清前期乡贤的社会构成初探——以浙西杭州和湖州府为中心

在地方社会居于领导地位或有重大影响的乡贤基本由绅士与平民两部分组成,其中绅士可分为中上层绅士和以生监为主体的下层绅士,平民主要由读书人、技艺人、商人和一般劳动者组成,其中以下层绅士人数最多。虽然平民乡贤的份量不容忽视,但总体上绅士的主导性仍无法撼动。在清前期的杭湖两府,受社会、经济和文化等发展程度不同之影响,乡贤的社会构成在时空上存在着诸多差异,这不仅表明明清的乡贤问题的复杂性,同时也提醒我们,缺乏具体实证研究的笼统探讨,并不利于真正深入细致地呈现历史的经验。

On the Social Strata of Country Squires during the Early Qing Dynasty--A Case Study of Squires in Western Zhejiang, Huzhou Prefecture and Hangzhou Prefecture

Country squires could be classified into the two kinds: the gentry and the plebeians. Of the gentry, there were those of the middle and upper classes and those of the lower class as represented by the students of the Imperial College. Plebeians were scholars, craftsmen, merchants and laborers. In the regions of Hangzhou and Huzhou during the Early Qing Dynasty, the social strata of country squires varied from place to place owing to the different social, economic and cultural developments. The complicated situation of country squires tells us that case studies are needed to probe into the historical facts.