南宋科举“义约”考论

A Study of the Righteous Agreements on the Imperial Examination in the Southern Song Dynasty

南宋时期,已通过发解试并获得州郡荐书、即将赴省试(礼部试)的举子,有不少人因家境贫寒,面临交通食宿、房租、考场用品购买等费用难题。用签约形式资助得解举子赴省应试的"义约"则应运而生,并在今湖南、江西、福建等地广泛流行。义约的名目繁多,以江西地区为例,就有以科举为名的"词赋义约""经赋义约",以等第为名的"龙头义约""梯云义约""甲科义约""南宫义约",以地域为名的"新昌县义约""古洪三洲义约""楚泮荣登义约""安仁县兴德乡义约",及以个人名义立约、以姓氏为名立约。义约的经费筹措形式包括众筹、得第者捐款、私试各科第一名出资等,这表明其订立主体事实上是得解举子。义约一方面推进了科举公正性的进一步实现,弥补了远方举子在制度方面缺乏的关怀,另一方面发扬了我国自古以来邻里互助的优良传统,具有移风易俗的作用。

In the Southern Song Dynasty,candidates who had passed the preliminary exam and received recommendations were eligible for the provincial exam.Hailing from humble backgrounds,some of them faced financial difficulties in affording transportation,food,accommodation and necessities used in the exam.Therefore,the righteous agreement came into existence,which aimed to subsidize the expenses of those candidates taking the provincial exam by signing an agreement, and the practice became widespread in Hunan,Jiangxi and Fujian provinces.It came in a multitude of names;for example,in Jiangxi,there were Cifu and Jingfu Righteous Agreements,which were named after the subjects of the imperial examination;Longtou,Tiyun,Jiake and Nangong Righteous Agreements,which named after the different grades of the imperial examination;Xinchang County,Ancient Hong Three-Prefectures,Chupan Rongdeng and Anren County Xinde Township Righteous Agreements,which were named after the places where they were signed;and other righteous agreements signed in individuals'names and named after their surnames.The funds for the righteous agreements were raised in different ways,such as pooling funds,contributions from the candidates who passed the provincial exam,contributions from the candidates who won first place in unofficial exams,which showed that the parties to the agreements were mainly the candidates who had passed the preliminary exam.On one hand,the righteous agreements further promoted fairness in the imperial examination, and made up for the deficiency of the imperial examination system in creating an enabling environment for candidates from remote areas.On the other hand,it carried forward the fine tradition of mutual assistance among neighbors since ancient times,and had the function of transforming social traditions.