Beggars first appeared as monosyllabic words in ancient Chinese characters. "Begging" means begging and begging in gold characters, and it can also be used as an antonym to express giving. "Beggar", also known as "beggar", is often used as a sacrificial word in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, pointing to the gods to beg, such as "to worship the rain and be punished in the river", that is, to beg for the spirit from the river gods. Beggars can also give alms. For example, The Biography of the Western Regions in Han Dynasty records: "While carrying food and vegetables on the road, beggars give alms to the poor." Beggar has been used as a word since Han Dynasty, and its original meaning still retains two meanings: begging and charity. So before the Song Dynasty, the word beggar had not been used to address beggars.
So, before the Song Dynasty, what were the names of beggars? According to the records in Mencius, Lu Chunqiu, Liezi, Later Han Dynasty and Gui Yuan Cong Tan, there are names such as beggar, beggar, beggar and beggar. These appellations continued to be used after the Song Dynasty, and most of them continued until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
The word "beggar" began to be used to address beggars in the Song Dynasty. For example, Taiping Guangji quoted a sentence from Wang's Experience and compared beggars to horse doctors, bartenders, mercenaries and traffickers. Another example is Zhuzi Language, which also records that due to the development of commodity economy at that time, some people were rich businessmen in the morning and beggars with nothing at night after using paper money instead of coins in the market.
Shi Zi, a friend of Qing Dynasty, wrote about the inequality between the rich and the poor in the branch of Hsinchu in Kyoto. The rich turn their money into ashes, and the beggars on the roadside are hungry and cold. This kind of scene can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of old Beijing. Rich bodhi, cremation to ashes is still a mystery; Begging for a little charity, the hungry woman on the roadside is crying. Beggars, also known as "beggars", "beggars", "beggars" and "beggars", are a special group who beg for food for a living, which can be said to have existed since ancient times.
In the Qing Dynasty, the management of beggars was institutionalized, and the professionalism of beggars was also recognized. Incorporate beggars into the local garbo organization, select beggars as responsible persons, and check and make beggar card books.
Every county has a beggar head who manages beggars. He is also a beggar, but he is the official chief of Jiabao. Candidates are recommended by the resident person in charge of the residential area or appointed by the person in charge of the area under their jurisdiction. The beggar's Jiabao book is called "Beggar's Head Handbook", which lists the name of the beggar, the number of beggars under management, age, place of origin, physical characteristics, place of residence and so on. The book also indicates the range where each beggar is only allowed to travel. In addition, the book also stipulates the "assessment method" for beggars: beggars must be ordered to check whether they are thieves or not and report to government managers at any time. If beggars commit illegal acts, they should ask immediately. There is no room in every workshop for new beggars from outside. Beggars' heads must be reported to the authorities, who will distribute rations and send them back to their places of origin. Beggar's head circulation books must also be sent to the county for replacement at the end of each month. For young beggars, ask about their origin, report to the authorities and send them back to their origin, forcing them to work and find employment. In addition, special settlements are set up to accommodate beggars who are old, young and disabled, and it is strictly forbidden to disperse.
In order to eliminate the unemployed, on the one hand, the late Qing government adopted the traditional relief policy, distributing "rice stones", adopting the old, the weak and the sick, opening porridge factories and taking in the unemployed from famine and war; On the other hand, the government has taken some new measures. Under the slogan of "revitalizing industry", we will promote the "craft bureau" and "adopt the poor and teach them crafts" to create conditions for beggars and refugees to stand on their own feet.
During the Republic of China, there was also a spontaneous "beggar support association" among beggars' gangs. Beggars elected their own presidents and petitioned the Chamber of Commerce many times, asking the Chamber of Commerce to inform the merchants to double the change. The chamber of commerce said that it could not be implemented, and suggested that members of the "beggar group" could be introduced to the porridge factory to drink porridge;