唐代契约的动态考察——以《赵江阴政事》和《李娃传》为中心

A Dynamic Study of Contracts in Tang Dynasty——Based on Zhao Jiangyin Zhengshi and Li Wa Zhuan

《赵江阴政事》中东邻与西邻订立的"契书"、《李娃传》中东凶肆与西凶肆邀立的"符契",再现了唐代特定契约的完整过程。订立契约的前提是当事人的现实需求,当事双方就契约的细节进行谈判是订立契约的第一步,把谈判结果文字化并核实无误、当事双方及保人或见人签押,契约便正式具有了法律效力。如果契约能够顺利履行,官府一般不会过问;而一旦出现违法、违约行为,官府要依据双方订立的契约和国家法令进行处理,对违法行为以惩治为主,对违约行为则以调解为主。契约在唐代民间经济活动中已得到较为广泛的应用,唐代商人具有较为普遍的契约意识。

Zhao Jiangyin Zhengshi and Li Wa Zhuan describe two different types of contract processes, which are the true reflections of the complete process of concluding and executing certain types of contracts in the Tang Dynasty. At that time,a contract was concluded on the premise that the parties had realistic needs. The first step for the parties to enter into the contract was to negotiate details of the contract. After the negotiation results were written down and verified,the contract would become legally binding after the two parties and guarantor or witness signed it. If the contract was carried out smoothly,the government would not interfere;once there was any violation of the law or the contract, the government would intervene to deal with the violations. Punishment was meted out for most violations of the law and mediation was adopted for most breaches of contract. As contracts were widely used in civil economic activities,businessmen in the Tang Dynasty had a strong contract consciousness.