What does it mean that social mobility is more frequent in Song Dynasty?

The frequent social mobility in Song Dynasty refers to the emergence of a large number of floating population, the development of commodity economy and the emergence of capitalism. Land annexation intensified; Popularization of imperial examination system.

In many places, "there are fewer customers and more customers, and the exchanges are uncertain, especially the words are difficult to remember", and all four "scholars, farmers and businessmen" have joined the mobile team. Scholars travel around. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Lv Zuqian presided over Yanzhou Sinology. "Scholars from afar are all people." Farmers can also get rid of the shackles of household registration and land, "let them travel around and choose their favorite lifestyle"; In Kaifeng, Tokyo, "there are bamboo and wood craftsmen in bridges, cities and streets, called grocers, and even handyman ... Li Luo gathers together and waits for people's call". These craftsmen who work in cities also come from all corners of the country; Needless to say, the mobility of businessmen, in Hangzhou, "most of the rich rooms are reserved for people from other counties. The Phoenix Mountain in this county is called Keshan, and its mountain is high and beautiful, covered with shade." Most of the people who stayed inside were businessmen, sea lords, giant ships with masts, safe and sound in the foggy sea, and four-way department stores gathered without toes. Since then, many people have got married. "

Frequent population movements made an official in the Northern Song Dynasty discover: "Today, there are powerful people who live in various places and are scattered all over the world. Their hands are unwilling to accept the diligence of thunder and they don't know the joy of their fields. They are clever, skilled, vendors and tourists. Those who are unreasonable are not arrogant and impetuous, but kill people with goods. " Officials expressed concern about this, but at that time, society was used to the flow of population. "There is no one in the city to blame, the door is closed, and the county officials and township officials are incompetent." The laws of the Song Dynasty also recognized people's right to move freely. "If you live in a place for one year, you will be attached to it", that is, as long as you can live in a place for one year, you can be naturalized and become a local hukou.

It is also worth pointing out that Mr. Cheng Minsheng, a scholar of Song history, said: "Another meaning of freedom of movement is that residents cannot be forced to move. Qin, Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming and Qing all had large-scale official organized immigration activities, but not once in Song Dynasty. Occasionally, there are motions, and they all go away. It cannot be said that the government respects the freedom of movement of residents. "

Let's start with "vertical flow". Vertical mobility is the mobility between social classes. Mr. Liu Zijian, a scholar studying in the United States, said: "Since the Song Dynasty, China has entered modern times, and the class division is far less strict and rigid than before the Tang Dynasty. The mobility between classes is relatively large, the clan has declined, and the civilian family has risen, which are similar or similar to modern society. " The disintegration of gate politics and the all-round development of the imperial examination system provided a smooth channel for the upward promotion of civilians.

The richness of weeping in the Song Dynasty is not only manifested as "Tian Shelang in the morning and an emperor in the evening". A series of structural social changes, such as the disintegration of manor economy and the development of commodity economy, have given everyone the opportunity to change their status. The poor can become rich, and the rich can become poor overnight. For example, "Chen, a villager in Wuxi County, Changzhou City, used to sell tapirs and later became extremely rich"; And "Jiangsu and Zhejiang giant rooms, one for Tao Zhu (referring to wealthy businessmen) and the other for Qian Lou (referring to poor people)". Society presents a state of "the rich and the poor have no fixed potential" flowing up and down.

Tenants can also become landowners through their own labor. "Rural people, most of whom are landless families, have to ask landlords for farmland", but tenants have the opportunity to accumulate wealth. As long as they can eat and wear warm clothes, buy three or five acres of farmland houses and become household names, they want to leave their main households. There are some tenants. "They are all tenants. Because of the benefits of renting Li Zhuang, they are building large and advanced houses today, making them more luxurious." There is only the threshold of wealth between classes, but there is no permanent separation of identity. "The farmhouse has no fixed owner, and there is money to buy and no money to sell."

There is no longer a strict boundary between "scholars, farmers, workers and businessmen". "The ancients were divided into four people, regardless of future generations. A scholar in ancient times was a scholar, and only the son of Shang can be a scholar in later generations. Great changes have taken place since the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

In fact, Song people can see clearly the rapid flow between social classes. Wang Yinglin said in Sleeping Records: "Under the system of the first king, those who were noble became rich, while those who were humble were not rich. Rich and poor, divided into four, began in later generations. " The "later generations" here refers to the Song Dynasty. "The rich and the poor are divided into four" means that since the Song Dynasty, these four can be freely combined, and the poor can be valuable; Cheap people can be expensive and rich; The rich may be expensive or cheap; Nobles may be rich or poor; The rich and the poor are constantly changing. According to the concept of modern sociology, social stratum is not "hardened". Therefore, society is full of vitality.