金代奴婢来源与地位

The origin and status of slaves in Jin Dynasty

金代奴婢受宫廷、官府、贵族家庭杂役驱使,在金代社会从事着农业、畜牧业、手工业、服务业等底层繁重工作,这一群体在金代各领域社会生活与生产中占有十分重要的地位。金代奴婢主要源自受掳掠俘虏、贫困及负债者、罪犯及家属等。奴婢常被买卖、转让以及刺青标记,并作为随嫁妆奁与陪葬品随意处置。奴婢的数量更是衡量贫富程度的重要标志,因此奴婢常被皇帝作为财富赏赐给有功将士。金代中后期,国家在婚姻法、刑法的制定及科举方面皆对奴婢群体有所关照,但仍旧无法改变其低下的社会地位。

The slaves, who are driven by the court, the government, the factotum of patrician family, are engaged in the arduous work of underclass, such as agriculture, animal husbandry, handicraft industry, service industry and so on, this group occupies very important position in various fields of social life and production in Jin Dynasty. The main sources of slaves are from plunder captives, criminals and their families, poor people and debtors, and so on. The slaves are treated as commodity for trade, transfer, tattoo mark, in addition arbitrarily disposed as marriage dowry and grave goods. Even the number of slaves is the important symbol to measuring the extent of wealth and poverty, therefore the slaves are normally granted as rewarding wealth for meritorious soldiers by the emperor. In the middle and late Jin Dynasty, the country has given some care about slaves group in respects of marriage and criminal law formulation, and imperial examination, but that still can not change their inferior status in society.