明末清初・江南の都市の「無頼」をめぐる社会関係 : 打行と脚夫

抄録

This article deals with the nature and social relationship of "Bully Groups" (ta-hang 打行 and chiao-fu 脚夫) in prefecture, county, market cities and towns. Ta-hang as a group were controlled by a leader who employed their forces in private disputes, guarding plaintiffs or defendants in a court case, and robbed peasants of their crops and handicraft products which the latter carried in to sell at market towns (chen 鎮). In such work they were employed by a wide range of people, but their strongest permanent ties were to the urban elites or "men of influence at the prefectural county level" (i.e. gentry 郷紳). Since such influential people were closely connected with prefectural and county administration, their tie with urban "Bully Groups", was that of protector-client, master-sarvant relationship. But these "Bully Groups" had their own means of finding work and did not completely rely upon urban elites. By the mid-Ch'ing period these ta-hang that appeared in the late Ming period had cesased to function as bullies employed by other people and had turned into organised gangsters. Chiao-fu were carriers employed in shipping and discharging at marriage and funeral ceremonies. In the early Ch'ing period such carrier groups were able to demand exorbitant prices for their services through the use of violence. On account of such abuses "men of influence at the market town level" who dominated urban society by providing money for bridges, buildings etc., took the lead in exercising control over these unruly chiao-fu. For example men of influence in Chiang-wan chen 江湾鎮 attributed the abuses of chiao-fu to their semi-unemployed state, and raised funds from the propertied class in the market town to provide them with allowances. The growth of urban "Bully Groups" was based on the following two preconditions ; first, class- differentiation of the peasntry, and second, their having a means of living in a city. The second condition was fulfilled by the growth of commerce and increase in number of landowners who lived in prefectural or county capitals.