明清八股取士与文学及士人心态

Literature and Eight-part Essay as Promotional Imperial Examination in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and Their Influences on the Mindset of Scholar-officials

八股文作为科举考试的功令文字,发轫于明初,发展变化于明代中后期,至清代基本定型,直至退出历史舞台。作为一种文体,八股文本不属于文学范畴,仅为考试而设,但明清两代的读书人若欲出仕,就必须钻研其技法,以赢得考官的青睐,争来获隽的荣耀,打通仕途的入口。长期的耳濡目染,必然影响读书人的思维方式,撰文吟诗也无不有八股文潜移默化的影响在,从而令这一考试文体与文学发生了密不可分的关系,同时也影响了两代士人的心态。

Eight-part essay refers to a style of essay writing to be mastered to pass the imperial examinations. It was initiated in the early Ming dynasty, developed and reformed in the mid- and late Ming dynasty, standardized in the Qing dynasty, and finally backed out of Chinese history. As a genre, eight-part essay did not belong to any literary category; it was set up only for imperial examinations. Those intellectuals attempting at officialdom, had to study its techniques to win the favor of examiners and to open for themselves a door to officialdom in a glorious way. Bathed in this tradition, intellectuals changed not only in their mode of thinking but also in their writings of poetry and prose. Consequently, this examination genre bore close link with literature, and simultaneously affected the mindset of scholar-officials during the two dynasties.