试析唐五代时期政府的养老政策

Pension Schemes during Tang and Five Dynasties in Ancient China

唐五代时期政府的养老状况可分为养庶民之老、恤鳏寡惸独之老和养官吏之老三个层面:赡养庶民之老的基本政策是授予一定的田地,但免征其赋税,以达到惠养老人的目的,同时,政府将赡养老人的义务以法律的形式委派给其子孙,高年老人还有侍老制度以助其养老,统治者也时常赏赐高年老人;鳏寡惸独者有优惠的恤养政策,对不能自存者,政府还专门以律令的形式作了安排;官吏的养老也与致仕紧密相连。

The pension schemes during the Tang dynasty （618 -907） and the succeeding Five Dynasties （907 -960） fell into three categories： pension plans for ordinary people, allowances for the widowed and/or the heirless, and pensions for retired government officials. For the first one, the basic policy was that the government granted a certain number of tax-free cropland to households with senior citizens so as to support the latter; meanwhile, the obligation of supporting the old was legally committed by the government to the descendants of the old. In addition, to people older than 80, the government would arrange professional servants to take care of them, and the rulers would award old people from time to time. For the second one, the government adopted especially favorable policies toward the widowed and/or the heirless; to those who could support themselves, the government promulgated special laws and regulations to guarantee their life. As to the last one, the pensions of government officials were closely related to what and how far they had served the government.