从分家书看清代山西商人家庭的分家习惯

A View of the Tradition of Family Division of Shanxi Merchant Families in the Qing Dynasty from Family Property Division Document

本文以《晋商史料集成》中清代山西商人家庭的分家书为中心,讨论商人家庭分家的缘由、家产分割的程式、内容以及分家书的确立过程。清代山西商人家庭一般因人口众多、家庭不睦、生计艰难以及父母年迈等原因分家,财产分配始终遵循“诸子均分”的原则,由家中长辈主持,请德高望重的宗亲平均分配家产,保证分家公平公正,最终以确立分家书的形式确定财产的最终归属。分配的家产包括房屋、田地、店铺、铺银及日常生产生活物件等。通过研究分家书,我们不仅可以了解清代山西商人家庭的分家过程,还可透视民间社会经济生活和民俗习惯。

This thesis,based on the family property division document of Shanxi merchant families in the Qing Dynasty in“The Collection of Historical Materials of Shanxi Merchants”,depicts the reasons behind the family property division of merchant families,the program and content of family property division,and the process of the family property division record.In the Qing Dynasty,Shanxi merchant families separated due to the big family,family disharmony,difficulties in making ends meet,and aging parents.The principle of“equal distribution of all sons”was always adopted in the property distribution and the ceremony was presided over by the seniors of the family.Respected family members were invited to to distribute the family property on an equal footing,to ensure that the distribution is fair and just,and finally determined the final ownership of the property in the form of the separation document of the family property.The allocated family property included houses,arable lands,ancient stores,ancient coins,and daily items.By studying the family division document,can we not only understand the family property division process of Shanxi merchant families in the Qing Dynasty,but also give us insights into the social and economic life and folk customs of the general public.