What does the corvee mean?

Corvee refers to a form of labor in ancient society, also known as "public service" and "reclaiming farmland". Corvee appeared earlier in the history of China, dating back to Shang Dynasty, but it was especially popular in Qin and Han Dynasties. This form of labor is used in public projects, such as national construction, urban reconstruction, road laying, etc. , is the national compulsory recruitment of civilian labor system.

Under the corvee system, the state usually gathers farmers, craftsmen and other non-slave classes to participate in public construction projects. The objects of collection are generally divided into two categories: registered population and temporary floating population. The collection time of registered population is relatively fixed, while the temporary floating population needs to be collected frequently because of its high mobility.

There are various forms of recruitment, including compulsory, lottery, voluntary referral and so on. Recruited personnel need to pay materials to the state or complete designated tasks with their own labor. The actual implementation efficiency and cost of the corvee system are controversial, but due to many drawbacks and problems, it is gradually abolished.

Generally speaking, corvee is a special form of labor. It contributed to social development by forcibly recruiting private labor, but it was also negatively evaluated and criticized by the society at that time because it involved personal rights and personal freedom.