近代广东侨乡家产分配新形态初探--以两家博物馆馆藏文书为主的分析

New Patterns of Family Property Allocation in Modern Guangdong Qiaoxiang

论文对中国华侨历史博物馆、江门市博物馆馆藏侨乡契约进行了整理分析,认为这些契约文书是学术界未曾开展研究的新史料,是诠释近代广东农民通过分家析产及多样化的土地交易筹措出洋费用,最终实现出国求财之梦的实证资料,具有重要的学术价值。近代广东侨乡家庭的财产分配发生了转变,出现了与传统家庭分家析产不同的新形态之变迁。人口流动、出国移民不仅引起了侨乡家庭结构的变化,还影响和动摇了族田不能买卖的传统原则,加剧了侨乡的土地流转。多样化的土地交易,帮助侨乡家庭以土地为中介实现资金融通。

The Overseas Chinese History Museum in Beijing and the Jiangmen Museum have built a large collection of contracts generated in modern Guangdong.These documents preserve in incredible detail the way that small Cantonese farmers relied on land transfer to finance family members to go overseas for a better life.With land ownership being divided and transferred among close relatives and clans in rural Guangdong,an array of socio-economic changes began to take place in the region and consequently had significant impacts on Cantonese village life.Land transfer contracts are important historical documents,which however have not drawn serious scholarly attention so far.This article makes an initial attempt.