试析明清时期的“以民养民”论

The Idea of "Supporting the People by the People" during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

传统的"立君养民"论在明清时期发生了一种明显的变化趋势,"以民养民"论大量出现,把救助困者、贫者看做是富民的主要责任,表现在四个方面:第一,日常社会生活中,主张以富助贫;第二,灾害发生时,主张以富救困;第三,主张宗族内部以富帮贫;第四,政府也极力主张"以民养民"。这一主张产生了两个重要的结果:一是明清时期富民举办社会救助活动的兴盛;二是富民借助社会救助实现基层社会控制权的扩张。探讨这种养民思想及实践,对今天有中国特色的社会慈善事业的建设也有一定的借鉴作用。

The traditional idea of ＂supporting the people by the Emperor＂ underwent a change and there appeared the idea of ＂ Supporting the People by the People＂ which regarded helping the poor as the chief task in making people better - off. The new idea was expressed in the advocacies to help the poor by the rich in daily life, to solve the problem by the rich in time of disasters, to help the poor by their clan members, and ＂to Support the people by the people＂ as advocated by government. These advocacies had produced two results： the rich in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were active in social salvations, and the rich gained more of the social control via social salvation. The study of this idea of supporting the people is of referential value to the constrnction of social welfare mechanism with peculiar Chinese features.