TRIBUTE AND THE TAEDONG REFORM 799
maUp'if commutation rate for the coastal district and the other two provinces.
In the middle of 1660, King Hyonjong decided he would apply the taedong
system for the upland districts of Cholla after the fall harvest. Minister of Tax-
ation Hong Myongha mentioned that during King Hyojong's reign, when offi-
cials were discussing regulations for the taedong system in the upland region
(san 'gun) ofCholla, the consensus had been that the tax would be levied at two
p 'il/kyol, but the rice/cloth commutation rate would be set at seven mal/p 'il. This
meant that residents of the upland region who had to buy cloth had to pay four-
teen mal to purchase the two p'it required for each kyol of land, one mal/kyot
higher (or 7.7 percent) than the tax rate for the lowland or coastal region of the
province. When Yi Sibang had recommended that the commutation rate be low-
ered to six maUp' it, it would have reduced their taxes to twelve mal/p' it but cut
revenues as well.^53
Chief State Councilor Chong T'aehwa argued, however, that if the purpose of
the taedong tax was to benefit the people, they would be better off with a seven
mal/p'it commutation rate, but Minister of Taxation Ho Chok supported Yi
Sibang's six mal/p'il commutation rate because he thought it was closer to the
real price of cotton cloth in rice. He pointed out that even in Ch'ungch'ong
Province, where the commutation price of rice was set at fivemal/p.il. the peas-
ants found it difficult to buy cloth at that price on the market, and in the coastal
districts (where cloth was more expensive than upland), they had to pay six to
seven mal for one p 'if of cloth.^54
When King Hyonjong suggested that it might be best to compromise by set-
ting the tax rate at thirteen mal/kyot in grain and two p 'il/kyot in cloth (a six and
one-half mal/p'il commutation rate), Chong agreed because it would split the
difference between the two proposals. Splitting the difference between the two
proposals was certainly a reasonable solution, but if this commutation rate were
not an accurate assessment of the real market prices of rice and cloth at the time,
it would have imposed a penalty on taxpayers who had to buy cloth or reduce
the government's revenues. Unfortunately, the information available to the court
consisted of hearsay reports, and the king did not order the conduct of a thor-
ough study of prices throughout the province to determine what the price of cloth
really was.S5
King Hyonjong ordered that the taedong tax be adopted for the upland region
ofCholla in 1660. but when Minister of Taxation Ho Chok and Third State Coun-
cilor Won Tup'yo (a long-time opponent of the tax) complained that crop condi-
tions were bad in the province, Hyonjong postponed the decision until the spring
of 166 I and ordered that all taedollg surtaxes collected already in the coastal area
of ChOlla be retained in the districts for use as relief funds (rather than returning
them to the taxpayer). Further discussion ceased until 1662, when Kim Yuk's
son, Kim Chwamyong, then minister of rites, reminded King Hyonjong of his
promise. The king then agreed to adopt the taedong system for the upland region
of Cholla in the fall and put Kim in charge of its implementation.^56