刘淳《农病》探析

On Nong Bing(Agricultural Problems) of Liuchun

刘淳(1792—1850)是清朝末年的落魄文人,但他却以一位读书人对国事和民生的高度责任感,写出了切中时弊的《农病》一文。文中以深切的人文情怀对处在社会底层的广大农民所遭受的悲惨境遇和农业面临的困境进行了真实的记录。他还提出了解决这些“农病”的具体办法。主张国家应通过调控农产品价格,以增加农民收入,达到抚恤和奖励农民的作用。为了提高农民的社会地位,他主张只有具备农民户籍的人,才有入朝做官的资格;只有农家子弟才能参加科举考试;有熟练农作技能的农民可享有“赐爵”的荣誉;提出只有农家子弟才能长期为官、官宦子弟则必须下乡当农民这一官民对调的论点。当然,刘淳的“重农”思想也有明显的局限性,并且在他所处的中国封建社会末期是难以行得通的。但是,我们决不能因此而忽视刘淳“重农”思想的历史价值,不能低估这一思想在中国近现代史上的深远影响。

Liuchun （1792--1850）was a frustrated scholar in officialdom in the latter of the Qing Dynastry, but he wrote an ＂NongBing＂ （＂Agricultural Problams＂）which hit the social maladies with a sense of responsibility to the national affairs and the livehood of the people as a scholar .The essay recorded the peasants＇wretched existence and the agricultural predicament, and he also proposed the concrete means to settle these ＂agricultural problams＂. Liuchun maintained the policy that the government should give a subsidy to the peasant and agriculture to make the peasants receive material benefit to achieve the aim of compensating encouraging peasants. In order to improve the peasants＇ social status, he advocated that only those who had the peasants＇househould register had the qualification of entering court and acting as officials;only the peasants＇juniors can take imperial civil service examination test ;the skilled peasants have the houmor of ＂bestowing nobility＂. He proposed that only the childen of the peasants can be officials and the official juniors must go to the countryside .However ,Liu＇s thought has obvious limitation. He thought only the agriculture was the social original profession, other occupations all were ＂false ＂,he also had the illusion to get back to the primitive society in which the emperor and his people were peasants. And, his thought is very unrealistic and thoroughly impractical in the latter stage of feudal society in China ,but we neglect in no way the value of his thought and underestimate its far-reaching influences. We also see that ＂Nong Bing＂ is a precious historical literature in the latter of the feudal society, his thought has a distinct characteristic and contains the rudimentary democratic thought. It has important value in the agricultural history and ideological and cultural history in China .We can draw lessons from it to settle our ＂three agricultures＂ .