Attempted in this article is a comparative study, focusing on the Shig’eub(食邑, “stipend village”) of Goguryeo(高句麗) which appear in records of the dynasty’s early days, and the Chinese Shig’eub institution (as well as the Chae’eub/采邑 system from the Chunchu/春秋 era), in order to determine the Goguryeo Shig’eub system’s nature, and see how the related institutions worked.
The Shig’eub system of Goguryeo seems to have operated in the early years as a method for the central power to control the local regions. A similar case can be found from Samguk-ji(三國志)’s “Dong’ih-jeon(東夷傳)” chapter, where Goguryeo’s control of the Okjeo(沃沮) region is described. The so-called ‘tribute’ record from the ‘Dong-Okjeo(東沃沮)’ section has been analyzed in quite a lot of studies, and this ‘tribute’ may be considered as a variation of the Shig’eub practice. But this record provides us with other kinds of hints as well, as it contains reference to Daega(大加) and Saja(使者), which were Goguryeo ranks. Their relationship and obligations depicted here offers us a unique opportunity to imagine the Goguryeo ranks’ internal structure.
In this article, a certain aspect of the Goguryeo dynasty’s Shig’eub institution will be briefly discussed, with comparisons made between them and the Gyeong(卿)・Daebu(大夫) officials as well as their ‘Household associates (Gashin, 家臣).’ The system of control over Okjeo and the Shig’eub institutions seem to be comparable to an interim stage that would have existed between the Spring and Autumn Era era’s Chae’eub system and the later days’ Shig’eub institution. And according to the ‘Dong-Okjeo’ section’s records, Daega-level leaders seem to have lost their autonomous functions, just like the Gyeong and Daebu figures did with their Chae’eub, while smaller groups became part of the King’s realm.