Research On The Phenomenon Of Infanticide In Fujian Road Of The Song Dynasty

“Infanticide” refers to the phenomenon that parents refuse to fulfill their maintenance obligations and abandon or unwanted the infants in ancient Chinese society.The ancient phenomenon has a long history,not just appeared in the Song Dynasty.As early as in archaic times,there was the behavior of killing infants to curb population growth.Song Dynasty is an era of great development in the field of ancient politics,economy,culture,and technology.In the meantime,the formation and development of Neo-Confucianism constructed a strict feudal ethical system with the integration of Buddhism and Taoism,and became officia l guiding ideology after the Southern Song Dynasty and had a profound impact on society.Thus,the Song Dynasty is a transitional period of ancient C hinese feudal society,which has important historical significance.In the Song Dynasty,Fujian developed rapidly in the field of economic and cultural.It seemed counterintuitive that there was a widespread and severe "infanticide" phenomenon in Fujian Province in the Song Dynasty when the ideal of the more sons,the more blessing "was advocating in the ancient agricultural society.This paper studies the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics,causes,solutions and social historical influence of the “infanticide” phenomenon in Fujian Road.In order to analysis the phenomenon deeply,the study is not limited to the Song Dynasty and it also traces the phenomenon before the Song Dynasty.It is helpful to clarify the development of the “infanticide” phenomenon,so as to better reveal the roots of the phenomenon in Fujian Road.In the Song Dynasty,the distribution characteristics of the “infanticide” phenomenon shows the characteristic in time that it is more severe in the reign of Song Renzong,Song Huizong,Song Gaozong,Song Xiaozong and Song N ingzong,In the space,the four inland states appeals more severe than the of the four coastal states,so does the countryside than the city.By a comprehensive analysis based on the human-environment perspective,the procreation conception of people lived in Fujian Road in the Song Dynasty is influenced by the natural geographical environment,the people’s economic situation and customs cultural.The “infanticide” is mainly led by the shortage of cultivated land,poor soil,heavy taxes and corvee and land annexation.Meanwhile,social unrest,intrepidity of people,disregard of law and the subtle influence of social customs further exacerbated the generalization and seriousness of “infanticide”.The scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty have a great deal comment on “infanticide”,they thought that is demoralizing and villainous and strongly critique and resist that.At the same time,they also actively proposed some corresponding resolving measures and advice.For example,some scholar-bureaucrats suggested setting official fields to help poor families to ra ise children.Although some recommendations were not adopted,it offered certain references for the solution to the “infanticide”.Apart from the scholar-bureaucrat,the central and local governments as well as civil authorities also take active measure to deal with the “infanticide” phenomenon.On the one hand,Supreme rulers prohibited the “infanticide” by issuing law,and government helped poor families to raise children by supporting them with money or rice.O n the other hand,local officials actively collaborated with the central government and took effort to curb the spread of “infanticide” according to local conditions.Some local officials and scholar-bureaucrats set up charitable granary and bear children the warehouse to provide lower middle class families with financial support for raising children as to decrease the probability of “infanticide” phenomena.Although these measures have gained some effect and prevented the phenomenon from deteriorate further,the “infanticide” had not been completely eradicated.In the Ming and Q ing Dynasties,the phenomenon was still widespread around Fujian,only the objects had changed—from deserting both male and female infants in the Song Dynasty to only female infants during the Q ing Dynasty.Finally,this paper analyses the negative impact of “infanticide” on the growth of society and labor population,social consciousness and so on in Fujian Road in the Song Dynasty.As a conclusion,the study of “infanticide” in Fujian Road during the Song Dynasty can offer reference for solving current problem of abortion and child trafficking in our country.