摘要
明初制定的激變良民律將民變發生的原因歸結於牧民之官的失職與不法行為，並對相關責任官員規定了嚴厲懲罰，這種以民為本的立法旨趣是傳統帝國道德形象在法律中的具體呈現；然而，明代中後期至清代雍乾以後，隨著社會矛盾的激化，各地民變次數、頻度、烈度不斷增長，「激變良民」律由此演變成了「聚眾抗法律」，其懲罰重點也由官員轉變為民眾，這種立法旨趣及其實踐的演變，體現了傳統儒教帝國道德形象與其現實形象之間的悖離。
The statute of irritated residents enacted in the early Ming dynasty attributed mass uprising to government officials’ corruption or incompetence, and it inflicted severe punishment to officials concerned. The spirit of the legislation-regarding people as foundation of the regime─forms a moral image clearly portrayed in the traditional imperial law. Since the middle and late Ming to the Qing Dynasty, however, the frequency and strength of mass uprising had been increasing with the intensification of social contradictions, and the statute of“irritated residents”was turned into“anti-law mob,”of which the target was turned from officials into the public. The transformation of the purport and practice of legislation reflected deviation
between the moral image of the traditional Confucian empire and its realistic image.
關鍵詞
激變良民律、道德形象、現實形象
Irritated Residents、Moral Image、Realistic Image