从诉讼档案回到契约活动的现场--以晚清民初的龙泉司法档案为例

Reproduce the Contracts Activities through Reading Judicial Archives: Taking the Longquan Judicial Archives in Late Qing and Early Republic of China as an Example

诉讼档案中的契约是"镶嵌"在具体的事件和时空环境中的,它们既是社会经济生活的一部分,同时还是诉讼事件的一部分。我们可以据此重回契约产生和发挥作用的历史现场,探讨传统社会的契约秩序和观念。诉讼档案反映契约订立的场景,包括双方商议的过程、口头的约定甚至氛围等。诉讼档案展现了契约在分家、交易、纠纷、诉讼等场合,被翻检出来,重新阅读、解释,并在不同的人手中流转的过程。诉讼档案展现契约运行的法律环境的变化。这些档案说明,中国传统的契约是在具体而生动的社会关系中运行的,一旦远离了这个社会关系(不论是在空间上还是时间上),对契约的理解就存在着危险,这不论对于当时人还是今天的研究者,都是如此。

The contracts in judicial archives can be understood in specific events and environment. They are a part of the social and economic life,while still a part of the litigation event. They can be used to reproduce the historical spot of the contracts activities and explore the contract order and ideas about contracts in traditional society. The judicial archives reflect the site of contracts,including the negotiation process,verbal agreement,and even atmosphere,etc. They can be used to trace how contracts are used,read,interpreted again and again in the situations such like family property succession,transaction,dissension and litigation. They also reflect the changes of legal environment in contracts operation. These archives show that the operation of Chinese traditional contracts depends on concrete and vivid social relations. Both for the people in contracts activities and the researchers today,it would be unreliable to understand the contracts once away from the social relationships( either in space or in time).