近代英格兰乡村工资劳动者生活水平初探-《中国农史》

文章信息/Info

Title:: A Preliminary Investigation into the Living Standards of Rural Wage-earners in Early Modern England

Author(s):: CUI Hong-jian; (The College of History and Culture, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007)

摘要:: 乡村工资劳动者是指主要依靠出卖自身劳动力获得收入的劳动者群体。随着近代英格兰经济社会的发展，乡村工资劳动者的生活水平总体是不断提高的，即在饮食、穿着、住房和休闲方面均有所改善。饮食上，乡村工资劳动者食用的面包由黑面包转向白面包，且能够吃上更多的肉、黄油和奶酪，甚至个别收入高的家庭还养成了喝茶的习惯；穿着上，衣服的材质逐渐由羊毛向轻亚麻和棉布转变，穿起来更为舒服；住房上，建筑材料开始以砖木为主，房子要比之前更为结实和牢固；休闲娱乐上，除了传统娱乐方式外，在乡绅的资助下乡村工资劳动者参加了更多的休闲活动。同时，由于经济发展的地区不平衡以及收入多寡不一，乡村工资劳动者的消费也表现出一些特征，如谷物消费存在南北不同，乡村工资劳动者群体内部因收入高低不同而出现生活水平的差异。

Abstract:: Rural wage-earners were a group of workers who relied mainly on selling their own labor to earn income. With the development of early modern England’s economy and society, the living standards of rural wage-earners were generally improving, such as improvements in diet, clothing, housing and leisure. On the diet, the bread of rural wage-earners turned from brown bread to white bread, and can eat more meat, butter and cheese, and even some individuals with high incomes had also developed the habit of drinking tea. In terms of clothing, the material of the clothes gradually changed from wool to light linen and cotton, which made it more comfortable to wear. On the housing, the building materials were mainly made of brick and wood, the house was stronger than before. In terms of leisure and entertainment, in addition to the traditional forms of entertainment, rural wage-earners participated in more leisure activities under the support of the gentry. At the same time, due to the regional imbalance of economic development and the different incomes, the consumption of rural wage-earners also showed some characteristics, such as the difference of grain consumption between the south and the north, and the amount of income directly led to the difference of living standards within the rural wage-earners.