再谈秦汉简牍中的“隶”

New Insights on li in the Qin and Han Bamboo Slips

以往学界对秦汉简牍中“隶”的研究还存在一定疏误。从来源、身份地位、存在时间等方面考察,“隶”与军功爵制无涉,多是破产贫民自动投附于他户而成,与睡虎地秦简中“寄人”“寄者”的身份相同,直至西汉末年王莽新朝仍然存在。“隶”之身份的存在,在一定程度上避免了自由民直接沦为奴婢,有利于缓解社会矛盾和官府对人口的控制。“隶”与“私属”等身份的出现,表明战国秦汉时期自由民与奴婢都有向依附民转化的趋势,反映了当时生产关系的变革。

We argue that previous studies on li隶in the Qin and Han bamboo slips are still under debate.This article re-examines the li based on its origin,identity,as well as the duration of use.We propose that li was not related to the system of conferring ranks of nobility according to war service but mainly refers to the bankrupted and the poor,who voluntarily served others.The use of li was still noticed by the end of the Western Han(Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty),and should be similar to Ji Ren寄人and Ji Zhe者in the bamboo slips of the Qin Dynasty at Shuihudi.The status of li prevents free people from becoming slaves to a certain extent and helps to alleviate social stratum contradictions.The emergence of li and si shu私属indicate that both free people and slaves tend to transform into dependent people during the Warring States period to the Qin and Han Dynasties,which reflected the reform of production relation at that time.