In the Qing Dynasty, he called him "untouchables" except for the four people, and explained in detail which groups were included
A few days ago, the author published an article entitled "Social Classes in the Qing Dynasty", which expounded on the social class structure of the Qing Dynasty. Due to space constraints, the last stratum – the untouchables – is also covered, but not in detail. I would like to add here.
For centuries"Inviolability"Definition.
In the hierarchical system of the ** period and the interpersonal relations of the whole society, the distinction between the high and the low is very important. In ancient literature,"Inferior"The term has two different meanings.
Humble"The first meaning refers to the relationship between the government and the people. Left Biography Cloud"The people are triangular, why is there no order of dignity and humility"；"Xunzi" cloud"There is no difference between dignity and inferiority, and there is a difference between high and low"and so on, all of which are talking about the relationship between the government and the people. The officials and nobles and the people are cheap, thus emphasizing the dignity of the name. The cheap here refers to ordinary people, so I have to say it"Cheap"is generalized.
Inviolable"The second meaning refers to individuals with a particularly low legal and social status in society, who have no independent personality, and the hierarchy they form. This applies not only to civil servants, but also to ordinary people of lower status. Therefore, they are in the absolute sense"subordinates"。This article will discuss"Subordination"of this meaning.
In each dynasty, what types of people were considered"Untouchables"？Every dynasty is different. Female babies have existed for a long time, and they are at the bottom of the ladder, both legally and in terms of social status. However, it wasn't until the Han Dynasty that slaves and maids began to be commonly referred to"Untouchables"。During the Song dynasty, the law retained different names for slaves and commoners, but these groups were not legally called"Untouchables"。
During the Ming Dynasty,"Good and cheap"Labeling becomes an important part of the law. Untouchables"The term mainly refers to slaves, who are associated with the previous ones"Untouchables"Poles apart. In Qing law, slaves and servants remained the main pillars of the untouchables, but many others were also explicitly included in the untouchables. Immunity"The concept was officially legitimized.
The Qing Dynasty law stipulated"Good and evil", that is, to divide people in society into two categories:"Good guys"with"Bad guys"。So-called"Four peoples"refers to soldiers, merchants, cooks and townspeople, and the so-called"Untouchables", according to the Laws of the Qing Dynasty, means:"Slaves, i.e., lawyers and servants"。Therefore, the earliest mention of untouchables in the Qing Dynasty was slaves.
In addition, untouchables, beggars, ninth-level fishermen and Xuhu are also included in the category of untouchables, but they only exist in the local area and do not belong to the mainstream group. In addition, there are many people who do not belong to the mainstream, such as slaves, lawyers, civil servants, to put it bluntly, clerks, cavalrymen, pedestrians, forbidden pedestrians, stickmen, caterers, etc.
Untouchables"Vulnerability in terms of legal and social status.
The rules and regulations of the Qing Dynasty's Ministry of Households, Rites, Internal Affairs, and Criminal Departments deprived the untouchables of many of their political rights:
The first is the inequality in legal status. The laws and regulations of the Qing Dynasty provided for specific laws of good and evil. The law of adultery stipulates that a slave or maid who commits adultery with a hard-working woman is guilty of adulteryAn industrious man who commits adultery with another man's maidservant is reduced to adultery. The law on assault states that if a slave or maid beats a virtuous man, the punishment shall be one degree lighter than that of a mortal;If a virtuous man beats a slave or a maid, the punishment shall be one level lighter than the law for beating a mortal.
However, according to the legal system of the Qing Dynasty, slaves or untouchables could not be killed by anyone"。If a hard-working person beats or deliberately kills another person's **, she will also be sentenced to death.
Second, the marital relationship is unequal. The laws and regulations of the Qing Dynasty, the "Hu Law", stipulate that a slave who marries a hard-working person will be given eighty rodsIt is a misdemeanor for a slave owner to marry a hard-working person. As a result, in many civil registers, genealogies and family laws, the following provisions can often be found:"The poorest are not allowed to marry the lowly"。
Third, there is the unequal right to enrol and take exams. Untouched people are not allowed to enter the government, so they cannot sit for examinations and cannot donate to prison. According to the record of "Daqing Huidian - Ministry of Rites":"Men and long-term workers, soldiers, horses, alms, horses, fast feet, forbidden feet, dwarfs, archers' descendants, lifters, slaves, musicians, beggars, Xu households, ** people and other non-native people are not allowed to take the test, and other people who are not from their original nationality are not allowed to take the test, and they will be punished severely. "
Fourth, there is inequality in clothing. In the ninth year of Shunzhi: only slaves were allowed to wear cocoon silk, brown wool, arrowroot cloth, shuttle cloth and sheepskin, and slaves were not allowed to wear spinning, silk, silk, satin thread, silk and all kinds of fine wool. The Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties made detailed regulations on the clothing of untouchables, so that people knew at a glance that they were untouchables.
In short, the different types of untouchables in the Qing Dynasty had six things in common: first, they were divided into masters and slaves;Second, they are not allowed to eat or live with good people;The third is that it must be served;Fourth, it is forbidden to marry a good citizen;Fifth, they are not allowed to take the examination and apply for donationsSixth, there are restrictions on dress.
Dalits are different, and so are their status.
According to their legal, political, social and economic status, untouchables can be broadly divided into four classes:
First of all, slaves were the most typical pariahs of the Qing Dynasty. All the laws of the Qing Dynasty regarding the relationship between good and evil were based on slaves and maids. They are the property of certain owners and estates, and have no independent personality;Their marriages were determined by their masters, and the title and rank of the master-son relationship extended to their husband's children. The status of a lawyer is not exactly the same as that of a slave, but it is also very similar. Therefore, among the untouched people, slaves and lawyers had the lowest status.
This is followed by traffickers, beggars, fishermen of the nine castes and Shudullas, who have no fixed owners and do not buy and sell as they please. They had no fixed masters, did not buy and sell with others, could live independently without marrying a loved one, and generally lived better than slaves and servants. Among the untouchables, they belonged to a slightly higher class than slaves and servants and were collectively called"Dead people"Hierarchy.
Thirdly, the indentured servants belong to large clans and have no independent personality. However, they serve their masters under certain conditions, and the object and duration of their services are fixed. In particular, it should be noted that they are mainly dependent on the productive labor of their own families for their livelihood, and are economically close to the tenants, and have a higher status among the untouchables, and are collectively called"Indentured servants"Hierarchy.
Fourth, servants, including *** family members and the elderly, are a type of slave, but they are also slaves of **, and there is a clear difference from slaves engaged in labor. A considerable number of them also often use their power to oppress the people. Therefore, they have the most special status and the highest rank among the untouchables, so they are collectively called"Pawn"。
Once this concept is explained, we can get a good understanding of the hierarchy of Qing society. Coupled with the status of the different classes introduced earlier, we can get a general idea of the social structure of the Qing Dynasty.