Lin Ganquan: 'Health' and 'Death': The Living Consumption of Families in the Han Dynasty

July 7th, 2004 at 23:43

synopsis

A certain style of life reflects a certain cultural tradition. In the family-oriented ancient Chinese society, 'personal consumption does not occupy an important position', and living consumption is usually concentrated in the form of household consumption'. Health J vs. Die. It is the two major items of household consumption. This paper intends to combine documentary data and archaeological relics to investigate the 'health preservation' and 'sending death' in the Han Dynasty. The full text is divided into three parts: (1) 'health preservation': minimum living consumption: (2) the difference between economic income and 'health preservation' consumption; (3) 'Send to death': 'The rich are extravagant, and the poor are rich'; (4) Social security for 'health preservation' and 'sending to death'.

In the final analysis, the level of consumption of 'wellness' depends on the financial situation of each family. But there is a minimum criterion for the subsistence consumption necessary to maintain the reproduction of labour power in each era. In the Han Dynasty, a peasant family of five people, the annual grain consumption was about 149 stones, plus the cost of salt and clothing, the minimum living expenses for the whole year were about 236.4 stones, assuming that the family had 100 acres of land, according to the average grain production per mu (small mu) at that time 2 stones, all the harvest was used to pay for food and clothing and was still short of 36.4 stones.

The basic economic income of the Han nobles, officials, and landlords greatly exceeded the minimum living expenses necessary for the average peasant family. For them, "health preservation" is not a simple subsistence consumption, but a hedonic consumption for the sake of obtaining great material and spiritual satisfaction. In terms of basic economic income and the degree of luxury, the first place was the aristocracy, the second was the large landowners (especially the merchant landlords), and the third was the officials.

"Sending to death" is a special kind of life consumption. In the Han Dynasty, heavy burials were prevalent, and 'sending to death' was regarded as an extension of 'health preservation', and became a symbol of exaggerating the family's social status and financial resources. The pursuit of reproducing and expressing the life style of the deceased during his lifetime was an important feature of the foundation burial in the Han Dynasty. Not only did the rich and noble families bury extravagantly, but even some families who were not wealthy did not hesitate to exhaust their family property and bury them, which was related to the popular concept of filial piety at that time.

An important characteristic of China's feudal society is that all social relations have the color of feudal ethics. When some impoverished families are unable to afford the minimum consumption of 'health preservation' and 'sending them to death', their clan party and the feudal state have the responsibility to provide relief. In a certain sense, this kind of relief is a kind of social security for 'health preservation' and 'sending death' in ancient China, but its role is extremely limited. The vast number of peasants have been displaced by hunger and cold, so social production is often unable to function normally. As the social crisis deepened, a peasant uprising was inevitable.

Keywords: subsistence consumption, hedonic consumption, minimum cost of living, basic economic income, social security

Production and consumption in human society are interdependent and mutually premised. Without individual and group consumption, social production cannot take place, and human beings themselves cannot reproduce.

Different consumption patterns reflect different cultural traditions. In the family-oriented ancient Chinese society, personal consumption did not occupy an important position, and living consumption was usually concentrated in family consumption. Health care and 'death' are the two major items of household consumption. This paper intends to combine historical documents and archaeological materials to conduct some investigations on the 'health preservation' and 'sending death' in the Han Dynasty.

1. 'Health': Minimum subsistence consumption

In ancient China, the so-called 'health preservation' not only refers to one's own material enjoyment, but also refers to the children's devotion to their parents and even the living consumption of the whole family. Mencius said: 'Grains and fish and turtles cannot be eaten, and timber and wood cannot be used, so that the people can live and die without regrets.' What he refers to as "health preservation" includes the living expenses of the whole family that is "enough to serve his parents and to his wife" (Mencius Liang Hui I). "Salt and Iron Treatise: This Discussion" says: "The Dan lacquer and feather of Long and Shu, the leather bone image of Jing and Yang, the bamboo arrow of the south of the Yangtze River, the fish of Yan and Qi and the salt and Qiu, the lacquer silk of Yan and Yu, and the tools for health preservation and end-off, are to be opened and completed. The 'wellness' here is also in terms of the living expenses of each family.

The consumption level of 'health' is related to people's consumption concepts. Different eras and different regions have different lifestyles, which also produces differences in consumption concepts between different eras and regions. For example, in the Han Dynasty, between the south and the north, the east and the west, due to the differences in natural conditions and cultural backgrounds, there were many differences in consumption in terms of clothing, food, housing and transportation. But fundamentally, the level of consumption of "health care" depends on the economic income and financial status of each family. "Hanshu Yang Wangsun Biography" said that Yang Wangsun's family business is a daughter, and he is self-respecting and healthy, and he will not die. Due to the difference in social status and economic income, the consumption level of the Han Dynasty family's 'health preservation' can be said to be very different, and it is very difficult for us to make a comprehensive and specific explanation of this. But there is generally a minimum criterion for the subsistence consumption necessary to maintain the reproduction of labour power in each era. Chao Cuo said: 'If people don't eat for a day, they will be hungry, and if they don't make clothes all year round, they will be cold.' A person should have at least two meals a day and at least one set of clothes every year, which is the minimum consumption necessary for survival. In the early Warring States period, Li Kui once calculated the necessary food and clothing expenses for a peasant family of five. Using documentary records and excavated artifacts, we can also make some speculations about the minimum cost of food and clothing necessary for peasant families in the Han Dynasty.

The diet of ordinary families in the Han Dynasty was very simple, usually 'cake bait, wheat rice, sweet bean soup', 'garden vegetables and fruits to help rice grain' ("Urgent Chapter"). Grain and vegetables are harvested by farmers themselves. When estimating the minimum dietary consumption of peasant households, we can even ignore vegetables and vegetables, and only calculate the consumption of food and salt, which are the most necessary for people's survival.

The general standard of rations in the Han Dynasty can be roughly understood from documentary records and archaeological materials. On Salt and Iron. "Scatter is insufficient" said: 'Fifteen buckets of millet are the food of half a moon for Ding men. The Book of Victory says: "The eldest daughter of the Ding man eats thirty-six stones" of millet every year. Wang Chong's "On Heng and Righteousness" said: "The body of a middle-aged person is seven or eight feet, and his body is four or five feet large. Cui Yu's "Political Commentary" said: "The chief official and his slaves "eat six hu" every month. These records all show that the monthly ration of adult laborers in the Han Dynasty was roughly three stones. According to the grain processing consumption rate, Gu Sanshi folds brown rice with one stone and eight liters [1]. In other words, the daily ration per person is about six liters. "Hanshu Xiongnu Biography" Wang Mang sent 300,000 soldiers to fight against the Xiongnu, Yan You said: "Count one person 300 solar eclipses, with 18 dends, non-ox power can not win." "Glutinous" is a dry food made from rice. 'Eighteen denders with rice for three hundred days' refers to eighteen dendrobs of rice for dry food for three hundred days, which happens to be six liters of rice for a solar eclipse. For an adult labourer, a daily ration of six litres is probably the minimum standard for maintaining the reproduction of labour. This can also be confirmed by the ration supply of the Tuntian soldiers in the Han Dynasty.

The rations and daily clothing of the border guards in the Han Dynasty were supplied by the state. Juyan Han Jian's side guards

There are different records of 'three stones, three buckets, three liters', 'three stones, two buckets, two liters', 'three stones', as well as 'two stones', 'one stone, nine buckets, three liters less', etc. Among them, there are the most records of 'three stones, three buckets, three liters, and less'. The diet is calculated according to the number of days per month, so there will naturally be a difference between the big month and the small month. Mr. Yang Liansheng once rightly pointed out that although 'three stones, three buckets, three liters less' and 'three stones, two buckets and two liters less' are two kinds of measurements, 'but if you release it on the 30th day of the big month and the 29th day of the small month, it is 6 liters of rice and half a liter per day. (Yang Liancheng 1992) However, Mr. Yang's opinion that 'the more amount is called the corn that has not been licked, and the less amount is called the rice that has been licked', and that the 'two stones' and 'one stone, nine buckets, three liters and less' are given rice rather than millet, is debatable. Because some brief texts clearly record that the words of 'two stones' and 'one stone, nine buckets, three liters less' are given to millet. Mr. Chen Zhi believes that 'three stones, three buckets, three liters, and less' are small stones, and 'two stones' are big stones, which is a more reasonable explanation (Chen Zhi 1986). In short, the ration standard of the border guards is basically 'three stones, three buckets, three liters' (small stones) per month. This ration standard is slightly higher than that of ordinary laborers in the interior, probably because of the relatively difficult working conditions in the border area.

Adult laborers eat three stone of grain per month, and fold brown rice for one stone and eight liters. What is the monthly food consumption of the average household? The structure and size of the Han Dynasty family varied, and there were two main types of ordinary families: the parent-wife type and the husband-and-wife type. The so-called 'family of five' usually refers to the three generations of parents and wives. "The Legend of the Spring and Autumn Ram" in the fifteenth year of Xuangong He Xiu Note: 'Parents and wives are a family of five. 'The bamboo slips of Zheng Lili's book unearthed from the No. 10 Han Tomb of Fenghuangshan in Gangneung, which contain the population of peasant households, such as 'Huren Yue Ren Nengtian 3 population 6 people' and 'Huren Qingsheng Nengtian 3 population 6 people' (Qiu Xigui 1974), probably belong to the parents' wife-type family, but the second generation of brothers has not yet separated. There are only two generations of husband and wife, generally about four. Many of the families of the border guards mentioned in the Juyan Han Jian are of this type. Before their military service, the soldiers were basically peasants. To a certain extent, the food standard provided by the feudal state to the families of the soldiers can represent the food consumption necessary for the survival and reproduction of ordinary peasant families. In the Han Dynasty, people aged 15 to 56 were called men and women, men and women were called men and women from the ages of seven to fourteen, and men and women were called men and women from the ages of two to seven. The relevant brief text of the Han Jian shows that the eldest woman and the son make the male eat two stones and one bucket and six liters per month, and the son makes the woman and the son not make the male eat one stone and six buckets and six liters, and the son does not make the female eat one stone and one bucket and six liters large, and the difference between them is five buckets. But in fact, the food distributed to the whole family is often deducted from the fraction and only given as a whole number. Of course, this standard of rationing for the families of the soldiers does not reflect the actual amount of food eaten by each of them. But this official standard of ration can be regarded as the minimum ration necessary for the survival of the non-Ding male population of different ages. Based on this, it is generally possible to calculate the monthly and annual consumption of grain necessary for an ordinary peasant family in the Han Dynasty to maintain the whole family's life. Here are a few examples of different family structures: If there are two big men, two big girls, and one male in the parents' wife-type family of five, their monthly consumption of grain is (2×3) + (2×2.16) + 2.16 = 12.48 stones, and the annual consumption is 149.76 stones: if there are three big men and two big women, their monthly food consumption is (3×3) + (2×2.16) = 13.32 stones, and the annual consumption is 159.84 stones. For a husband and wife family of four, if there are two men and two girls, the monthly food consumption is (2×3) + (2×2.16); 10.32 stones' annual consumption is 123.84 stones, if there is a big man, two big women, and one man, the monthly consumption of grain is 3 + (2×2.16) + 2.16: 9.48 stones' annual consumption is 13.76 stones.

In addition to food, salt is also the most necessary means of subsistence for people. The salt supplied by the Han government to the border officials and their families was basically three liters per person per month (Juyan Han Jianjia and B Editions). Zhao Chongguo wrote to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty in Tuntian, and said that his subordinates '10,281 people' needed '308 Hu of salt' per month ("Hanshu Zhao Chongguo Biography"), and each person had 2.99 liters of salt, which was almost the same as the 3 liters contained in Han Jian. According to this estimate, a family of four needs 12 litres of salt per month, 44 litres for the whole year: 15 litres of salt per month for a family of five, and 80 litres for the whole year. Farm salt is purchased from the market. Juyan Hanjian has a record about the price of millet and the price of salt[2], assuming that the price of salt is 30 yuan per bucket and the price of millet is 100 yuan per stone, and the annual salt for a family of four is 4.32 stones, and the annual salt for a family of five is 5.4 stones. The cost of clothing is a difficult item to estimate because the south and north need different clothes, and the durability of various clothes is also different. Chao Cuo suggested recruiting people to live on the side, 'giving winter and summer clothes, food, and being able to be self-sufficient' ("Hanshu Chao Cuo Biography"). The clothes issued by the Han government to the soldiers were probably winter and summer clothes. In the Han Jian, it is recorded that the clothes received by the soldiers include single clothes, robes, undergarments, trousers, furs, socks, etc. As far as the average peasant family is concerned, it is probably difficult for all family members to make both summer clothes and winter clothes every year. Li Kui estimated that the ratio of food and clothing expenses of peasant families in the Warring States period was about 1:1.8 (Hanshu. Food & Goods"). According to this ratio, the cost of clothing for a family of five in the Han Dynasty was about 82 stone of grain for a year, and about 68 stone of grain for a family of four.

At this point, we can roughly calculate the minimum living expenses required by ordinary peasant families in the Han Dynasty: a family of five with two big men needed about 149 stone of rations for the whole year, 5.4 stone for salt, and 82 stone for clothing, a total of 236.4 stone. There is a family of four with a big man, and the annual ration is about 114 stones, 4.32 stones for salt, and 68 stones for clothes, for a total of 186.32 stones. Quantitative estimation of the minimum living expenses necessary for ordinary peasant families in the Han Dynasty helps us understand the differences in the "health" consumption of various families at that time. Generally speaking, the level of living consumption of a family depends on the amount of its economic income. If a family's economic income does not meet the minimum cost of living that it needs, it will inevitably fall into a situation of hunger and cold, and it will not be able to sustain even simple reproduction. Families whose income exceeds the minimum necessary cost of living are at risk of living a subsistence life. The more you exceed, the better your life will be.

Second, the difference between the economic income of different families and the consumption of "health preservation".

Chao Cuo said: 'Today, there are no less than two farmers in a family of five, and there are no more than 100 acres of cultivators. The harvest of 100 acres is not more than 100 stones' ("Hanshu Food and Goods"). By '100 mu' he meant small mu, while '100 shi' meant big stones. As far as the entire Han Dynasty is concerned, a large mu can produce about 3 stones of millet per year, and a small mu can produce about 2 stones of millet per year (Lin Ganquan 1990). In other words, a family of five who cultivates 100 acres (small acres) of land can harvest about 200 stone of grain throughout the year. Can such an income ensure that the family's living expenses are minimized?

According to the above-mentioned estimation of the minimum living expenses of ordinary families, this family of five with two older men, after deducting the family's annual ration of 149 stones, can still have a surplus of 5 l stones. However, if the cost of salt and clothing is taken into account, it will be beyond its means, and there will be a shortage of 36.4 stones. In addition, there was also the endowment of the feudal state, and the peasants were also required to take out another part of the grain. Under such circumstances, in order to make a living, farmers have only two ways: one is to cut back on food and clothing, and reduce the cost of food and clothing to below the minimum consumption level required by ordinary families; The second is to increase the income from sideline production and to go out to engage in wage labor during the slack season. Some political commentators in the Han Dynasty often bitterly talked about the peasants' 'going back to the basics', but in fact this was exactly the measure that the peasants had to take in order to solve their livelihood difficulties.

It should be pointed out that many peasant families in the Han Dynasty actually had less than 100 acres of land. The 25 peasant households recorded in the bamboo slips of the Zheng Liqiao Book unearthed from the No. 10 Han Tomb of Fenghuang Mountain in Jiangling have a condition of land, most of them are 20 or 30 mu, and the least is only 8 mu. One of the ones that occupies the most land is. There are only '54 acres of land' (Qiu Xigui 1974). Assuming that two people are adult laborers, one is a man, and the other two are a big girl, and the other two are a maid, and the five people need 143.76 stone a year, plus the cost of salt and clothing, the minimum living consumption of the whole year is about 232 stones, and his family's 54 acres of land are small acres, and it is estimated that only about 108 stones can be harvested throughout the year: if it is a large mu, it is estimated that 162 stones can be harvested. That is to say, according to the standard of the average family's minimum living consumption, this peasant family is still short of 124 or 70 stone of grain every year. Such a family, if there is no other way to make a living, is obviously unable to survive.

The actual level of living consumption of peasant households depends not only on their economic income, but also on the size of their families. If the family occupies an area of 100 acres, if the family has four people (one male, one male, and two females), the annual harvest remains the same, and the remaining grain after deducting the ration of the whole family is 86 stones, due to the reduction of one person's ration. In this way, life is better than that of a family of five. On the contrary, if a peasant family with no increase in arable land and an increase in population has no other income, the real level of living consumption will inevitably fall even more than that of a family of five. This is also the reason why in some parts of the Han Dynasty, 'the small people were poor and did not have many children' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 67/57).

If the 'health' of most peasants can only maintain a minimum of subsistence consumption at most, then the aristocracy, officials and landlords of the rich . Health care is no longer simply a subsistence consumption, but a hedonic consumption for the sake of obtaining great material and spiritual satisfaction. While some of them live frugally, many more live in luxury. This is inseparable from the fact that they have a good economic income.

The economic income of the Han nobles came mainly from the taxes of the fiefs. "Historical Records: The Biography of the Goods and Colonies" says: "The food and rent tax of the feudal is 200 per year. The king of a thousand households is 200,000, and the pilgrimage is hired to enjoy it. In fact, except for the Guannei marquis, there were no fiefs, only fixed taxes, and the Han Dynasty princes generally determined the land by households, and after the fiefdoms were determined, the increase in population also meant that the number of feudal households increased. Therefore, the annual tax income of some lieges can reach more than 10 million yuan ((Later Han Shu. Zhang Tang attached to Sun Yanshou Biography >). As for the income of the princes and kings, it is even more amazing. Emperor Ming was crowned the prince, and the age was given 20 million) ((Later Han Shu) lOa/10a). Emperor Zhang's order that all countries have equal household registrations, and the rent is 80 million per year. (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 50/40) It is difficult to accurately calculate how many times the total tax income of the kings and princes is equivalent to the income of the peasant family. However, taking Feng Shi, the Liehou of the Eastern Han Dynasty, as an example, '30,000 yuan of grain and 40,000 yuan of money' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 33/23), in the case of '30,000 Hu of grain', it is equivalent to 1 27 times the minimum living expenses necessary for a peasant family of five throughout the year.

The officials of the Han Dynasty set the rank of Lu with grain, the rank of the three princes was ten thousand stones, the nine qingzhong was two thousand stones, the county guard was two thousand stones, the county order was six hundred stones, the county was four hundred stones, and so on. The three dukes earn 350 yuan per month, and 4,200 stone a year, which is equivalent to 18 times the minimum living expenses necessary for a peasant family of five throughout the year. The county guard earns 120 Shi per month and 1,440 Shi for the whole year, which is equivalent to 6 times the minimum living cost necessary for a peasant family of five throughout the year, and the county order for 10,000 households earns 70 Hu per month and 840 Shi per year, which is equivalent to 3.5 times the minimum living cost necessary for a peasant family of five throughout the year. The county magistrate and the county lieutenant earn 50 yuan per month, and 600 stone a year, which is equivalent to 2.5 times the minimum living expenses necessary for a peasant family of five throughout the year ("Western Han Dynasty Meeting" 37).

The landlords of the Han Dynasty had hundreds of hectares of land, or even more than a thousand hectares. For example, the famous cool official Ning Cheng was punished for breaking the law, and after returning to his hometown, he 'rewarded loans to buy more than 1,000 hectares of fields, fake poor people, and served thousands of families. ("The Chronicles of the Cool Officials"). A landlord with 100 hectares of land rents out the land, assuming that the average annual yield of millet per mu is 2 stones, and according to the rent rate of 'seeing tax tithes', he can earn 10,000 stones, which is equivalent to 42 times the minimum living expenses necessary for a peasant family of five throughout the year.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that the basic economic income of the nobles, officials, and landlords alone can ensure that the living expenses of their families far exceed the minimum consumption level of the average peasant family, and that the economic income of both nobles and officials is in fact not limited to the rent and taxes of food and seals. According to the system, the liehous 'were given food money at all four times' ("Hanshu Gao Houji" note quoted by Ying Shao). (Han Gongyi) recorded: 'Laci, the general, three public money of 200,000 yuan each, 200 catties of beef, and 200 pounds of japonica rice. Tejin, Hou 150,000, Qing 100,000, Lieutenant 50,000, Shangshu 30,000....... Some nobles and officials often received various temporary rewards from the emperor. For example, Emperor Xuan rewarded Huo Guang with 7,000 catties of gold, 60 million gold, 30,000 miscellaneous goods, 170 slaves and maids, 2,000 horses, and the first district. There were nobles and officials of the estate, as well as land rent income. As for the wealth of some nobles and officials by various illegal means, it is even more impossible to calculate. If we make a comparison of the basic economic income of the aristocracy, officials and landlords, it should be said that the economic income of the nobles and large landowners is higher than that of the officials. There are more records in the history books about the extravagant life of the nobles and large landowners (especially the merchant landlords) than the officials, which also shows that the level of their living consumption corresponds to their economic income.

After the fall of Qin Bingxie in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, social consumption once shrank significantly. The "Historical Records and Pingzhun Book" says that at that time. Since the Son of Heaven cannot have a horse, but will be a minister or ride an ox cart, and the people of Qi have no cover." After a period of recuperation, the social economy gradually recovered and developed. But until the world of Wenjing, whether it was 'health' or 'death', the folk were still relatively frugal. "On Salt and Iron: National Diseases" records Xianliang and says:

Stealing so I heard the words of the elders in Luli, and the clothes of the common people in the past were warm and simple. clothing

Enough to cover the body, enough to do things, enough to walk easily, enough to carry a car, enough wine to be in harmony but not to be clear,

Happiness is enough to be reasonable and not lewd. There is no smell of feasting, and there is no view of travel. The line is a negative achievement, and the stop is a hoe

Weed. Use the covenant to make money, and the people will be rich with this repair. Death is mournful but not flashy, and health is suitable but not luxurious.

The 'past' mentioned by Xianliang roughly refers to the situation before Emperor Wu. However, during the Wenjing period, the living consumption of some aristocratic families had reached the point of poverty and luxury. The artifacts unearthed from the tomb of Hou Licang and his family members in Mawangdui, Changsha, provide us with an example of this.

There are many types of food buried in the Mawangdui Han Tomb, according to the identification of the unearthed objects, referring to the records of the bamboo and wooden plaques of the burial, the grain has rice, wheat, millet, millet, soybeans, red beans, hemp seeds, etc.: vegetables and fruits have mustard greens, sunflower, taro, ginger, bamboo shoots, lotus root, water chestnut and plum, bayberry, pear, persimmon, jujube, orange, loquat, melon, etc.; Meat products belong to the mammals such as cattle, sheep, dogs, pigs, horses, rabbits, and sika deer; Birds include chickens, pheasants, ducks, geese, partridges, quails, cranes, swans, turtle doves, sandpipers, mandarin ducks, bamboo pheasants, spotted chickens, owls, magpies, sparrows, etc.; Fish species include carp, crucian carp, fish, bream, silver carp, mandarin fish, etc. In addition, the food and drink that accompanied the burial included eggs, various cakes and wine. Condiments used in cooking include salt, sauce, tempeh, sugar, honey, koji, vinegar, etc. More than 100 pieces of silk fabrics and costumes have been unearthed, including silk, Qi, Luo, yarn, brocade, risers and embroidery. Among them, such as plain yarn Zen clothes, lacquered yarn hats and velvet circle brocade, have reached a very high level of craftsmanship. A large number of exquisite lacquerware have been excavated, including a variety of daily life utensils, such as food and drink dings, plates, bells, pots, spinning, ear cups, cups, tableware, flat plates, basins, turns, and bath plates for washing, as well as entertainment tools, tables, screens, etc. (Hunan Provincial Museum, 1974; Hunan Agricultural University, et al., 1978; He & Zhang 1982).

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there were countless examples of aristocratic life in luxury. For example, Tian Wei's house is the first, the countryside is extremely creamy, and the city buys the county utensils and belongs to the road. The bell and drum in the front hall are standing in the song; The women in the back room are numbered in the hundreds. All the treasures of the dogs and horses are good to play, and they are innumerable' ("Hanshu Tian Wei Biography"). Stan's slaves numbered hundreds, dozens of wives and concubines in the back room, extravagant and promiscuous, good drinking, and the joy of taste and color ("Hanshu Shi Dan Biography"). Wang Zhengjun's five marquis brothers, competing for luxury, bribing treasures, came from all sides: * concubines, dozens of people each, slaves to do hundreds, Luo Zhongchi, dancing Zheng Nu, as an advocate, dogs and horses galloping; The first room of Dazhi, the earth mountain gradually rises, the cave door is high and the pavilion is high, and it belongs to Miwang' ("Hanshu Yuan Hou Biography"). Liang Ji and Sun Shou "are opposite the street as a house, playing extremely civil engineering, and boasting to each other." The halls and bedrooms all have yin and yang rooms, even the rooms and holes. The pillar wall is carved and painted, and the copper paint is added: the windows are all blue and trivial, and the picture is cloudy fairy. '' Ji and Shou share a chariot, Zhang Yu cover, decorated with gold and silver, travel to the inside, mostly from the advocacy, ring the bell and blow the pipe, and listen to the road' ("Later Han Shu Liang Ji Biography").

If the officials of the Han Dynasty did not have a feudal feudal estate, their economic income mainly depended on Yulu. Some officials do not have much left over from their income after deducting living expenses. Zhang Tang was the imperial historian, and after his death, the family's output value was only 500 gold, all of which were given, and there was no other way to win J ("Hanshu Zhang Tang Biography"). Yin Qi served as a lieutenant and later. Huaiyang Duwei died of illness, and his family was worth less than 50 gold' ("Historical Records: The Biography of Cool Officials"). Wang Ji is the history of Yizhou Thorn, and his grandson Wang Chong once acted as a great Sikong, 'all good carriages and horses, and their self-worship is extremely distinct, and the death of gold and silver splendid things. and the place of migration, which contains no more than clothing, and no surplus wealth is accumulated. Go to the house, and also cloth clothes and food' ("Hanshu Wang Ji Biography") o The rank of the grass-roots officials is low, and Cui Wei once calculated an account for the income and expenditure of the 'hundred-mile long officials': 'The Lu of January, get 20 millet and 2,000 money. Although the chief wants to worship the covenant, he should still have a servant. If there is no slave, it should be a re-entry guest. Keyong is a thousand a month, 500 slashing and anointing meat, 500 charcoal, salt, and vegetables, and the two eat 6 husks, and the rest of the wealth is enough for the horses, how can they provide winter and summer clothes and quilts, four o'clock shrines, and the cost of the guests fighting wine? Returning to welcome parents to wives' ("Political Commentary"). According to Cui Wei's calculations, the lives of grassroots officials are indeed relatively poor. But in any case, their consumption levels have exceeded the minimum subsistence consumption of peasant families. More importantly, many officials were not satisfied with their money. They hold power in their hands, which is an advantageous condition for accumulation. "Hanshu Jingdi Ji" contains Emperor Jing's edict: "Officials bribe goods for the market, fish and rob the people, and invade the people." "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty: The Biography of Zuo Xiong" says: "The officials of the township officials are thin, and the chariots, horses, and clothes are from the people. The incorruptible take enough, the greedy fill the family, and the special selection is horizontal, and they are endless, sending annoying expenses, harming the government and hurting the people. The expenses of daily life are taken from the people free of charge, and the level of consumption is naturally not measured by the amount of money.

The owner of the Han Tomb at No. 168 Phoenix Mountain in Gangneung has the title of five doctors, and his status is equivalent to a county order. There are more than 500 cultural relics buried in the tomb, including lacquerware, woodware, bamboo, pottery and silk and linen fabrics for daily use, as well as the remains of millet, rice, ginger, red dates, apricots, plums, plums, peppercorns, and cattle, pigs, chickens, fish and other foods (Hanji Excavation and Sorting Group, No. 168, Phoenix Mountain, Jinan City, 1975), reflecting that the living consumption of a grassroots official during his lifetime was also quite extravagant. The owner of the tomb of Inner Mongolia and Lingelhan is a captain who guards Wuhuan, and the murals in the tomb show the luxurious life scene of the tomb owner during his lifetime. There are many male and female slaves and maids busy drawing water. Washing, brewing, slaughtering, beating, cooking. The kitchen is full of fish, meat, liver, intestines, lungs, chickens, pheasants, rabbits, animal heads, etc., and is full of kettles, cuts, basins, bowls, urns, food tables, liedings, plates, baskets, boxes, bowls, spoons and shelves for ear cups. Outside the kitchen, there are chickens, ducks, geese, and other birds. In the hall, the slaves and maids served wine and food to the master, and the music and dance accompanied the master to feast and drink (Inner Mongolia Museum Cultural Relics Working Group, 1978).

Unlike the aristocracy and officials, the common landlords of the Han Dynasty did not have any political privileges. Merchant-landlords were even politically discriminated against and repressed. But they had the financial resources to communicate with the princes and collude with the officials. During the reign of Emperor Wen, the merchants had already 'dressed in good clothes, ate in sherbacies and meat', and 'took advantage of the strong strategy to fatten, and walked on the silk' ("Hanshu Food and Goods Journal"). Starting from Jia Yi and Chao Cuo, the extravagance of the people sharply criticized by some scholars and doctors in the Han Dynasty mainly refers to the living consumption of merchants and landlords. "Hanshu Yan An" says:

Today, the people are extravagant with money, and the carriages, horses, clothes, and palace rooms are all competing to decorate, and the five tones make the knots and the five colors are miscellaneous

So that there is an article, the abbot of the five flavors in front, in order to observe the world.

Since Emperor Wu, the extravagant atmosphere of the people has developed greatly. At the Salt and Iron Conference held during the reign of Emperor Zhao, Xianliang once listed the extravagant performance of the 'rich' and 'middle-class' (middle-class families) in terms of clothing, food, housing and transportation. For example, "the rich are embroidered, and the middle is plain and icy"; 'The rich man is a mole, the fox is white', the middle man has a golden thread of kitchen clothes, and the swallow is a yellow one'; 'The rich have silver mouths and yellow ears, gold and jade bells, the middle ones are wild kings, and the golden ones are wrong to Shu cups': 'The rich people ride in the chariot trains, and the two are ploughing, and the middle ones are micro-short hubs, and the annoying tail and hooves' and so on ("Salt and Iron Theory: Insufficient Dispersion"). By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhong Changtong had a more vivid portrayal of the luxurious life of the merchant landlords: 'The demon boy and the beautiful concubine fill the Qi room: advocate the joy of the court, and list the deep hall. Guests are waiting to see but not dare to go', and the cars are staggered and not daring to enter. The meat of the three animals is stinky and inedible: the alcohol is drunk and cannot be drunk. If you look forward to it, you will see it with your eyes, and if you are happy or angry, you will see what you want. Zhong Changtong also pointed out that the luxurious material life enjoyment of these 'wealthy people' is "the happiness of the prince and the thickness of the monarch." Those who can use wisdom and deceit will be rewarded; Those who can obtain it are not considered guilty of sin' (Later Hanshu 49/39). The power of wealth has overwhelmed the traditional etiquette system, and as long as you have great wealth, even if you enjoy a luxurious life, people will not be guilty.

Exegesis:

[1] "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", Volume 2, "Corn": "Today, there is a millet that wants to be rice, how much do you ask? He replied that it was six liters of rice, and that 'rice is brown rice.'

[2] Han Jianzai: 'Su Yishi, Zhi 110'; 'Four thousand three hundred and fifty stones, fifty-one stones, and eighty-five stones. (See (Juyan Han Jian A and B Editions) Commentary pages 16, 199) and Juyan Xinjian Dihuang in the third year of the "Laobian Envoy Crossing the Border Fee" book: "Salt and soy sauce each have a bucket, straight three. (See Gansu Juyan Archaeological Team, "Excavation of Han Dynasty Ruins in Juyan and Newly Unearthed Brief Catalogue Cultural Relics", Cultural Relics 1 (1978)). The original Jane was unearthed at the Shoulder Water Jinguan, and the text has not yet been officially published.

"The Integration of Chinese Archaeology and History", Proceedings of the Fourth Conference of the Institute of History and Linguistics, Academia Sinica, July 1997

'Health' and 'Sending Death': The Living Consumption of Families in the Han Dynasty (2)

Author: Lin Ganquan

3. 'Send to death': 'The rich are extravagant, and the poor are rich'

In ancient times, people thought that the dead were knowledgeable and no different from the living, and that 'Min died and was buried alone, the soul was lonely, the mound and tomb were closed, and the grain was scarce, so they pretended to be puppets to serve the corpse, hide more food, and use the soul to remember' ("On Heng and Bo Burial"). As a result, the unique household consumption of 'sending to death' has emerged. An important feature of Han Dynasty tombs is that many of them strive to replicate and express the life style of the deceased. Especially for some wealthy families, not only the shape and layout of the tomb should imitate the residential buildings on the ground, but also the deceased's diet, clothes, carriages and horses, and various daily necessities should be included in the tomb and be buried. This burial custom shows that 'in people's minds, 'sending to death' is an extension of 'health preservation.'" The deceased lived a luxurious life during his lifetime, and after his death, he also had to move this lifestyle underground. Taking the tomb of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan in Mancheng, as an example, 'the south and north ear rooms are the treasury and the carriage room, the middle room is a large hall, and the back room is the inner room that symbolizes the bedroom. There are six practical cars and 16 horses in Yongdao and Nan Ear Chamber. Some of the pottery buried with the north ear chamber is also filled with wine, grain, fish, etc. In addition to bronze, iron and pottery, there are also two curtains in the middle room (Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 1984), from the late Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, the ritual utensils in the tombs gradually tend to become extinct, while the daily life utensils and the model Ming utensils such as houses, wells, warehouses and stoves appear in large numbers. In the mural tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the portrait stone and brick tombs, you can often see some pictures that show the luxurious life of the tomb owner, such as cooking, feasting, music and dancing. An ancient city in Tuoketuo County, Inner Mongolia. The murals in the tomb of the Min family, the well, the stove, the chariot and the horse and the slaves and maids are all written with the word "Min", indicating that these living utensils and slaves and maids were used and driven by the tomb owner Min (Ancient History Research Office, Inner Mongolia University, 1977).

In the Han Dynasty portrait brick tombs in Sichuan, the exact same content can often be found in the tombs in different locations. Some scholars believe that the content of these portraits is not directly related to the tomb owner (Liu Zhiyuan 1958). It should be admitted that the appearance of portrait bricks in batches with identical contents in different tombs indicates that the content of some portraits has become a fixed pattern, and it is not necessarily a specific portrayal of the daily life of the tomb owner. However, this does not disprove that these portraits were basically a realistic artistic creation reflecting the social life of the time. Decorating the tomb with batches of portraits of cooking cattle and slaughtering sheep, feasting, drinking, and dancing shows that the extravagant lifestyle is universal in the homes of the wealthy. Even if some tomb owners did not often live this way during their lifetimes, the decoration of the tomb reflects the pursuit of this way of life by the deceased and his family.

For the rich and noble, sending to death is not only that. The prolongation of health is a sign of exaggeration of social status and financial resources. Originally, there was a strict etiquette system for 'sending death'. 'Etiquette, to the property for use, to the noble and lowly for the text, to the number of differences, to the long to kill as the key' ("Xunzi Etiquette Theory"). Depending on the level, the system of 'sending to death' is also different. For example, 'the coffin of the Son of Heaven is tenfold, the princes are five, the doctor is three, and the scholar is heavy, and then there are many thicknesses of clothing, and there are articles and so on, so as to pay respects' ("Xunzi Treatise on Etiquette"). However, in the Han Dynasty, the situation of 'sending to death' was quite common, and the previous ritual system had been completely abolished. Zhou Yafu's son 'bought a labor official for his father, Shang Fangjia, and was buried for 500 people', but Yafu was imprisoned for 'stealing and buying county official weapons' (Hanshu Zhou Bo Biography). "Salt and Iron Theory: Scattering is Insufficient" talks about the funeral custom at that time: 'the rich embroider the wall, and the middle one embroiders the coffin'; 'The rich accumulate soil into mountains, row trees into forests, pavilions and pavilions, set views and increase buildings, and the ancestral halls of the middle are scolded. 'The Theory of the Hidden Husband. The "Extravagant Chapter" said: "Today's Beijing teachers and nobles, counties and counties, life is not extremely raised", death is mourning. Or to the golden jade box, the zizi wive, bury more treasures, puppets, carriages and horses, build a large mound, widely plant pines and cypresses, the ancestral hall of the house, and worship luxury. Several emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty also pointed out in their edicts many times that 'the system of the people sending them to the end is a matter of extravagance'; 'Noble relatives and close relatives, extravagant and extravagant, marrying and sending to the end, especially extravagant. Although the feudal state forbade 'officials and people's arrogance', 'noble relatives and close relatives, hundreds of bureaucrats and teachers, Moken and subordinate, there are no officials, and there are more and more slack' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5).

Under the influence of the powerful and rich 'sending them to death' and competing for luxury, some families who are not wealthy also admire it. 'Burying the dead family, sending women full of cars, the rich want to live, and the poor want to reach' ("Salt and Iron. National disease"), which became a trend. In order to make their parents' funerals more decent, some people do not hesitate to exhaust their family property and even borrow money for help. The original involved father 'Dazhi started the mound house, Zhou Pavilion heavy door', 'bought land and opened the road, set up a table and said Nanyang Qian', 'the expenses are all rich and elderly, but the clothes and horses are the only ones, and the wife is trapped' ("Hanshu Ranger Biography"). The father of the Eastern Han Dynasty celebrity Fan Fan, 'suffered from his mother's worries, and after the burial, he did not support the porridge' ("Customs and Customs: Ten Antis"). Cui Yu's father, Cui Ming, was a good guest before his death, and he was a good guest, serving a meal with a monopolar taste, regardless of the rest of the property. After his death, Cui Wei 'sold the farmland, erected a tomb, and erected a monument to praise. After the funeral, the assets were exhausted, and because of poverty, he made a business of brewing and selling man. At the time, many people ridiculed it, and they never changed it' ("The Book of the Later Han Dynasty: The Biography of Cui Yulie").

The history of thick burials is long, and the sons of the pre-Qin Dynasty were generally opposed to thick burials. Mozi advocates a festival burial, which goes without saying. Confucius affirmed the three-year funeral system, but did not advocate a thick burial. Zilu said: Hurt and poor, there is nothing to support in life, and there is no courtesy in death. Confucius said: Sip water and enjoy it, which is filial piety. Collect the shape of hands and feet, but also buried without a coffin, call its wealth, Si is called a ceremony' ((Rite Record, Tan Bow Down)). Although Mencius said that 'the person who maintains the health is not enough to be a big thing, but sending him to death can be a big thing' (Mencius: Lilouxia), and regarded sending off one's parents to the end of one's life as a more important thing than supporting one's parents, he did not advocate a thick burial in terms of etiquette. Some people of insight in the Han Dynasty have sharply criticized thick burials, and some people even advocate thin burials. Even some emperors have issued edicts prohibiting thick burials. But why did the practice of lavish burials intensify in the end of the Han Dynasty, 'As for the rich being extravagant and the poor having only wealth, the law cannot be forbidden, and the etiquette and righteousness cannot be stopped' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 1a/1a)?

Wang Chong said in "On Heng and Bo Burial": "The business of the sages is all based on the thin burial and provincial use. However, the world is still well buried, there are those who have lost luxury, Confucianism is unclear, and the Mohists discuss it for no reason. To blame the practice of lavish burials on the inappropriate discussion of Confucianism obviously does not go to the root of the problem. Thick burial is a kind of extravagant consumption, and the level of consumption is ultimately determined by the level of development of production. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, when the broken social economy had not been restored, it was objectively impossible to prevail in thick burials. 'Sending to death' extravagance became a social atmosphere, and like 'health' extravagance, it was formed after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Because it is only after the socio-economic recovery and development that the material basis for this extravagant consumption is provided. But even after that, thick burials are not a consumption that all families can afford. For the vast number of poor peasants, they 'have a lifelong hard work, and death has the worry of violent bones' ("Political Commentary"), and many people are 'dying of great hunger, and they are not buried, and are eaten by dogs and pigs' ((Hanshu Gongyu Biography)), how can we talk about a thick burial?

The minimum cost of 'sending to death' in the Han Dynasty can also be known from historical records. According to the Hanshu Mourning Emperor Ji, the floods in Henan and Yingchuan caused "killing the people and ruining the house", and "sending the doctor Guanglu to follow the line and give the deceased coffin money, and 3,000 people." According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, "Those who are sent to collect and bury the dead and unloved guests of the Jingshi and those who have lost their coffins are all sacrificed: they have family members, especially those who are poor and cannot be buried, and give 5,000 money." The government gave 3,000 to 5,000 yuan to those who were poor and could not be buried, which could be regarded as the minimum cost of 'sending them to death' at that time. But in fact, ordinary people's 'sending to death' must not be limited to the purchase of coffins. Originally involved in the relief of the poor to go to the urgency of the people, once for a "family has nothing" friends to organize funerals, "cut into sparse, with the memory of clothes and coffins, down to the food containment, distributed to the guests." All the guests go to the market to buy, and they will all meet on the solstice' ("Hanshu Ranger Biography"). It can be seen that clothing, coffins, and food are all necessary for 'sending death'. In addition, it is necessary to purchase mourning clothes for the family of the deceased. A burial mound is also required. Some of the land purchase vouchers handed down in the Han Dynasty were for the purchase of mound land, and the price per mu ranged from 1,500 yuan to 3 or 4,000 yuan (Lin Ganquan 1990). Some peasant families could not afford to buy a dedicated grave, so they had to bury the deceased in the ground of their farmland. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Sun Cheng bought land vouchers, and Sun Cheng, the big slave of Zuojun Stable Palace, bought a town in Luo Mo Tianyi Town, Guangde Pavilion, from Zhang Boshi, a man from Luoyang, to use as a mound, and the two parties agreed that in addition to 'all the roots of the indigenous hair belong to Sun Cheng', 'if there is a corpse in the field, the man should be a slave, and the woman should be a maid, and they should all be Sun Cheng's envoys' (Luo Zhenyu 1918). The reason why the land sale contract should be written with such a strong superstitious content shows that the burial of dead people in the farmland at that time was not an isolated phenomenon. Landless families have a heavier burden of sending the dead to death in order to have a place to bury them. Dong Yong's father of the Western Han Dynasty died, and there was no way to bury him, so he borrowed 10,000 yuan from others. Yong said that the master of money said: 'If you have no money to return to the king, you should be a slave yourself.' (Liu Xiang's "Filial Piety Picture"). People like Dong Yong who have to sell themselves to bury their fathers are probably poor people who have no land to sell.

The coffin cost 3,000, if converted at the price of millet 100 yuan per stone, it is equivalent to the price of 30 stone of grain. But as mentioned above, 'sending to death' cannot be limited to the purchase of coffins. If Dong Yong's funeral father's loan of 10,000 yuan is regarded as the cost of ordinary people to handle the funeral, this funeral expense is equivalent to 100 stone of food. As pointed out above, a peasant family cultivating 100 acres of land in the Han Dynasty harvested about 200 stone of grain a year. Farming families are already living on the income from farming, and they are already very poor. Under such circumstances, the cost of a 'death' would have to use up half of the annual grain harvest, which is undoubtedly a very heavy burden for the peasants. It can also be imagined from this that the generous burial that goes beyond the ordinary cost of 'sending to death' is obviously not related to the poor peasants. Some politicians and thinkers in the Han Dynasty criticized the practice of thick burials, saying that "the poor want to be able to reach it" and that "the poor are rich", although their families are not rich, they always have to have a certain amount of assets, and they cannot be poor peasants who are hungry and cold. The wealth and poverty of the Han Dynasty were based on family resources. The standard of family resources of the 'middle family' is 'ten gold', that is, 100,000 yuan. If the family is less than 10,000 yuan, it can be called poor. Gong Yu wrote to Emperor Yuan and said: 'Chen Yu is old and poor, his family is less than 10,000 yuan, his wife has no chaff beans, and the caftan is not finished. There are 130 acres of land, and His Majesty is willing to recruit ministers, and the ministers sell 100 acres of land for carriages and horses' ("Hanshu Gongyu Biography"). Gongyu has 130 acres of land, which is more than the land area that ordinary farmers usually have, but because his family assets are less than 10,000 yuan, he can call himself poor. According to this, the 'poor' of the Han Dynasty who were buried with thick burials were at least some people who could have food and clothing.

Although Wang Chong failed to reveal the social roots of thick burials, he pointed out that the practice of thick burials in the Han Dynasty was related to the concept of filial piety, which is very insightful. Wang Chong said, 'The discussion of the dead is undecided, and the plan of the filial son is from the heavier. When people 'don't know the truth of death and ignorance', in order to show their filial piety to their parents, they do not hesitate to 'empty their homes to send them to the end' ("On Heng and Bo Burial"). As pointed out at the beginning of this article, ancient China was a family-oriented society. In such a society, it is natural to form a notion that filial piety to one's parents should be expressed not only in 'health preservation', but also in 'sending them to death'. 'Health' and 'death' have become the two major items of household consumption. In the Han Dynasty, due to the promotion of feudal rulers, filial piety was not only a moral standard for judging a person's character, but even a political standard for determining his career. As the "Treatise on Salt and Iron: Insufficient Dispersion" said: "In this life, it cannot be loved and respected, and death is high in luxury, although there is no heart of mourning, and those who are buried with heavy coins are called filial piety, famous in the world, and glorious in the world." This kind of thick burial atmosphere is actually a manifestation of the hypocrisy of the feudal program.

Fourth, the social security of 'health' and 'death'

The family in the Han Dynasty was the basic unit of consumption of 'health preservation' and 'sending death', but this does not mean that 'health preservation' and 'sending death' were entirely the affairs of individual families themselves. All the social relations of China's feudal society are tinged with feudal ethics. When some families cannot afford even the minimum consumption of 'health preservation' and 'sending them to death', their clan relatives and the feudal state have the responsibility to provide relief. In a certain sense, this kind of relief is a kind of social security for 'health preservation' and 'death delivery' in ancient China.

As mentioned earlier, the family structure of the Han Dynasty was generally two or three generations. Children and grandchildren of the same father's family are members of the same family as long as they are within the five services, whether they live together or separately. In literature, a family is sometimes referred to as a clan, but generally speaking, a clan is larger than a family and can include members of the nine clans from Gaozu to great-grandson, so some clans can number in the hundreds. "The Book of Rites: The Great Biography" says: "The four generations are restricted, and the service is poor." The fifth generation was exempted, and the same surname was killed. The relatives of the sixth generation are exhausted. 'Relatives of the same clan who are beyond the scope of the five suits are already estranged by blood compared to family members. But as "White Tiger Tongyi Clan" said: 'Where is the clan? The clansmen also get together, gather also, and say that love flows together. Life loves each other, death grieves, there is a way to gather, so it is called a family. As long as they are members of the same clan, there is a relationship of 'love in life and sorrow in death'.

According to the ancient tradition of 'living apart and sharing wealth, if there is a surplus, it will return to the sect, and if it is insufficient, it will be a clan' ("Rites, Mourning Clothes, Zixia Biography"), family members have the obligation to communicate with each other. Although it is not uncommon for brothers in the Han Dynasty to be involved in lawsuits over family property, such things are usually condemned by public opinion and even the government. At the same time, there are many examples of family members giving money to each other. Bu style 'has a young brother, a younger brother, a strong brother, the style escaped, took more than 100 livestock and sheep alone, and the property of the field house was all with the younger brother. More than ten years later, 'the younger brother broke his property, and the younger brother was divided into several years' ("Hanshu Bu Shi Biography"). Guo Chang's fortune of millions with his half-brother. (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 10a/10a) o Fan Fan, 'Pushing more than 20,000,000 wealth and orphan brothers' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 32/22). Zhang Kan 'let his father have millions of dollars left over with his brothers' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 3l/21). Zheng Jun's orphan brother is very strong, has been married, ordered to live separately, and merges. Push the wealth with it, make a respectful of his mother, and then give it with the protection of the Zhen' ("Book of the Later Han", 2717, quoted in "Dongguan Ji"). Xue Bao 'The disciple asks for a share of the wealth and lives in a different place, but the package cannot be stopped, but divides the wealth in the middle', 'The slave and the maid lead the old man', 'The Tianlu takes the desolate one', 'The utensils take the corrupt and the loser', 'The disciple counts his property and gives it back to him' ("The Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Liu Ping's Biography Preface"). Han Ling's 'pushing his father's surplus wealth of millions and Congkundi' ("Later Han Shu Han Linglie's Biography"). According to custom, the elder brother has more responsibility for his younger brothers, and the uncle for his sons and nephews, in terms of wealth and maintenance.

According to ancient traditions, there is also a responsibility for adoption and relief for people who are more distant by blood. "Guanzi Q" said: "Ask the **** widow and the lonely and sick people, ask the children of the abandoned people of the country, and ask the good families of the hometown and the people they adopt"; 'Ask the poor people in the hometown and the difference between the tribes, and ask the sons of the sect to accept the Kundi and the poor from the Kundi geometrical family. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, due to the development of private ownership, the differentiation between the rich and the poor within each clan was accelerated, and some 'clansmen' and 'good families' had to adopt the poor and widows of the same clan. By the Han Dynasty, this tradition still played an important role. While describing the arrangement of agricultural affairs, the "Four People's Moon Order" specifically mentions that in the spring, it is necessary to 'revitalize the poor, give to the nine tribes, and start with those who are relatives.' Nothing or wealth, endure the poverty of others. 'When it comes to autumn and winter, it is necessary to 'ask the lonely, widowed, old, sick and sick of the nine tribes who cannot survive on their own, and divide them with thick and heavy weight, so as to save them from the cold'; 'If there are poor people in the same sect who have been mourned for a long time and cannot be buried, they will entangle the people of the sect and act together. There are many examples of this kind of relief to the poor in the history books, such as: '[Yang] Yun received five million from his father's wealth, and his body was made a marquis, all of whom were divided into clans" ("Hanshu Yang Yun Biography"). '[Xun] scattered more than 10,000 of his ancestors to divide the nine ethnic states' ("Hanshu Wang Gong Liang Gong Bao Biography"). '[Zhu Yi] as a secretary, living in a frugal place, Lu gave a total of nine ethnic groups to the township party, and the family died and left wealth" ("Hanshu Xun Officials"). (Xuanbing) obtained Lu Feng, and adopted relatives. The lonely and weak shall be divided among the fields, and they shall have no reserve of stones' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 27/17). '[Ren Kui] received his earnings, and often used them to give relief to his clans and adopt widows and orphans' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 21/11). 'My father is a pottery order, and he has a wealth of 30 million. Father's death, to help the poor in the clan and the city' (Later Han Shu Chong Song Lie Biography)). "[Liao Fu] knows that there is a famine, but he gathers thousands of grains, and uses them for his clan in-laws, and buries those who have died of the epidemic and cannot collect themselves' ("Later Han Shu Fangshu Biography"). The almsgiving and maintenance of the clan members is a natural obligation based on blood relations. "Customs and Customs: Reputation" says that after Dai Youqi gave up his wealth and brother, he 'took his wife out of the guest house to live, and the official pond field was cultivated.' Ying Shao was very unimpressed with this, the reason was that "the Zong family still has to win the field house, Tian Ke is the first porridge and Li Er, why bother the Guanchi guest house." In his opinion, after Dai Youqi gave up his wealth, if life was difficult, he could live on the surplus fields of the clan, so why bother cultivating the official land and living in the guest house? It can be seen that at that time, people thought that it was a matter of course to rely on the clan to solve the difficulties of life. Even some people who are poor and destitute without doing their jobs properly cannot but take care of him. "Lishi" volume 15 "Jin Guangyan's Mother Xu's Chronicle Tablet" records that after the second son of the Xu family, Yongzhi, separated from the family, he squandered his family property and ran away in debt, and the result was that he was able to make ends meet by 'relying on the clan'.

Some of the powerful landlords in the Han Dynasty were mostly the leaders of the powerful clans. Many of their dependent peasants were poor people. These powerful clans often use their concern for the clan's 'health' and 'death' to maintain the unity of the clan and establish their own authoritative position within the clan. Under the cover of the warm patriarchal relationship, the poor people are not only obliged to serve them, but also often become their tools in the countryside. For example, when Emperor Jing, 'there were more than 300 people from the Jinan clan, and they were cunning, and 2,000 stones could not be made' ("Hanshu Cool Officials"); When Emperor Xuan, Yingchuan 'the county surname Yuan, the Chu clan was rampant, the guests were thieves, and the first two thousand stones could not be made of birds' ("Later Han Shu Zhao Guanghan Liebiography"). Some powerful people take advantage of the ancient tradition of supporting widows, widows and loneliness, and even embezzle the property of lonely and weak people with malicious intentions. For example, the Zhou Party's family property is a thousand gold, few orphans, and is raised by the sect, and it is unreasonable to meet it. and long, and not to return their wealth. The party is a county lawsuit, and the lord is returned' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 83/73).

The feudal state has the responsibility of caring for the 'health' and 'death' of the people, which also comes from the ancient tradition. "Zhou Li, Diguan, Da Situ" 'to protect the interest of six to support the people, one day of salesian, two days of old-age care, three days of poverty alleviation, four days of compassion for the poor, five days of relief, six days of prosperity. These six measures to support the people can be said to be a manifestation of the state's function in arranging social life and stabilizing social order. In the Han Dynasty, there was a pension system. "Continuation of the Han Book and Etiquette": "In the mid-autumn month, the county roads are all compared to the people. At the beginning of the year, those who are seventy will be given a jade staff and spread porridge. 'Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty issued an edict in the first year: 'At the beginning of this year, people will ask the elders from time to time, and there is no gift of cloth, wine, and meat, how will the descendants of the world be filial to their relatives?' Today, I heard that the officials should be the recipients, or Chen Su, how can it be called the meaning of pension! Gu is an order. According to Emperor Wen's will, "There is a priest who asks for the county road, and the year is eighty, and he will be given one stone per month of rice, twenty catties of meat, and five buckets of wine." Its ninety have been on, and the fork is given to the silk people two boils, and the silk is three catties' ("Hanshu Wendi Ji"). In the fourth year of Emperor Wu's Yuanjia, the Kanto region was flooded, and the people were hungry and lacking, so the Son of Heaven sent the Xujun Guocang to relieve poverty. is still insufficient, and the rich are recruited to borrow fake loans. They can't save each other, but they are poor people in the west of Guan, and in the south of Chongshuofang, in the new Qinzhong, more than 700,000 people, food and clothing are all dependent on the county officials' ("Hanshu Food and Goods Chronicle"). The emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty gave widows, widows, orphans, solitary people, people who were poor and could not survive on their own. The State also usually provides pensions to those who are too poor to bury. As mentioned above, Emperor Mourning gave the coffin money of the deceased in Henan and Yingchuan, with 3,000 people, and Emperor An gave 5,000 people to the poor and unable to bury the Jingshi. Fork such as Emperor Huan built and three years, with 'the Beijing division of the dead pillow, the county and the county everywhere', the edict 'its family members and poor people have no burial, to the straight, three thousand, three horses of mourning cloth; If there are no relatives, they can be buried in the palace, and the name can be recognized, and the ancestral sacrifice can be set up' ("Later Han Shu Huan Emperor Ji").

In the Han Dynasty, some so-called followers mainly made their political achievements in persuading farmers and arranging the lives of the people. For example, Gong Sui was the Taishou of the Bohai Sea, 'persuaded the people to work in agriculture, ordered the mouth to plant one elm, 100 shallots, and 50 onions, 'one leek, two mothers, and five chickens', and at the same time 'opened a warehouse to fake the poor', so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment ("Hanshu Follower Biography"). Huang Ba is the Taishou of Yingchuan, "so that the post office officials are all chickens and dolphins, in order to support the widows and the poor", "the widows and widows are lonely and have no burial, the township is written and the tyrant is the district" ("Hanshu Follower Biography"). The fifth visit was Zhangye Taishou, in the case of a famine year, "the visit is to open a warehouse to save its open", the county officials think that it is necessary to get the permission of the imperial court, "the visit said: "If you have to report, it is an abandonment." Tai Shoule saved the people with one body!' Then he came out of the valley and endowed people. Emperor Shun's Seal Book Jiazhi' (Book of the Later Han Dynasty, 76/66). Facts have shown that wherever the people's livelihood can be better arranged, the local social order will be relatively stable, and production will be able to develop.

However, it should be pointed out that the feudal state's concern for the people's 'health' and 'death' has great limitations. Because the feudal state is essentially the power of the exploiting class, the reason why it has to take measures to help the poor and widows and lonely is, in the final analysis, to alleviate social contradictions and maintain its own rule. This article does not address the consumption of the royal family when analyzing the household consumption of the various classes and strata of the Han Dynasty. In fact, whether it was 'health' or 'death', the luxury of the royal family's life greatly exceeded that of the aristocracy, officials and landlords. And this consumption is based on the exploitation of the vast number of peasants. The feudal state can show concern for the peasants' 'health' and 'send them to death', but it will never give up the exploitation and oppression of the peasants. When mourning the emperor, Bao Xuan's book said that 'the people had seven deaths', of which three deaths were 'the county officials were more responsible for paying taxes and taxes', 'the greedy officials merged with the public, and they were not able to be taken', and 'the harsh officials were served, and the peasants were lost' ("Hanshu Bao Propaganda"), all of which were related to the exploitation and oppression of the feudal palace. Although Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling repeatedly ordered relief to the poor and the burial of the dead, it was precisely during their reign that they 'collected tax money per mu' and 'ten yuan per mu tax' ("Later Han Shu, Emperor Huan Ji, Zhang Rang Lie's Biography"), which increased the burden of land rent on the peasants. Although there are some people in the ruling class who sincerely care about the people's welfare, even the feudal state's limited relief to the poor peasants has often been completely changed by the hands of some officials. In the fifth year of Emperor Yongyuan's edict, he said: 'In the past, the poor people in the county and country took their clothes and shoes as their money, and the right of the pride was profitable. The edict is real, and the chief officials cannot bow to their relatives, but even more conscripted and gathered, so that they lose their farming and disturb the people' ("The Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Emperor"). It can be seen that in many places, the poor not only do not benefit from the relief, but are greatly harassed.

epilogue

In any society, the consumption structure can basically be divided into subsistence consumption, development consumption and hedonic consumption. Household consumption in the Han Dynasty, in addition to the subsistence consumption and pleasure consumption we analyzed above, should have included development consumption, that is, the consumption paid by people to improve their own quality and develop their labor ability, such as the cost of receiving education and training skills, and so on. Due to space constraints, this aspect has been omitted.

The analysis of the consumption of different classes and strata in the Han Dynasty shows that the vast number of peasants, as producers of material wealth, could hardly maintain the minimum subsistence consumption of their families in normal years. For them, hedonic consumption and development consumption are not possible. The heavy taxation and forced labor of the feudal state and the frequent natural disasters made their lives fall into the predicament of being without clothes and food. Neither the mutual assistance of families and clans, nor the relief of the feudal state, could change their tragic fate. The aristocracy, officials, and landlords were not engaged in production, but relied on the income from exploitation, and not only lived a life of poverty and luxury, but also squandered a great deal of material wealth after death. Producers receive the least share of consumption, while non-producers receive the largest share of consumption, which inevitably leads to social contradictions and conflicts. When the vast number of peasants marry their wives and children and are displaced from the ravines due to hunger and cold, social production will not be able to operate normally at all. 'Although the poor give them land, they still sell it for cheap, and the poor become thieves' (Hanshu Gongyu Biography). As the social crisis deepened, peasant uprisings became inevitable.