从契约保障到现代困境：清水江流域“养老田”制度的历史实践与当代启示

From Contractual Safeguards to Modern Dilemmas: Historical Practices and Contemporary Implications of the “Old-Age Fields” System in the Qingshui River Basin

摘要: 中国农村正经历着深刻的人口与社会结构转型，传统养老模式面临严峻挑战。本文聚焦于贵州清水江流域民族地区，以历史上曾普遍存在的“养老田”制度为切入点，通过历史文献分析与现状考察，探讨家庭养老模式的变迁与困境。研究发现，1949年以前，该地区通过“养老田”为核心的契约化安排，构建了一套融合经济保障、家族伦理与官方权威的多维养老保障体系。然而，在现代城镇化与人口流动的冲击下，传统的“养老田”物理基础与社会基础均已松动，“养老田”体系陷入土地应收低、劳动力不足等多重现实困境。本文认为，重新审视“养老田”制度中所蕴含的契约精神、权利保障与社区共治智慧，对于构建符合农村地区文化特点的现代农村养老支持体系具有重要的启示意义。

Abstract: China’s rural areas are undergoing profound demographic and social structural transformations, with traditional elderly care models facing severe challenges. This paper focuses on the ethnic regions of the Qingshui River Basin in Guizhou, taking the historically prevalent “Old-Age Fields” system as a starting point. Through historical document analysis and current situation investigation, it explores the evolution and dilemmas of family-based elderly care models. The study finds that before 1949, the region established a multi-dimensional elderly care security system integrating economic guarantees, family ethics, and official authority through contractual arrangements centered on “Old-Age Fields”. However, under the impact of modern urbanization and population mobility, the physical and social foundations of the traditional “Old-Age Fields” have weakened, leaving the system trapped in multiple practical challenges such as low land yields and labor shortages. The paper argues that re-examining the contractual spirit, rights protection, and wisdom of community co-governance embedded in the “Old-Age Fields” system holds significant implications for building a modern rural elderly care support system that aligns with the cultural characteristics of rural areas.