秦汉人身高考察                                                                              

彭  卫

摘要：秦汉人的身高延续了新石器时代以来的基本态势，呈现出北高南低的基本状况。秦汉时期黄河流域和以北地区成年男性的中等身高大约为166－168厘米，成年女性的中等身高大约为150－152厘米。长江流域和以南地区成年男性的中等身高大约为161厘米，成年女性的中等身高大约为150厘米。秦汉人的身高可能因经济状况和社会地位的不同而有差异，家境较为富裕或社会地位较高的群体，一般来说其平均身高可能要高于家境较为贫寒或社会地位较低的群体。在成年人的确认中，年龄是最重要的因素，身高意义有限。尽管秦汉社会重视人的体貌，但身高与爵位的获得以及官吏选拔之间并不存在制度上的特定联系。商周时期人群的中常身高较之新石器时代的居民可能降低了2厘米以上，秦汉时期居民的中常身高则有所回升，这种情形可能与产业结构以及由此导致的食物获取内容的改变有关。有资料显示，唐宋时期某些地区居民的平均身高较之汉代持续下降，这个现象是否具有普遍性还需进一步研究。

A Textual Research of the Height of Chinese People in the Qin-Han Period

Peng Wei

   The height of Chinese people in the Qin-Han period continued the basic situation since the Neolithic Age that the northern people higher than those in the south. In this period, the medium height of adult males in the Yellow River basin and the areas north of it was about 166~168cm, and the medium height of adult females in the region was about 150~152cm; while the medium height of adult males in the Yangtze River basin and the areas south of it was about 161cm, and the medium height of adult females in the region was about 150cm. People’s height in this period might vary with different economic position and social status, i.e. the average height of the group lived in rich families and high social status might be higher than the one of the group lived in poor families and low social status. In the confirmation of adults, age is the most important factor, and the significance of height is limited. Although one’s appearance was valued in the Qin-Han period, there was no institutional links between height and attainment of nobility as well as selection of officials. The average height in the Shang-Zhou period might lower more than two centimeters than the one in the Neolithic Age, and this value rose in the Qin-Han period, which might be related to the changes in industrial structure and the resulting change in food access. Documents showed that comparing to the Han Dynasty, the average height of residents in some areas during the Tang-Song period continued to decline. Whether this phenomenon was universal still needs further research.