科举停废与近代乡村士子——以刘大鹏、朱峙三日记为视角的比较考察

The Abolition of the Imperial Examinations and Rural Scholars in Early Modern China: A Comparative Observation Based on the Diaries of Liu Dapeng and Zhu Zhisan

清季捐纳保举滥行,造成正途入仕周期延长,使科举考试对乡村士子的吸引力大为降低。科举停废虽导致传统意义的“士”阶层消失,但多数旧学出身者通过各种渠道重新分化组合,直至清末民初仍然占据社会权势的重要位置。清廷虽为士子多方宽筹出路,可是无法遏止中年士人文化心理的失衡及青年学生对国家命运的关注。刘大鹏和朱峙三两位乡村士子的日记,为考察科举停废对士子命运与乡村社会的实际影响提供了生动的史料。

The practice of purchasing official positions was so popular that the normal appointments of officials were often delayed. Consequently, rural scholars became less interested in the imperial examinations. Although the class of“shi”in the traditional sense disappeared after the Imperial Examination system was abolished, most of the old scholars managed to retain positions of power in society by regrouping through various channels in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period. However, despite its many efforts, the Qing government failed to keep middle-aged scholars from a strong sense of psychological loss and young students from concerning themselves with the fate of the nation. The diaries of two rural scholars, Liu Dapeng and Zhu Zhisan, provide us with vivid pictures of the impact on rural scholars and rural society of the abolition of the Imperial Examinations.