唐前期的“小男当户”

Child-Headed Households in the Early Tang Dynasty

"小男当户"是指由"小男"担任户主,这样的家庭被称为"小户",唐前期"小户"家庭并不少见。由于"小男"在法律上没有独立的行为能力,难以承担作为"户主"的一系列法律责任,因此,"小男当户"仅具有户籍登记上的形式,不具有户主的权力与责任。小户有法定的受田额,但常常得不到保障,其依法享有的免除赋税的特权也常被剥夺。

Child-headed households were families in which children played the legal role of homeowner and were known as ＂Xiao Hu＂（small households）. This phenomenon was not unusual in the early Tang Dynasty because children were incapable of fulfilling certain legal responsibilities, which could exempt them from bearing the legal liabilities of normal family heads; ＂Xiao Hu＂ held the significance of household registration, but none of the corresponding duties or commitments. ＂Xiao Hu＂ received a legal allotment of farmland, though the acreage was frequently less than guaranteed by law and the usual privilege of tax exemption was always rescinded.