由役及吏: 两宋 “ 公人” 疏论

From Men of Public Service to Officials:On Gongren in the Song Dynasties

摘要:

两宋的 “ 公人” 可直译为 “ 公家之人”, 但其内涵却前后发生着变化。 北宋公人多指义务性为官府承担一定职能工作的职役, 常常与使院语境下官府招雇的吏人的职能交错混同, 其中衙前公人出身、 职能及其去向的特殊性, 通常独立于诸色公人之外, 甚至地位优于州县一般吏人。 但随着北宋中期王安石推行“ 吏士合一” 政策, 吏人地位渐渐提高, 职役开始倾慕吏职, 至南宋前期吏人、 衙职成为职役较好的去向。南宋中后期 “ 公人” “ 公吏” 往往混同书写, 至少在士大夫们语境中, “ 公人世界” 里的公人是他们所担忧或鄙夷的胥吏群体, 这时的公人特指介于官民之间的公家之人。 公人角色变化的背后, 折射出乡村中上层群体由失利情态向获利情态转变的功利诉求, 以及社会转型中两宋政权扩大税源以补充浩大财政开支的主体社会语境。 公人作为一个融合吏人、 职役、 乡役等多重职能身份的社会符号, 在从民向官的价值转向中, 勾勒出两宋基层社会变迁的一个缩影。

Abstract:

Gongren （公人） in the Song dynasty can be literally translated as Public man，that is，government officials. But its connotation would change. The Northern Song public official mostly refers to Zhiyi （职役）. In fact，the concept of public official in the Northern Song dynasty is relatively broad and complex，and basically covers the system of low-level officials，who were mostly recruited from rural households. Among them，Yaqian yi（衙前役）had a special background，function and development. They were usually independent from Zhuseyiren（诸色役人），and were even superior to the ordinary Clerks in the grass-roots government. However，Wang Anshi pursued the policy of Integration of Clerks and Scholars. After the status of Clerks gradually improved，Zhiyi began to yearn for the work of Clerks. In the early Southern Song period Clerks and Sergeant became better destinations for Zhiyi. In the middle and late Southern Song dynasty Gongren and Gongli（公吏） were often confused. The Gongren in Gongren world included official Clerks，as well as quasi- petty officials such as Xiangxu（乡胥） and Xiangyi（乡役）, who had professional knowledge of official documents， laws and understood the complex ecology of grassroots society. In the working environment of rural tax collectors，they were the agents of officials，often deceiving officials or being abetted by them to do illegal things and the literati accused them of _“disturbing the people in the countryside_” considering them synonymous with illegal officials in the middle and late Southern Song dynasty. At this time，Gongren specifically refers to the public people between the government and the people. The title of Gongren is more meaningful only in the context of Gongren going to the countryside，reflecting the opposition between the government and the people. A Gongren was no longer a Zhiyi who was forced to take turns，but one of a special group seeking private gains. The villagers understood that they were public people，but the scholar-officials looked down upon them as government trash. This change of Gongren _'s role reflects the utilitarian demands of the upper middle-class groups in the countryside and the value orientation of the Song government to expand the tax sources. Gongren became a social symbol that integrated multiple functional identities such as Clerks，Zhiyi，Xiangyi，etc. The civilian-to- official value shift of Gongren is a miniature of the social changes in the Song period.