain the prestige
of the rul ing class.
In the countryside there was far less division of labor, and most artisans there
were in engaged in the manufacture of weapons, agricultural tools, paper, pil-
lows, and bedding. Most were private artisans who operated on their own and
were only mobilized on occasion for government work to make necessities or
tribute products for the king and court. About one-third of the provincial regis-
tered artisans were located in Kyongsang Province, but there were never more
than a couple in each town or district. In Cholla Province, the towns of Chonju
and Namwon, known for papermaking, only had twenty-three paperworkers each.
Even the largest towns like Kyongju, Sangju, Andong, and Chinju only had one
or two blacksmiths or metallurgists. The yamen of provincial governors and mil-
itary commanders had the most artisans, about a dozen each.^6
Most local industry at the beginning of the dynasty was in textiles - hemp,
ramie, and cotton. Despite government efforts to promote the silk industry, silk