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http://dx.doi.org/10.14477/jhm.2015.28.2.065

Mathematics in the Joseon farmland tax systems  

Hong, Sung Sa (Dept. of Math., Sogang Univ.)
Hong, Young Hee (Dept. of Math., Sookmyung Women's Univ.)
Kim, Chang Il (Dept. of Math. Education, Dankook University)
Publication Information
Journal for History of Mathematics / v.28, no.2, 2015 , pp. 65-72 More about this Journal
Abstract
The Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) is basically an agricultural country and therefore, the main source of her national revenue is the farmland tax. Thus the farmland tax system becomes the most important state affair. The 4th king Sejong establishes an office for a new law of the tax in 1443 and adopts the farmland tax system in 1444 which is legalized in Gyeongguk Daejeon (1469), the complete code of law of the dynasty. The law was amended in the 19th king Sukjong era. Jo Tae-gu mentioned the new system in his book Juseo Gwan-gyeon (1718) which is also included in Sok Daejeon (1744). Investigating the mathematical structures of the two systems, we show that the systems involve various aspects of mathematics and that the systems are the most precise applications of mathematics in the Joseon dynasty.
Keywords
farmland tax systems in Joseon dynasty; Joseon mathematics; measurement of farmlands; assessment of farmland tax; Gyeongguk Daejeon; Sok Daejeon;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 Gyeongguk Daejeon (1469), The National Library of Korea. <經國大典> (1469), 국립중앙도서관.
2 Sok Daejeon (1744), The National Library of Korea. <續大典> (1744), 국립중앙도서관.
3 Jo Tae-gu, Juseo Gwan-gyeon (1718), Seoul National University Library. 趙泰耉, <籌書管見> (1718), 서울大學校 圖書館.
4 Hong Sung Sa, Hong Young Hee, Kim Chang Il, Approximate Solutions of Equations in Chosun Mathematics, The Korean Journal for History of Mathematics 25(3) (2012), 1-14.(홍성사, 홍영희, 김창일, 方程式의 近似解, 한국수학사학회지 25(3) (2012), 1-14.)
5 The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. 朝鮮王朝實錄. http://sillok.history.go.kr