明代上供物料制度运作与财政白银化的逻辑:以景德镇官窑烧造改革为例

The Operation of Imperial Goods Supplies and the Logic of Imperial Silver Monetary System:A Study on the Reform of Jingdezhen Official Kiln System in Ming Dynasty

明初景德镇官窑瓷器的烧造是朱元璋在儒家“均平”思想指导下设立的以国家对百姓人身控制为基础的物资征调体制的一部分。然而这套制度反而扩大了不均,并且在现实中运转不畅。为此官员们积极展开改革。在改革中,市场介入下的财政白银化起到了重要作用。它提升了资源的征调效率,同时将差役量化为货币价值,使“均平”可在更大范围内进行调整。然而,财政白银化只是资源征调制度改革的手段之一,而非目的:首先,市场在被引入资源征调的过程中始终处于指令需求之下;其次,市场交换的发达所带来的社会变革始终是在“均平”的观念下展开的。景德镇官窑改革过程反映了传统中国的社会变化是一种建立在长期博弈、妥协与磨合基础上的路径依赖。

To uphold the Confucian ideal of“equalization”,Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang(朱元璋)created a new levy system on imperial goods supplies that aimed to distribute levy duty more evenly by state control of its people.However,the system not only intensified the inequality but also led to its inefficient operation.Jingdezhen(景德镇)official porcelain kilns provided supplies to the imperial government in Peking.The requisition was handled by official kilns(窑户)through the distributed contributions by artisans(匠户)and Lijia households(里甲户).The limitless requisition of official porcelain demands placed heavy burdens on the Lijia,and the uneven distribution of service levies greatly outstripped the capacity of the Lijia system.Thus,Ming officials were keen to find resolutions to the problem.One important reform was to allow monetary currency(silver)to pay tax and levy.This change improved the efficiency of resource acquisition and,with quantifiable monetary value,taxes and levies were able to be“equalized”in a wider range.It became possible to operate the supply levy system effectively without having to rely on the strict personal control.This transformation also brought changes in the local power structure,breaking the monopoly of the official kiln clans and beginning to attract more capital and merchants into the town.As a result,Jingdezhen became a prosperous industrial and commercial city.However,the silver payment reform only served as a means for the goods supply levy reform,not the purpose.After all,the market was always subordinated to the supply demands of the government.The growth of the market was always confined within the scope of“equalization”.This study shows that social changes in traditional China are a type of path dependence based on contests,compromises and resolutions.