明代的阴阳生与阴阳户

Yin-yang Sheng and Yin-yang Households in the Ming Dynasty

明代的阴阳户是民户大类下的一种杂役户,其正丁被称为阴阳生。地方府、州、县阴阳生隶属于阴阳学,北京、南京阴阳生隶属于钦天监。阴阳户的基本差役为计时、报时、记录灾异祥瑞等,阴阳生另以风水、择日、占卜等为生计,两者拥有的知识范畴及其实践属于同一大类。阴阳户起源于元朝,明初继承并推广,洪武年间一概编入里甲。宣德年间阴阳生获得免役权,由此导致富实之家、胥吏的营充,其差役内容亦随之泛化,涉足司法、行政、财税等多个领域。由阴阳户的例子可以看出明代户籍制度的特点:一是可以在军、民、匠、灶四大基本户籍上叠加新的次生户籍,二是具有役、职的双重性。

Yin-yang households were a kind of factotum households under the category of civilian households in the Ming dynasty.The male adults (Zheng Ding,正丁) of this kind of households were called yin-yang sheng.They were members of yin-yang schools in local counties and prefectures,while yin-yang shengs in Beijing and Nanjing were affiliated with the Imperial Board of Astronomy (Qintian Jian,钦天监).Yin-yang households were responsible for service obligations such as timing,time reporting and recording auspicious signs and calamities.Moreover,in order to make a living,yin-yang shengs also provided services like geomancy,date selection and divination.These two kinds of activities belonged to the same kind of knowledge and practice.Yin-yang households originated in the Yuan dynasty,and were adopted and popularized in the early Ming dynasty.In the reign of Emperor Hongwu,yin-yang households were incorporated into the Li-jia system.From the reign of Emperor Xuande,yin-yang shengs were exempt from service obligations.As a result,wealthy families and petty officials filled the yin-yang households,and the content of their service expanded to local judiciary,administration,finance and taxation accordingly.The example of yin-yang households reveals two characteristics of household system of the Ming dynasty.First,secondary households could emerge from the four elementary household categories,namely military households,civilian households,artisan households and salt households.Second,it contained both corvée and occupational natures.