Research On The Rich Class Of The Song Dynasty As Seen In Epitaphs

The rich class was a newly rising social class in the Song Dynasty.They used their wealth to actively participate in social governance and had an important impact on the society of the Song Dynasty.There are a lot of records about the rich class in the epitaph of the Song Dynasty,which provides rich materials for the study of the rich class in the Song Dynasty.Based on the records of the epitaph,we will explore the wealth and poverty,living conditions,social image and social status of the rich class in the Song Dynasty,as well as the writers of the epitaph.From this,we can understand the self-identity and social identity of the wealthy class in the Song Dynasty,in order to enhance the understanding of the Song Dynasty’s social economy,social economy,and social status.Political and cultural awareness.The most distinctive feature of the rich class is wealth,so the process of the rich class accumulating wealth is the primary issue in the study of the rich class.According to the epitaph,the most important way for the rich class to get rich is to manage land.There are also many rich people who got rich through business and handicraft production.In the Song Dynasty,under the background of the change of land property rights,the weakening of personal dependence,and the change of the concept of righteousness and benefit,combined with their own flexible business strategies and diligent business attitude,the rich class in the Song Dynasty could obtain wealth through business activities.It is worth noting that the wealth of the rich class is not constant,and they will also lose their wealth due to excessive taxation,poor management,and excessive assistance.The living conditions of the rich class after becoming rich are recorded in more detail in the epitaph.The rich class has a strong sense of social responsibility,and they actively participate in public life,such as participating in social relief,mediating civil disputes,maintaining public order,and investing in the construction of local public facilities.In family life,the wealthy strata coordinate and handle family relationships such as husband-wife relationship,parent-child relationship,and brother-in-law relationship,and they also provide family education for their descendants with moral education,cultural education,and livelihood education as the content.The rich class also has a rich spiritual and cultural life,mainly including cultural activities,entertainment activities,and religious activities.As a style of writing,epitaphs have the characteristics of shaping or presenting characters.In the epitaph,the social image of the rich class has a positive image and a negative image.The reasons mainly include the writing principle of the epitaph "Hide the evil and promote the good",the true reflection of the social image of the rich class and the author’s identification with the rich class.The social status of the rich class can also be seen in the epitaph.Rich people actively participate in public life,have good conduct,gain the recognition of the villagers,and become "the people of the township".But at the same time,the rich class is the "powerless people",they have no political privileges,so their lives and property are easily disturbed.The social image and social status of the rich class reflects the social identity of the rich class.The Fumin Epitaph is the most detailed epitaph that records the rich class.The identities of the writers of Fumin’s epitaphs can be divided into bureaucratic literati and ordinary literati,among which bureaucratic literati are the main ones.The authors of Fumin’s epitaphs can be divided into three types:epitaphs written by the author on their own initiative,epitaphs written by the author at the request of relatives,and epitaphs written by the author at the request of non-relatives.Most of the writers of Fumin epitaphs have non-kinship relationships with Fumin,and these non-authors are willing to write epitaphs for Fumin because they agree with Fumin or their family members,because they agree with Fumin or their family members,and they are willing to write epitaphs for Fumin because of their understanding,inability to refuse,and to show their descendants.By studying the relationship between epitaph writers and Fumin,and exploring the reasons why non-relative writers are willing to write epitaphs for Fumin,we can understand the identification of the scholar class with the rich class.