執事

“執事”一詞有多種含義，在傳統法治文化史上指在衙門公案左右各列的寫有“肅靜”“回避”的牌子、官員職銜牌以及軍杖等器物，其功能在于強化自身權威。這些器物在民間戲曲、民俗活動、通俗小說中被加以借用和演繹，成為傳統法治文化中獨具特色的部分。

This term has various meanings. In the history of legal culture， it referred to plaquescarrying words meaning “Silence”and “Keep clear，”as well as official title plates， and staffsplaced next to the desk of government offices. As legal objects used in government officesin ancient times to reinforce authority， they were depicted in folk operas， folk customs andpopular novels， to become a distinctive part of traditional Chinese rule of law culture.

引例 Citation：

當下定了主意，次早傳齊轎夫，也不用全副執事，只帶八個紅黑帽夜役軍牢。翟買辦扶著轎子，一直下鄉來。（吳敬梓《儒林外史》第一回）

The magistrate made up his mind. The next morning， he assembled the bearers and refusedall fanfare， bringing with him only eight runners. This way he came straight to thecountryside in a sedan， with Comprador Zhai waiting on him. （Wu Jingzi： The Scholars）

（本欄目文章摘自教育部、國家語委重大文化工程“中華思想文化術語傳播工程”項目。）