明清时期社会管理中官民的“自域”与“共域”

“Private sphere” and “public sphere” of officials and the people in social management during the Ming-Qing Period

明清时期,基层社会管理相对呈现出有序状态,一方面官方和民间各自积极致力于自我领域(“自域”)内的社会管理,另一方面,二者又都积极谋求在共同参与管理的社会领域(“共域”)中发挥自己的作用。尽管官民之间因为种种原因会出现矛盾和冲突,但因为“自域”和“共域”内都存在克服这些矛盾和冲突的机制,如民助官治,或民纠官弊,或官易民俗,导民向善,故在一定时期以及一些地区能够形成官民协调共治的景象。

The Ming-Qing period witnessed a relatively orderly condition in social management at the grass root level. One factor was that the officials and the people did their best in their own management space; another was that they had a hand in social management in the joint space. Although there were contradictions and conflicts out of complex causes, a mechanism had been established to ease them, such as the people could help the officials in social management and correct their faults, and the officials could change some bad customs so as to guide the people in doing good. So there had formed the situation in which the officials and the people could coordinate in social management in some areas.