传统农业社会中政府“养庶人之老”述论-《中国农史》

文章信息/Info

Title:: A Discussion of the Government’s "Providing for the Older Common People" in Traditional Agricultural Societies

Author(s):: YAO Zhao-yu; （College of Humanities and Social Development, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095）

Keywords:: traditional society; government; provide for the aged of common people; social logic

摘要:: 在传统农业社会，封建政府在“养庶人之老”方面发挥了重要的作用，通过“不时存问”、赐授王杖、举行“乡饮酒礼”、赐爵授官、赏赐物品、减免赋役、量刑从轻、集中供养等措施，为庶民老人提供经济供养、生活照料和精神关爱等养老服务。历代封建政府之所以重视“养庶人之老”，与传统农业社会的生产方式和社会思想文化有着内在的关联。小农经济的基础性和脆弱性，决定了封建政府必须担负“养庶民之老”的责任；以“民本”思想和孝道文化为核心的社会文化，则强化了封建政府“养庶民之老”的担当和行动。

Abstract:: In traditional agricultural societies, the government played an important role in raising the elderly of common people. The government provided financial support, life care and spiritual care for the older common people through measures such as paying attention to their conditions from time to time, giving preferential treatment, holding "township drinking ceremonies", conferring titles and officials, rewarding goods, reducing taxation and servitude, mitigating measurement of penalty and centralizing support. The rulers of successive dynasties attached importance to raising the elderly of the common people owing to the production methods, social ideology and culture of the traditional agricultural society.It is the nature of the small peasant economy - being basic and fragile that determined the feudal government had to assume the responsibility of "providing for the elderly of the common people". The social culture, with people-oriented ideology and filial piety culture as the core, shaped the rulers’ responsibility and action plan to provide for the elderly of the common people.