Ancient Social Welfare Institutions Explore the unique appearance of the Ming Dynasty Nursing Home
of the Ming Dynasty"Nursing home"In fact, it was a social institution set up by the ancient imperial court, which was basically similar to the Lonely Garden in the Southern Liang Dynasty, the Chou Yuan Garden in the Tang Dynasty, the Anji in the Song Dynasty, and the Jiyuan Mansion in the Yuan Dynasty, mainly used to receive lonely old people and poor beggars. The hospital was built in the Song Dynasty, and Zhu Xi recorded in detail the "Shengjiang Xiyunsi Hospital" in the "Hui Nunnery Collection", but the expansion and scale of the hospital were completed in the Ming Dynasty.
Nursing home"It was built in the Hongwu period, and its function declined in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in poverty, is well aware of the people's suffering, so the emperor is not only very concerned about the living conditions of ordinary people, but also very concerned about the insecurity of the lives of the lonely and widowed elderly, and he is unable to support the survival of the poor people because of his disability, so he will mention the problem of lonely elderly and beggars many times in Zhongshu Province.
According to the record of "Ming Taizu Record", Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang Hongwu first year (1368),"Widows, orphans, disabled people, and those who are sick and unable to support themselves will be given pension by the government", Hongwu 5th year (1373),"It is proposed that all counties and districts set up orphanages"Soon the orphanage was renamed Jiyuan Lifting Hospital, and the purpose of adoption was changed"Orphans, disabled people, sick people who cannot live alone"Since then, the mechanism of Jiyuan Nursing Home has been established, and Jiyuan Nursing Home has been promoted nationwide as a national charity Since then, the mechanism of Jiyuan Nursing Home has been established, and Jiyuan Nursing Home has been promoted nationwide as a national charity.
In order to ensure the smooth implementation of this system, Zhu Yuanzhang is prevented from writing it into the "Da Ming Law", stipulating"Widows, widows, lonely and seriously ill people, poor families with no relatives, unable to survive on their own, and those who should have been raised by the government but have not been supported by the government, 60 people will be sent to give them food and clothing, reflecting the official theft, so as to reduce the theory of self-theft"。At the same time, ** is required to check the functioning of the foster family upon its arrival.
In February of the first year of Jianwen (1399), Zhu Yunwen issued an edict:"Widows, widows, lonely and poor people who have no cones to stand on their laurels are given three stones of rice every year and adopted by their relatives. Those who are disabled and cannot survive are given three stones of rice every year and adopted by relatives. This again shows that foster care is primarily for people with disabilities, while widows, orphans, the poor, and those who cannot afford to support themselves are given to relatives for adoption with the help of the imperial court.
Ming Xiaozong did not dare to underestimate it"Ancestry"Hospitals soon spread across the country. It was established in April of the 14th year of Yongle (1416)."Huimin Medical Bureau, Jiyuan is located in Tianxia County", in the fifteenth year of Hongzhi (1502), Ming Xiaozong ordered Zhu Youzhen"With Yan Suicheng and other officials in the Yan border guard, each with a leak! "As a result, the agency began to spread from the prefectures and counties in the interior to the Yanbian guards.
However, in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, due to the influence of the imperial court's financial situation, the construction of raising households gradually began to decline. During the Wanli period, although the imperial court did not dare to oppose the ancestral system, due to financial difficulties, it had to limit the number of adoptions according to the local financial situation, and the function of raising households gradually began to decline.
The number and size of nursing homes are generally decreasing.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, ordered the establishment of a consignment during the Hongwu period and formulated a standard for the distribution of food and clothing, he did not clearly stipulate the scale and number of consignments in each county. As a result, during the 200 years of the Ming Dynasty, the size and number of households raised in each county varied greatly.
The above data show that the number of heart cultivation halls in the Ming Dynasty gradually decreased over time. However, in the Wanli period, the number of heart-nourishing halls in some provinces increased, which shows that the imperial court paid more attention to the construction of the heart-nourishing halls during the Wanli period.
According to local historical records, most of the old people's homes were built in the Hongwu period, eventually abandoned, and rebuilt or rebuilt during the Wanli period. For example, the "Yuanzhou District Chronicle" records:"Yang Jiyuan, one hundred and thirty steps in front of the west gate of the district, Zhang Renjian in the fifth year of Hongwu, is the main house, three rooms for each door"。Another example is recorded in the "Huizhou Mansion Chronicle":"Yang Jiyuan, in the west of the city, the old in the south of the city, Hongwu 14 years of the district order Zhang Gongjian, moved back"。
As for the scale of the hospital, although most records do not reflect it, from the limited records, the scale of the hospital is not the same in various places, as recorded in the "Linzhang County Chronicle"."The hospital is on the west side of the east street of the county seat, with a length of 12 zhang and 8 meters from east to west, and a width of 3 zhang and 7 meters from north to south. "There are five main rooms, three south rooms, five west rooms, and three north rooms. Another example"Yangji Hospital, Liyuqiao, West Song Gongyuan Ancient Town", also located in the "Shaoxing Mansion Chronicles". The east and west courtyards belong to the West Shanyin, belong to the East Huiji, and there are 100 rooms in each room"。
It can be seen from the records of documents such as "Famous Ministers' Economic Records" and "Examination of Characters in the Provinces of this Dynasty" that the construction and operation of Yangjiayuan in the Wanli period occupies a very important position in the resume of the local government. At the same time, judging from the existing records, there are more records about Yang Jiayuan in the Wanli period than in other periods, and the status of Yang Jiayuan after Wanli is mostly large"Decline"。
As mentioned earlier, Jianye Garden was built relatively successfully in the Hongwu period, after the Jianwen Emperor gradually declined, after Renxuan more and more declined, although there was reconstruction in the Wanli period, but after Wanli was basically abandoned, it was difficult to rebuild. This also shows that the decline of Jianye Park in the Ming Dynasty was mainly related to the importance of the rulers.
Adoption of standards and organizational management.
The operation of foster families in the Ming Dynasty also varied in different historical periods, mainly due to the different degrees of attention paid to foster families by local governments and the different economic conditions in different places.
Although most of the foster homes in the Ming Dynasty took in the lonely, widowed and disabled, it was impossible to take in all the lonely, widowed and disabled people. In the fifth year of Hongwu (1373), Zhu Yuanzhang announced"Those who are lonely, lame, sick and unable to support themselves are adopted"。In the second year of Hongwu (1379), Zhu Yuanzhang promulgated the "Da Ming Law" again, stipulating"Those who are lonely, widowed, seriously ill, and poor and unable to support themselves", i.e. only orphans and disabled people who are unable to support themselves and have no relatives to take in them are allowed to stay in nursing homes.
As for what it means"Orphans, disabled people, sick people who cannot live alone", the "Compilation and Interpretation of the Laws of the Ming Dynasty" clearly stipulates:"Sick and disabled, blind in one eye, broken limb, etc.; Seriously ill, blind, broken limbs, etc"。
Adoptive parents take in more beggars than the disabled and the elderly, because begging seriously affects social stability. During the Chenghua period, Ming Xianzong said"Men and women, old and young, with or without family members and outsiders. "。He hopes to will"Men and women, old and young, whether they have family members and outsiders' income, are all given to the almshouse", but soon realized that this could not be included in the beggar's capital, Ming Xianzong"The quasi-provincial government collects the capital of the beggars' house and sends food back to the township for outsiders"。
In addition, according to historical records, the imperial court formulated different standards for rice and grain according to the different physical and age conditions of the adoptees, from one person to a family of four, from ** to children, and different family members, as shown in the table above.
If it is only by the government, Yang Jiyuan's entire world will undoubtedly become a heavy burden on the imperial court, so in addition to the subsidies of the imperial court, Yang Jiyuan must also own a large amount of farmland to ensure the stability of Yang Jiyuan**. For example, the "Shaoxing Mansion Chronicles" records:"Yang Ji originated from the west of Liyu Bridge. Each has a garden to grow vegetables"。
At the same time, in the operation of the hospital, according to the "Guoyi", "Ming Orthodoxy" and other historical records, the magistrate should personally count the number of hospitalizations every month, ** two assessments in a month, if one person abandons his post, the chief official should be severely reprimanded, omission of more than two people, to be held accountable, omission of more than five people, the state ** to pass the assessment, the chief official to be strictly reprimanded, omission of more than two people, to investigate the responsibility, omission of more than five people, the state ** to pass the assessment twice a month, regardless of **IQ, as long as one person is missed, will be severely reprimanded by the superiors in the province.
In short,"Guards"In the Ming Dynasty it was an extremely important social welfare organization, surpassing the previous dynasty in size and number, mainly due to Zhu Yuanzhang, but over time, the importance of the guard gradually diminished, because the later emperors did not fully understand the suffering of the common people, and it was not until the end of the Ming Dynasty that the guard was abandoned.