脉络、姻亲与举业：明清之际的嘉善曹氏家族

Lineage,Marriage and Keju: Jiashan's Cao Family during the Ming-Qing Transition

明清时期的曹氏家族是嘉善县域社会中的顶级家族,很多族人在地方上属于"乡望",拥有较高的政治地位。整个家族地位的抬升与稳固,虽多依赖族人科举功名的进取,但与地方上众多势豪家族的姻亲联结,为家族获取了更多的社会影响力。这些势豪巨族之间存在着紧密合作的关系,对国家则都保持着高度忠诚,并未出现垄断地方社会的强势状态。在经历了明清交替的漫长历程后,很多世家大族已然淹没不彰。虽然曹氏家族也受到明清鼎革的影响,但直至清初,并未出现明显的衰替。《曹氏族谱》编录的世系脉络中,确实是以获得科举功名及朝廷恩赠荣衔的"绅士"为主,政治地位与社会声望构成评价家族中卓越成员的重要标准。在曹氏的相关家传或族谱记述中,那些维系亲族关系的物质要素,除了族谱的修撰比较清楚外,宗祠活动、族田或义庄建设的记述,都无法得到清晰的认识,观念相对淡漠。在清代中期以后,曹家也步入了子孙没落、家系断绝的常态。

The Cao Family was one of the most renowned clans in the Jiashan County when Ming was being replaced with Qing. Many members of this family were academically and politically prestigious. The reason of Cao's success lay primarily in their great performance in Keju,or the Imperial Examination. Despite this,the interconnection through marriages between Cao and other powerful clans contributed greatly to Cao's brilliance. As times went by,many families grew obscure. By contrast,the Cao Family survived and continued to grow. Cao's family tree indicated that only those who passed high-level keju and attained political prominence were recorded in detail. In the mid-Qing,this family irrevocably went downhill.