两宋代役人论析

Study on the Hired Service Personnel in the Song Dynasty

两宋之代役人,包括受私人雇佣代应职役以及在雇役制下受官府雇役之人。他们数量庞大,遍布州县与基层。除了被一些士人称为"浮浪""无赖"等无恒产者外,其来源还包括富农、曾在公门之人,甚至是儒者之后。他们以代役为职,不仅是为了雇直,也因某些职役所潜藏的社会资源。代役人借助自己的技能和所掌握的信息等,在获得雇直、社会资源的同时,亦使民户脱离职役之苦,而其专业性也为州县职能的完善与扩充提供了条件,从而颇受州县与民众的欢迎。作为历史记录者的士人,在与代役人竞合的过程中,逐渐承认其作用。至晚到南宋早期,代役人已经从北宋初期以私名受雇的法外行为中走出,成为推动传统社会职役吏员化、差役赋税化以及官府职能转变的重要群体。

The hired service personnel in the Song dynasty included volunteers hired by the rural landowning households to substitute themselves in fulfilling the obligatory local service duties and those who voluntarily applied for service in the local government office.These hired service personnel were large in number and existed throughout provinces,counties and grass-roots units.Besides vagrants and rogues without land and property,some rich peasants,petty officials and even descendants of Confucians also joined the group of hired service personnel.These hired service personnel replaced the conscripts to do the corvee work not only for emolument,but also for the social resources behind their hired post.They utilized their skill,experience,and information to acquire remuneration and social resources,and meanwhile exempt some civilian households from the hardship of requisitioned local service.Their professionalism virtually improved the government’s administrative efficiency,refined the division of labor,reduced the risk of draftee,and thereby was warmly welcomed by the populace and local governments.As history recorders,the literati gradually recognized their social roles.Before the early Southern Song Dynasty,the hired service personnel had become an important group which promoted the officialization of traditional social services,the change of corvee into taxation and the transformation of government functions.