虛實參半的先祖歷史：從資陽徐氏始遷祖手傳看明代湖廣地區的垛集軍戶

Fiction and Reality in Ancestral Histories: A Study of Collective Military Households in the Ming Dynasty Huguang Region based on the Xu Family Genealogy

筆者長年研究明代軍戶，近年更將重心放在家譜資料的整理，希望藉由家譜中豐富多面的材料，釐清軍籍對家族發展的影響。然而，三十年的尋譜歷程，卻也發現不少造假的情形。如何能從似假還真的族譜資料中分辨其偽，從而篩檢出可供吾人利用之資料，是治史者共同面對的課題。本文嘗試以資陽徐氏為例，通過方志及數種族譜間的相互比對，去偽存真，希望能從中復原出明代湖廣地區垛集軍戶存在實態之一端。 Long devoted to the study of Ming dynasty military households, and recently seeking to understand the influence of status on their lineage development, the author over the course of more than 30 years has meticulously unearthed not only crucial data, but also found counterfeited information to be rather common among genealogies. It is therefore imperative for historians to master the art of distinguishing between fiction and reality when studying these sources. This case study of the Xu family of Ziyang attempts to demonstrate such a method by identifying counterfeit information in the genealogies through careful and extensive cross-comparison with local gazetteers and other genealogies. Additionally, novel aspects of the actual conditions of collective military households in the Huguang region during the Ming dynasty are revealed.

Long devoted to the study of Ming dynasty military households, and recently seeking to understand the influence of status on their lineage development, the author over the course of more than 30 years has meticulously unearthed not only crucial data, but also found counterfeited information to be rather common among genealogies. It is therefore imperative for historians to master the art of distinguishing between fiction and reality when studying these sources. This case study of the Xu family of Ziyang attempts to demonstrate such a method by identifying counterfeit information in the genealogies through careful and extensive cross-comparison with local gazetteers and other genealogies. Additionally, novel aspects of the actual conditions of collective military households in the Huguang region during the Ming dynasty are revealed.