原文
买官田
东莞袁伯益令南安,欲捐赎鍰买官田,田在某乡,则以某乡为仓,立仓长以司出入。春夏青黄不接,米价高,则开仓发粜。其银随以买田,如官能于赎鍰外设法多买,上台量行奖励,以示将来。官任其劳,上稽其力,十年之外,可使田谷如京,民无不足之患。
白话
中文
东莞人袁伯益在担任南安县令时,提议捐出(或利用)罪犯赎罪的罚金来购买官府的田地。田地买在哪个乡,就在那个乡设立粮仓,并任命仓长来管理粮食的收入和支出。每年春夏两季,旧粮吃完新粮未收(青黄不接)导致米价上涨时,就打开粮仓,出售粮食(平抑粮价)。卖粮所得的银钱随即用来购买更多的田地。如果官员能够在赎金之外,另外设法购买更多田地,上级官府应根据情况给予奖励,以作示范和鼓励。地方官员承担这项工作的辛劳,上级官府考核他们的成效。这样坚持十年以上,就可以使这些官田储备的谷物像京城一样充裕,百姓也就不会有缺粮的忧患了。
英文
Yuan Boyi from Dongguan, while serving as the magistrate of Nan'an County, proposed donating (or utilizing) funds from fines paid by offenders for redemption to purchase official fields (government-owned land). Wherever the fields were bought in a particular township, a granary would be established in that same township, and a granary manager ("Cangzhang") appointed to oversee the inflow and outflow of grain. During the spring and summer months each year, when the old grain supply dwindles before the new harvest is ready ("Qing Huang Bu Jie"), causing rice prices to rise, the granary would be opened to sell grain (to stabilize prices). The silver obtained from selling grain would then be immediately used to purchase more fields. If officials could find additional ways, beyond using the redemption funds, to buy even more land, the higher authorities should grant rewards accordingly, serving as an example and encouragement for the future. Local officials would undertake this labor, and higher authorities would assess their effectiveness. By persisting in this manner for over ten years, the grain reserves from these official fields could become as abundant as those in the capital, and the common people would no longer suffer from the worry of food shortages.
文化解读/分析
此条目记载了东莞人袁伯益在南安任上提出的一个利用“赎鍰”(罪犯赎罪金或罚金)购买“官田”以建立地方储备粮仓的治理方案。这体现了清初地方官员试图解决粮食安全和稳定社会秩序的一种思路,具有重要的社会经济和制度史意义:
- 常平仓思想的实践与创新:核心机制类似于中国传统的“常平仓”制度,即在粮价低时购入、粮价高时抛售以平抑物价、备荒济民。其创新之处在于提出了明确的资金来源(赎鍰)和资产增值方式(以卖粮款持续购买田地),旨在建立一个可持续运作的粮食储备体系,而不仅仅是依赖财政拨款或临时购粮。
- 以农养仓的长效机制:方案的核心是通过购买官田,将粮食储备的基础建立在土地和农业产出上,而非单纯的货币储备或粮食库存。这是一种“以农养仓”、“以田养仓”的思路,期望通过土地的持续产出保障粮仓的稳定,具有长远规划的特点。
- 地方财政与资源利用:将“赎鍰”这一特定财政收入导向公共福利和基础设施建设(粮食储备),反映了地方治理中对有限资源的创造性运用。这为研究清代地方财政的来源与用途提供了实例。
- 官员考核与激励机制:明确提出上级应对有效执行此政策的官员进行“量行奖励”,并将官员的“劳”与上级的“稽”(考核)联系起来。这体现了对建立正向激励机制以推动地方有效治理的认识。
- 民本思想与社会关怀:最终目标是“民无不足之患”,直接指向解决百姓的温饱问题,体现了儒家传统的民本思想和对社会稳定的关切。在经历明末清初战乱和动荡后,粮食安全是维系民心和社会秩序的关键。
- 区域适用性:虽然是袁伯益在南安(可能指江西或福建等地)的建议,但被收录于《广东新语》,表明屈大均认为此法对广东或其他地区具有借鉴意义,反映了当时社会普遍关注粮食问题和寻求有效治理模式的时代背景。
关键词
买官田, 官田, 袁伯益, 东莞, 南安, 赎鍰, 常平仓, 粮仓, 粮食储备, 粮食安全, 地方治理, 平抑物价, 备荒, 以农养仓, 财政, 官员考核, 激励机制, 民本思想, 清初