争折:明代湖广永折漕额的分派——以麻城为中心

The Distribution of the Quota of Permanent Converting Tribute Grain to Silver in Huguang Area in the Ming Dynasty:A Study Based on Macheng County

明代漕粮改折有偶折与永折之分。湖广作为明代有永折漕额的省份之一,其永折漕额分派权由布政司掌握,这与其他省份永折漕额由朝廷派分有很大不同。自明嘉靖年间获得永折漕额起,湖广布政司始终以偶折形式派分永折漕额至相应州县,隆庆四年(1570)以后,才开始以永折形式派分至部分州县,永折漕额始名副其实。因漕粮永折能减轻有漕州县赋役负担等,对有漕州县有很大的吸引力。万历年间,以麻城、黄梅为代表的有漕州县对仍以偶折形式派分的剩余永折漕额展开争夺,力图实现其漕粮全部永折。在此过程中,布政司的永折漕额分派原则逐渐由视各县灾伤情况而定向视交通条件而定转变。而在相应的分派原则下,地方士绅对布政司的决策有着不可忽视的影响力。这一历史事件的具体过程详载于族谱之中,从侧面体现出民间文献的重要价值。

There are two kinds of situations for converting tribute grain to silver in Ming Dynasty:temporary and permanent.Huguang’s allocation authority of the quota of permanent converting tribute grain to silver is vested by the Provincial Administration Commission in the Ming Dynasty,which is quite different from other provinces that quota is allocated by Imperial Court.Since the acquisition of permanent converting tribute grain to silver in Jiajing period,Huguang Provincial Administration Commission always allocated the quota to its counties in the manner of temporary converting.After the fourth years of Longqing period,Huguang began to allocate the quota in the manner of permanent converting to some counties,and then permanent converting is worthy of its name.Since it would reduce the counties’taxes and corvee burden if they have the quota of permanent converting,all counties which are required to pay tribute grain hope they could permanently convert tribute grain to silver.In Wanli period,the counties represented by Macheng County and Huangmei County which have the obligation of paying tribute grain competed for the quota that is remained and allocated with the principle of temporary converting.In the process of competition,Provincial Administration Commission’s allocation principle gradually changes from the disaster damage conditions to transportation conditions.Under the established principle of allocation,the local gentry have an important influence on the decision of the Provincial Administration Commission.At the same time,this historical process is detailed in genealogy,from which we can see the important role of folk documents in supplementing the official history.