清代工商业行会规约的自治性评析——以苏州地区碑刻史料为视角

Autonomous Analysis on the Industrial and Commercial Guild Regulations in Qing Dynasty——Taking the Historical Tablets in Suzhou as the View Angle

根据碑刻史料的记载,有清一代,商人们在长期的商事实践中积累了丰富多彩的商事习惯,同时也积极地建立公所、会馆这类行会组织并制定行会规约来更好地维护自己的利益。清代律典中为数不多的几条律例以及地方官府判决是清代行规制定的基础,但同时也给商人们留下了很大的立法空间。由律文引申出的自愿原则被官府作为审查与监督行会与行规的标准。这些都使得清代的行会规约体现出了很高的自治性。国家权力不过多介入商业社会,政府充分尊重商人们的自治精神,这在当下仍有其一定的价值。

According to the records of historical inscriptions on the tablets, the merchants accumulated a variety of customs in the long-term commercial practice in Qing Dynasty. At the same time, they also actively established guilds and guild regulations to safeguard their interests better. The few statutes of law code and the judgments of local government were the basis of guild regulations in Qing Dynasty. But they also left great space for the legislation of merchants. The principle of being voluntary extended by the statute was used as the standard of examining and supervising guild by the government. All these made guild regulations in Qing Dynasty with a high degree of autonomy. The state power rarely got involved in commercial society and the government had respect for the autonomy of merchants, which is still valuable in the present.