宋代官员七十不致仕现象探析

An Analysis of “Who Didn't Retire at the Age of Seventies” in Song Dynasty

宋代法律明确要求,年至七十方可致仕,即官员年至70岁便可向朝廷自陈归家,对于不退者,朝廷也可强令致仕。但在宋代却出现了一批年老在官位安之若素的官员,形成了这样一种现象:年至七十仍未致仕。出现这样现象是三对矛盾所致:统治者意志与法律定制、高官厚禄与辞荣知止、为官意愿与冗官问题之间的矛盾。并且这种现象也对宋代造成了财政负担加重、员多阙少问题恶化、行政效率下降等社会影响。

The law of Song Dynasty explicitly requested that officials must retire from the court at their seventies. But during the period of northern Song Dynasty, strange phenomenon emerged. Many old officials were still at their places when they were obliged to retire. Three kinds of contradictions led to such phenomenon： the ruler’s will and the legislation of the law, officials who wanted high pay and high positions while other officials were content with their status, there were people who wanted to become officials while the court were overstaffed. The strange phenomenon caused bad social influences, such as heavy fiscal burden, the sharp contradiction between the redundant officials and the limited positions, and the inefficiency of officialdom.