清中叶百姓生活中的典衣现象——以嘉庆朝刑科题本为基本资料

The Clothes Pawning in the Daily Life of Common People during the Mid-Qing Dynasty:Based on Manual of the Criminal Justice Department in Jiaqing Regime

典衣是指以衣服做抵押进行借贷的活动,与中下层百姓特别是贫民关系密切。通过分析嘉庆朝刑科题本中涉及典衣的相关案件可知,清中叶百姓典当的衣服主要有棉袄、棉袍、皮袄、布衫等,大多是百姓平时穿用过的衣服,这些“褴褛衣衫”或多或少仍有一定的典当价值。从时间上来看,百姓典衣“春当秋赎”,适应了耕作时令;从典衣的目的和动机来看,大多是为生活所迫的应急性典当,其中不乏典衣以行善者。“剥衣抵欠”和“借当”衣服的现象表明,在典当过程中当物的所有权、出典权可以进行转让,这种权利的让渡一方面为百姓应急提供了便利,但另一方面也给不法分子利用当铺销赃留下了可乘之机。衣服的“借当”展现了亲朋邻里间的信任和温情,债主屡次催赎当衣,甚至要求“剥衣抵欠”则被认为违背了中国传统社会中“凡事讲人情”的原则,很多暴力冲突由此而起。

Pawning clothing refers to the activity of using clothes as collateral for lending,which is closely related to citizens of the lower and middle classes,especially the poor.By analyzing the relevant cases involving pawning clothing in Manual of the Criminal Justice Department during the Jiaqing Regime in Qing Dynasty,it can be observed that the clothes commonly pawned by the common people during the mid-Qing period mainly included cotton padded jackets,cotton robes,fur coats,and Chinese traditional blouse.Most of these were clothes that the common people had worn in their daily lives,and these ragged garments still had certain pawn value to varying degrees.In terms of time,the pawning clothes by the common people followed the pattern of pawn in spring and redemption in autumn,which adapted to the agricultural seasons.In terms of purpose and motivation,most transactions of pawning clothes were driven by urgent circumstances in daily life,although there were also cases of pawning clothes for charitable purposes.The phenomenon of stripping clothes to pay debts and borrowing and pawning clothes indicates that the ownership and the right to pawn the items can be transferred during the pawning process.On the one hand,this transfer of rights facilitated emergency situations for the common people,but on the other hand,it provided opportunities for unscrupulous individuals to use pawnshops for illicit activities.The act of borrowing and pawning clothes demonstrated trust and warmth among relatives and neighbors.However,it was considered to violate the principle of emphasizing human relationships in all matters in traditional Chinese society,when creditors repeatedly pressed for the redemption of pawned clothes or even demanded stripping clothes to pay debts.The violation,therefore,led to many instances of violent conflicts.