“乞休”与“挂冠”:晚明弃官现象与政治文化嬗变

"Request for retirement" and "resignation":the study of retirement from political life and evolution of political culture in late Ming Dynasty

在明代君臣关系中,君权一直处于强势地位,并左右着官员进退。明中后期,这种情况出现了微妙的变化。时值万历朝出现大范围缺官,以京官为首的文官群体以此为契机,引发了群体性的致仕乞休现象,不惜以影响政府的正常运作为代价,孤立皇帝,从而扭转了在致仕问题上长期处于被动的局面,并由此引发了官员对于君臣关系、权力分配及仕隐哲学的再思考,影响了主流舆论的变化以及政治力量在中央与地方之间的转移等。这种主动弃官的现象所折射出的理性精神和反传统思想在一定程度上催生了晚明政治文化的进步因子,并为中国日后具有近代意义的民主政治发展奠定了基础。

Monarchical power has been in a strong position in the relationship between ruler and subject in Ming Dynasty,it also determines the advance and retreat of officials.But there is large-scale phenomenon that many officials begin to withdraw from political life,and thus led to the rational reflection on the relationship between ruler and subject of traditional political culture,the responsibility of officials,distribution of power and so on among scholar groups,in addition,it paves the way for the ideological trend against the emperor and power division at the end of the Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty.