A multifaceted study of the family and 'mobility' in ancient China: for a breakthrough in the static view of the family.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03126
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: History of Asia and Africa
• Research Institution: Meiji University (2018-2022); Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (2017)
• Principal Investigator: SUZUKI Naomi 明治大学, 研究・知財戦略機構(駿河台), 研究推進員 (50643962)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 鷲尾 祐子 立命館大学, 文学部, 非常勤講師 (60642345)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 世帯 / 家族 / 奉公（ほうこう） / 結婚 / 移動 / 年齢 / 社会的流動性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study clarified the nature of families and households in ancient Chinese society and the spatial and social mobility of their members, confirming the high degree of social mobility in ancient society through the reconstruction and deciphering of the resident registers and various account books and documents in bamboo and wooden slips . Specifically, we found that from Qin to Han there were a certain number of people who moved between households through apprenticeship, that apprentices were treated as pseudo-family members, and that underage males served as lower-ranking officials in local government, and that the apprenticeship or appointment of minors was an occasion for social status change. In addition, it was difficult for men and women in the Three Kingdoms Wu to stay married for long periods of time, and households were often reorganized through remarriages due to bereavement or other reasons, and women often moved from one household to another.

Free Research Field

中国古代史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

前近代中国において身分や職業などの社会的流動性の高さはかねてから先行研究によって指摘されていたが、古代社会における社会的流動性についての実証的研究は極めて少なかった。本研究によって古代社会における社会的流動性の高さが明らかになったことで、他の時代や地域との比較研究が可能になった。