屏迹公门——明代政治生态视野下的士大夫齐家伦理

Keeping away from the Government:The Ethics of Family Management of the Ming Scholar-officials under a Political Ecology Point of View

明朝前期经历洪武、永乐两朝的重典治吏后政治空气开始舒缓,随之而来,官员家属交通公门、以公谋私的不法之事渐有漫延膨胀之势。伴随这一局势变化,明代中期士大夫家书等文献中"屏迹公门"一词逐渐增多。依据士大夫家书文献体系中的不同语境,"屏迹公门"一词具体意涵有三:其一是士大夫禁止家人涉足公门、谋取私利;其二是士大夫自我约束不因私事而访公门、干扰公事;其三是致仕官员乡居期间远离公门、严守法度。屏迹公门逐渐成为明代朝廷官员考核、士林道德品评的重要内容之一,出现在考核评语和墓表行状等文本中。屏迹公门成为明代清流士大夫管束家人和约束自身的自律行为,既体现宋明理学修身齐家思想带来的道德约束,也反映士大夫维护政治地位和官声清誉的现实考量。

After Hongwu and Yongle periods,the Ming political atmosphere began to be less harsh.Accordingly,a tendency of the family members of the court officials to contact local officials for private gain developed.In such a situation,the saying bingji gongmen(屏迹公门),keeping away from government,increased to be seen in the writings of the scholar-officials,such as in their letters to other family members.In different contexts,this saying refers to different meanings,including prohibition of family members to deal with governmental officials for personal gains,prohibition of themselves to disturbing the local governmental affairs for personal reasons,prohibition of the retired officials to interfere governmental decisions for personal reasons.Gradually,bingji gongmen became a major standard in the assessment and evaluation of all officials.In this stage,this saying was not only a reflection of the Confucian self-cultivation ideas,but also a practical strategy of the scholar-officials to maintain their position and reputation.