清代育嬰堂的乳婦

Foundling Home Wet Nurses in the Qing Dynasty

明清育嬰堂的創設理念在於救嬰與濟貧，此一理念也體現在乳婦的工作與處境。一方面，乳婦的職責在哺育堂嬰，在救嬰上扮演重要角色，是落實育嬰堂理念的關鍵人物；另一方面，乳婦多來自貧窮家庭、分娩不久的女性，她們也被視為育嬰堂救濟的對象。乳婦身兼施、受救濟者的雙重角色，前者涉及堂嬰照護，後者關乎乳婦的來源。在清代大量創設育嬰堂的背景下，這份專屬於女性的職業，觸及清代育嬰堂的運作、女性營生與醫療照護等面向的課題。 本文以清代育嬰堂的乳婦為核心，討論乳婦的來源、職能與評價等問題。乳婦的來源以育嬰堂附近生產不久的貧家婦女為主。育嬰堂在揀擇乳婦一事上十分謹慎，兼重其來歷與身、心狀況。待遇方面，乳婦隨著照護的堂嬰年歲、數量、乳汁狀況及親生子女等不同情況會有不同的報酬。乳婦作為一名健康照護者，入堂後需全心投入照護工作，又為確保照護成效，乳婦的身心與行動亦受若干限制。就士大夫的議論來看，當乳婦未能善盡救嬰之責，便難得濟貧實惠，更可能招致惡評。總之，士紳對乳婦的規範與記敘，可以說是性別秩序、行善理念與社會變動等因素相互交織的產物。

This study focuses on the development of foundling homes in the Qing Dynasty and the wet nurses who worked in them. From Ming to Qing period, a large number of foundling homes were established. The occupation of wet nurse who worked in foundling homes, by definition a female occupation, thus emerged. These wet nurses served as not only ''the rescuing of infants'' but also ''the help to the poor.'' The first part of this article discusses the recruitment and payments of wet nurses in foundling homes. The second part focus on the duties and norms of wet nurses as healers, and outlines their most important tasks— breastfeeding and caretaking. In order to take good care of the newborns, wet nurses were often limited their activities. Finally, the operations of foundling homes are exposed, and the actual manners of the wet nurses vividly presented through narratives of wet nurses in the Qing Dynasty. More importantly, the gender consciousness implicit at the time and the period's social values cannot be ignored.