Abstract:The meaning of Yaqian (衙前) in the Song Dynasty is very complicated, and it was attached to many civil and military ranks in names such as Yaqian junjiang (衙前军将), Yaqian jiangli (衙前将吏), Yaqian yi (衙前役) and so on. It roughly follows the Yaqian junjiang of the Tang and Five Dynasties, and traces back to the old system of the Five Dynasties. It was related to the Song Dynasty Yifa (役法), and the original meaning and extension of the term Yaqian were closely related to the service system of the Song Dynasty. From the perspective of its functions, the rank of both Yaqian junjiang and Yaqian yi had experience of taking the charge of state-organized transportations. Yaqian yi had a duty to serve, but could also refer to paid exemption from service. Yaqian junjiang belonged to the military officer system, so Yaqian yi can be collectively referred to as “Taxes and generals”. The old Yaqian yifa (衙前役法) of the Song Dynasty included Yaqian junjiang of the military attache system, kesi (客司), and tongyin guan (通引官), and Dukongmu guan (都孔目官) of the official system. Yaqian yi mainly refers to Lizheng yaqian (里正衙前), Yalu yaqian (押录衙前), Xianghu yaqian (乡户衙前), Gumu yaqian (雇募衙前), and Changming yaqian (长名衙前) recruited through military service or recruitment. The Yaqian yi had both the characteristics of Clerk and official service. It designated the duty to serve, and also the possibility of promotion to Yaqian junjiang, then replenishing lower-level government officials. Yalu yaqian came from a county government official who had a prominent role as a staff member. Although Yaqian junjiang designated a military attache, its actual function was to supervise state-owned assets. It could also be transferred to Sansi junjiang (三司军将) to engage in financial management and perform a prominent role as a staff member. There was an obvious trend in the Song Dynasty toward the specialization and officialization of Yaqian yi in Song Dynasty, but its functions were more directed towards the subordinate officialdom of the names of Yaqian. Yaqian yi or Yaqian liren (衙前吏人) and Yaqian junjiang in Song Dynasty could be called public officials. This was not only because of the lack of clarity in the writing of the texts of the Song people and the confusion of the concept of Yaqian, but also because of the interlaced characteristics of officials and services in their functions and replenishment. Yaqian jiangli, Yaqian yi, etc. all centered on the work of subordinates. Yaqian yi could be called “Clerk service” or “Labor subordinates” and Yaqian jiangli took charge of bulky goods as an important position with obvious subordinates. In the Song Huizong period, Yaqian junjiang was referred to as a legacy of the Five Dynasties. In the Southern Song Dynasty, although Yaqian junjiang and Yaqian liren were divided into two categories, they were sometimes confused. The militarization of financial affairs in the Song Dynasty was a product of the special political and historical environment at that time, and the intuitive application of Yaqian was to be in charge of the official property and the main escort of the government. Wang Anshi put forward the idea of “the unity of clerks and officials”, which made the Yaqian junjiang in charge of the work of bulky goods a characteristic of the times. “Taxers and generals” had both the connotations of the Song Dynasty Service System and military finance. Although Yaqian yi and Yaqian junjiang tended to share the same origin and migration, their social roles and status were quite different, reflecting the differences between their value demands and government needs. Yaqian yi showed the characteristics of subjective professionalism, while the subordinate staff of Yaqian junjiang depended entirely on national financial needs. The subordinate staff of Yaqian junjiang highlighted the fact that the path of Yaqian yi to high-quality officials was very narrow.
董春林. 税户军将:宋代的衙前将吏及衙前役[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2022, 52(3): 34-45.
Dong Chunlin. Taxes and Generals: Yaqian jiangli and Yaqian yi in the Song Dynasty. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2022, 52(3): 34-45.