明代中後期江南士大夫的鄉居和城居──從「民望」到「鄉紳」

Rural and Urban Living of Jiangnan Literati in Mid- and Late-Ming Period: From “minwang民望” to “xiangshen鄉紳”

中國從很久以前（至少在唐宋變革之後）就有庶民尊敬「士」或「讀書人」的風氣，而認為士人都居住都市，庶民居在農村，學問的有無會因為居住空間的不同而有差異，則是近世才出現的狀況。明洪武十三年確立的官員優免規定中，只同意優免現職京官的雜役。從王升的家書與太祖的詔敕中，可見元末明初江南士大夫或士與農民共同居住在農村，擁有共同生活空間，一起負擔國家（王朝）的賦稅與徭役。姚文灝與陸深所留下的資料也顯示，一直到明代中期，江南三角洲依然遵守士大夫階層也要負擔徭役的規定，不能以擁有官僚資格來避役。十六世紀在江南三角洲進行的商業化，造成了鄉居地主的消失與鄉紳階層的出現。嘉靖以後士大夫以官僚身份做為後盾，拒絕擔負徭役；政治上形成「士民公議」或「地方公議」的政治習慣。同時江南士大夫階層開始城居化，切斷了與農村居民的關係，分離了與庶民的生活空間，士大夫階層也就不存在約束負擔徭役的動力，造成「役困」的情況。「鄉紳」一詞隨徭役問題而出現，因而影響了文化階層的變化，形成「都市＝識字的知識份子世界」與「鄉村＝不識字的庶民世界」的文化構造，一直持續到十九世紀。 The commercialization of the Jiangnan Delta in the sixteenth century brought forth tremendous changes in the economic activities, social hierarchy, and cultural structure of the area. When rural-living landlords gradually turned into absentee landlords living in cities as a result of the commercialization, the detachment of rural and urban culture also enlarged. It has long been a shared practice among the Chinese to pay respect to men of learning, that is, the “shih” (literati), or the “educated.” Yet, it was probably not until the commercialization of the sixteenth century did the idea that the educated lived in cities while the non-educated in the country, or that the living areas changed along with one’s degree of education, come into being. Jiangnan literati (or shih) lived in the country as their peasant counterparts did during the late Yuan and early Ming periods. As manifested by an early Ming family letter wrote by a Zhejiang landlord father named Wang Sheng 王升to his official son, and a decree Emperor Taizu made to this father, it is clear that at this time literati shared all kinds of taxation and corvee responsibilities with their commoner counterparts. Moreover, the rules of corvee exemption made in the thirteenth year of the Hongwu era also indicate that except the incumbent court officials, no local or retired officials were entitled to the corvee labor exemption. Various biographical records of the mid-Ming Jiangnan literati families also show that literati class of the area continued to follow the rules of sharing the corvee responsibilities. While living in the same area and mutually dependant, literati could hardly escape from their taxes and corvee labor burdens with the excuses of their official status, and imposed them on their commoner counterparts. However, following with the Jiangnan Delta’s commercialization was the decline of rural-living landlords and the emergence of urban-living ones (the absentee landlords). It became more and more popular among literati after the Jiajing period to pursue private profits, refusing to assume the corvee labor obligations based on their official status. At that time, the political practice of “public conference,” the so-called “shihming gongyi 士民公議” or “difang gongyi 地方公議” was gradually formed at the county level. Meanwhile, literati class became more accustomed to urban living, which not only cut off the close relationship they had had with the peasants, but also disassociated themselves from the peasants’ living space. Consequently, they were no longer obliged, or motivated, to share the corvee labor burdens. When they recklessly evaded corvee responsibilities, commoner landlords began to suffer bankruptcy and decline, namely, “yikun 役困” due to the overburdens of taxes and corvee labors. The term “xiangshen” thus emerged after Jiajing period along with the above-mentioned corvee labor problems. The shift of literati landlords’ living patterns certainly had great impacts on the structure of cultural hierarchy, that is, the formation and the continuation until nineteenth century of the idea that cities were the world of the educated, while countries were that of the non-educated.

The commercialization of the Jiangnan Delta in the sixteenth century brought forth tremendous changes in the economic activities, social hierarchy, and cultural structure of the area. When rural-living landlords gradually turned into absentee landlords living in cities as a result of the commercialization, the detachment of rural and urban culture also enlarged. It has long been a shared practice among the Chinese to pay respect to men of learning, that is, the “shih” (literati), or the “educated.” Yet, it was probably not until the commercialization of the sixteenth century did the idea that the educated lived in cities while the non-educated in the country, or that the living areas changed along with one’s degree of education, come into being. Jiangnan literati (or shih) lived in the country as their peasant counterparts did during the late Yuan and early Ming periods. As manifested by an early Ming family letter wrote by a Zhejiang landlord father named Wang Sheng 王升to his official son, and a decree Emperor Taizu made to this father, it is clear that at this time literati shared all kinds of taxation and corvee responsibilities with their commoner counterparts. Moreover, the rules of corvee exemption made in the thirteenth year of the Hongwu era also indicate that except the incumbent court officials, no local or retired officials were entitled to the corvee labor exemption. Various biographical records of the mid-Ming Jiangnan literati families also show that literati class of the area continued to follow the rules of sharing the corvee responsibilities. While living in the same area and mutually dependant, literati could hardly escape from their taxes and corvee labor burdens with the excuses of their official status, and imposed them on their commoner counterparts. However, following with the Jiangnan Delta’s commercialization was the decline of rural-living landlords and the emergence of urban-living ones (the absentee landlords). It became more and more popular among literati after the Jiajing period to pursue private profits, refusing to assume the corvee labor obligations based on their official status. At that time, the political practice of “public conference,” the so-called “shihming gongyi 士民公議” or “difang gongyi 地方公議” was gradually formed at the county level. Meanwhile, literati class became more accustomed to urban living, which not only cut off the close relationship they had had with the peasants, but also disassociated themselves from the peasants’ living space. Consequently, they were no longer obliged, or motivated, to share the corvee labor burdens. When they recklessly evaded corvee responsibilities, commoner landlords began to suffer bankruptcy and decline, namely, “yikun 役困” due to the overburdens of taxes and corvee labors. The term “xiangshen” thus emerged after Jiajing period along with the above-mentioned corvee labor problems. The shift of literati landlords’ living patterns certainly had great impacts on the structure of cultural hierarchy, that is, the formation and the continuation until nineteenth century of the idea that cities were the world of the educated, while countries were that of the non-educated.