汉代宗室子弟的“起家”与“再起家”

On the Start and Restart of Political Career by Children of the Imperial Clan in the Han Dynasty

汉代宗室子弟起家仕宦并无太多限制,且途径广泛,有察举、父任、诏除、辟除、征拜等多种形式。宗室子弟起家的官职较高,以郎官和郡县长吏为主,亦有一些起家至二千石者。汉代宗室去官再仕(再起家)现象也较普遍,去官的原因主要有犯罪、疾病、被构陷、丧事、灾异、弃官等,因其任官经历和宗室身份,他们再起家更为容易。宗室再起家以直接召拜为主要途径,且所拜官职相对其他再起家者更高,显示出皇权对宗室的特殊恩荫。

In the Han Dynasty,there were not many restrictions on children of the imperial clan starting their officialdom,as many of them could enter politics through various means,such as official recommendation,Renzi(任子),imperial edicts,self-commission systems,and call-up orders.Besides,children of the imperial clan were more likely to hold higher offices in the beginning,serving mostly as imperial bodyguards or prefectural and county magistrates,with some assuming even weightier government posts with salary grades of 2,000 bushels or higher for the receipt of gold.Meanwhile,it was also a common phenomenon for children of the imperial clan in the Han Dynasty to get reinstated in officialdom after having been dismissed due to various reasons such as commission of crimes,diseases,political infighting,funerary duties,irresistible forces,resignation,et cetera.Given their previous experience in political service and in light of their eminent family backgrounds,their career reinstatement proved to be rather easy.The main way for them to get reinstated in government service was through imperial call-up orders.Moreover,the offices they held were relatively higher than those of their other peers,which reflects the favoritism bestowed upon children of the imperial clan by the royal court.