敦煌雇工契约研究

Study on the Dunhuang Employment Contract

敦煌所出31件雇工契,介于卖身契与典身契之间,客观、真实地反映了身份、贫穷与劳力之间的关系。从契约主体看,雇工契是没有人身附属关系的平等主体。从雇佣原因看,雇工契大多因为缺乏劳力而立契。从劳作内容看,受雇者大多从事农业耕作。从雇期看,大多在农历正月至九月农忙时节,这与农耕文明的特质相洽。从雇值看,劳力在当时价值不菲。从违约责任与附随义务看,则深刻体现了中国传统契约的诚信精神,这又与以诚为本的民族文化传统一脉相承。

31employment contracts in Dunhuang,as the personal selling contract or personal pledge contract,presented the real relationships among identity,poverty and labor force.The two partners of the employment contract seemed as the equal subjects without personal attachment relationship.From the viewpoint of employment,the employment contracts were made because of lacking of labor force;from the viewpoint of contents,employees were always engaged in agricultural cultivation;from the viewpoint of employment period,the contracts were always done in the busy seasons(during the first to the ninth months in lunar calendar)which matched with the agricultural cultivation civilization.From the viewpoint of employment value,labor force seemed as valuable.From the viewpoint of the responsibility of breach and subordinated obligation,the contracts reflected the traditional honest spirit which could be traced to the same origin of ethnic culture based on the honest.