武威“王杖十简”商兑

NOTES ON THE 'TEN SLIPS CONCERNING THE BESTOWALS OF ROYAL STAFFS'

一九五九年秋,武威磨咀子第十三号墓中出土"王杖木简"十枚。原简在编绳断绝,次第错乱,有四种复原形式。甲种见甘肃省博物馆《甘肃武威磨咀子汉墓发掘》报告所附图与考古研究所编辑室《释文》(《考古》1960年9期),及礼堂《王杖十简补释》(《考古》1961年5期)。乙种见陈直《甘肃武成磨咀子汉墓出土王杖十简通考》(《考古》1961年8期)。

Ten inscribed wooden slips concerning the bestowals of royal staffs were found in a tomb of the Han Dynasty at Mo-tsui-tzu, Wuwei County, Kansu Province, in 1959. Due to the disintegration of the strings, which served to bind the slips together, the order of their arrangement has been disturbed and four different ways of reconstruction have previously been offered by various scholars. In this article, the author suggests a new and more coherent order in which the slips should be arranged, and makes some observations on certain points of interpretation. A translation of the complete text of the inscriptions on these slips arranged in this new order is given as follows: No. 1 Yu Po, born in the fifth year of Yuan Shih (A. D. 5) in the reign of Emperor Hsiao P'ing, received a royal staff in the fifteenth year of Yung P'ing (A. D. 72). No. 2 Ordinance No. 33 of the Lan-t'ai; Ordinance No. 43 of the Yu-shih. Confidentially given by the Shang-shu-ling at Chin [ch'eng Prefecture]. No. 3 Decree. The Emperor proclaimed to the Ch'eng-hsiang (Prime Minister) and Yu-shih [tai-fu]: From the days of Emperor Kao Tsu to the second year of the present reign period, we have always pitied the lot of the aged and the young. Those advanced in years are to be bestowed royal staffs bearing a dove at the head so that the people may recognize them at sight, No. 4 and these shall be comparable in status to the chieh emblem of authority. Any one who dares heedlessly to curse or beat such elders shall be subject to punishment as if he has committed capital offense. Such elders may freely enter or leave government offices and official residences and may travel on the side road of the imperial carriageways. They may also sell the privileges which exempt them from taxations and corvees No. 5 in the same manner as that stipulated for the areas east of the [T'ai Hang] Mountains where they are granted to those who duly provide for their foster-parents and regularly attend to their support. All this has been clearly recorded in the documents preserved in the stone-built chamber of the Lan-t'ai. If the royal staff is not clear, No. 6 the holder may have it repaired. In the first year of He P'ing (28 B. C.), Hsien, a man of Ch'ang Li, Hsiling County, Junan Prefecture, having reached the age of seventy, received a royal staff. Wu Shang, a constable of the Ying district, incited his attendants No. 7 to beat Hsien. The latter appealed to the government. The local prefect submitted his own ruling to senior authority. The T'ing-wei (Grand Justice) thereupon reported the proposed punishment to the throne. No. 8 [The Emperor decreed:] 'It is clear that Shang deserves public execution.' No. 9 Decree. The Emperor proclaimed to the Yu-shih (tai-fii): 'Man of seventy years' age on whom a royal staff has been bestowed shall enjoy the same status as the officials of 600 tan grade and be permitted to enter government offices without bending. If they have committed crimes more serious than those punishable by nai or two to four years of imprisonment, no two-foot-long warrant of arrest may be served on them. Any one who dares to summon or insult No. 10 them, shall be treated as if they have commited capital offense. Promulgated on the day chia ch'en of the ninth moon of the second year of Chien Shih (31 B. C.). The following notes refer to particular points of interpretation: 1. Mieh (灭) is explained as an error for mi (密), meaning 'confidentially'. 2. Shou (受) is here used for shou (授), meaning'to give'. 3. The Decree on Slips Nos. 3-8 is the Ordinance No. 33 of the Lan-t'ai mentioned in Slip No. 2. 'The second year of the present reign period' refers to the second year of He P'ing(27 B. C.). 4. The Decree on Slip Nos. 9-10 is Ordinance No. 43 of the Yii-shih which was promulgated in 31 B. C. The peculiar form of the character hsia (下), meaning 'to promulgate', indicates that it is the end of the whole set of ten slips.