從族規、家訓試論明清徽州社會的「成人之道」

Becoming an Ideal Adult: A Study of Clan and Family Regulations in Ming-Qing Huizhou

中國傳統以冠禮象徵成人。「成人」不僅是儀式或年齡界線，更是脫離蒙昧與幼稚、進而開始承擔責任與義務的人生階段。既然「成人」一詞表示「人」必須經過一連串的學習與成長，才能成為社會上「被認可的」人，那麼所謂的「成人之道」，除了指涉成長的漫長道路，當然也隱含教養與涵化的方法。本文透過明中葉到清前期的族規、家訓，考察徽州地區對於青少年與成人的區別，以及對青少年子弟培養期望。本文分為三節，第一節所論之教化與教育，乃道德知識的準備，藉此期望子弟成年後能維持族人所認可的「理想」生活習慣與模式。第二節由家庭出發，討論青少年在成人前後透過婚姻建立家並自力更生、獨立支撐自己的小家庭，以開啟日後事業。第三節則聚焦成人不同以往的待遇與責任，特別是冠禮標誌過去青少年時期全然不同的身份，且此後得以與年長族人共同參宗內部事物、承擔責任，並漸提升其在社會、宗族內的地位。透過對於「成人之道」的種種考察，將可以一窺明清徽州社會對於「成人」期待，進而討論這些族規中持續關注「成人之道」的目的與意涵。

The ceremony of capping was a symbol of the adult age in traditional China. It was not only a ceremony to show the age difference, but an emblem to push the teenagers learning their fulfillment of obligations and responsibility for being adult. “Becoming an ideal adult” thus means that teenagers should be taught and cultivated until they will behave as adults and full-grown men admitted by the society. By examination of clan and family regulations in Ming-Qing Huizhou, this article will explore “the difference between the teenage and the adult” and answer the question such as “how did people educate their children to become mature in their society?”. There are three parts in this article: The first was about teaching children with moral ethics and knowledge to live a correct life in their adulthood. Secondly, by marriage and keeping family economy, the teenagers were expected to transform themselves from dependent kids to the masters of their house there. After the ceremony of capping, thirdly, the teenagers would be treated like adult and had right and responsibility for clan and public involvement, just as other elders did. Therefore, by this study we can depict the image of an “adult” and “full-grown man” and reconsider the meanings of modifying the “ideal adults” in the Huizhou region of Ming-Qing China.