清末巴县胥吏谭敏政

A Study of Tan Minzheng as an Errand in Baxian County ofLate Qing Period--Cases Centering on Two Lawsuits

1856年,谭敏政任职于巴县衙门中收入最为丰厚的户房,做了十年经书,于1866年升为典吏。同房胥吏之间的资金融通是该群体业缘纽带中最为明显的特点。谭敏政利用这种关系,在自家经费不足的情况下,靠户房胥吏的多方借贷得以凑足升任典吏所需的巨额顶参费。其在户房的地位与活动,在很多方面也有赖于胥吏之间的业缘纽带。不过,胥吏业务的承包制以及负有填补亏空公款责任的“潜规则”,常会给他们带来经济上的风险,一不小心就会背上债务,成为纠纷的起因。谭敏政在1869年卸任典吏后,与户房慎班胥吏对簿公堂即是如此。谭敏政在退任回乡之后,通过捐纳得到了一个下级官员的虚衔,这是他在当地拥有权势的一个标志。谭敏政出身胥吏,最终成为乡绅,是众多胥吏努力出人头地的一个缩影。

As a Jingshu,Tan Minzheng worked in the most lucrative revenue office in the Yamen of Baxian county in 1856,and was promoted as Dianli in 1866.The same financial intermediation between the errands is the most obvious feature,so Tan Minzheng took advantage of this relationship and made up for his own deficit by collecting multi-loan for the huge amount of money for the promotion.His status and activities depended on the link among them to a larger extent.However,the contracting system of their business and the“unspoken rules”which were responsible for filling the deficits with public funds often brought economic risks to them.Accidental repatriation of debts was often the cause of disputes,and he was accused of it after his retirement in 1869.After retiring and returning to his hometown,he got an honorable title of a subordinate official through donation,marking him as a local authority.He began as an errand and eventually became a squire,who was a successful microcosm of social mobility.