明清“乡绅之治”的逻辑理路及当代启示

The Logic and Method of the Rule by the Squire in Ming and Qing Dynasty andIts Contemporary Enlightenment

明清时期“乡绅之治”意味着皇权统治借助于乡绅阶层才能延伸到乡土社会底层,“乡绅之治”在中央集权的框架下既节约了行政运行成本又实现了有效统治,形成了数百年乡村社会的长治久安。乡绅阶层获得国家权力的默许和认可使其在乡土社会拥有公共事务上的话语权,而乡绅阶层也几乎承担了政府在乡村治理中的全部功能和职责。民国后乡绅阶层逐渐退出历史舞台。近年来,随着新农村建设的持续推进,乡村面貌发生了翻天覆地的变化,但乡村社会空心化、农民思想功利化、基层建设力量弱化问题不容回避。面对乡村治理的新困境重新审视“乡绅之治”的逻辑理路,分析其成功经验及失败教训,以期为乡村治理现代化提供历史启示。

In Ming and Qing dynasty,“the rule of the squire”meant that the imperial power could extend to the bottom of the rural society and thus stabilize social order with the help of the squire class.With the acquiescence and recognition of state power,the squire class owns the right to speak on public affairs and wins respect from the villagers in the rural society,and the it has shouldered almost all responsibilities of the government in rural governance.Under the framework of centralization,the governance of the country squire not only saved the cost of administration but also realized effective governance,which formed the long-term stability of the rural society for hundreds of years.After the founding of New China,the squire class completely withdrew from the stage of history.In recent years,with the continuous promotion of the construction of new countryside,the countryside has undergone earth-shaking changes,but the ensuing decentralization of rural society,utilitarianism of farmers’thoughts,the weakening of the construction power of primary-level cannot be avoided.In the face of the new predicament of rural governance,we will re-examine the method of“the governance of the squire”,learn from its experience,in order to provide historical enlightenment for the modernization of rural governance.