科举、功名与清末民初知识人社会

The Imperial Examination System,Scholarly Honor or Official Rank,and Society of People with Knowledge during the Period of Late Qing and Early Republic of China

在科举时代,功名与身份、利禄、仕途攸关,因此,循科举求功名,就成了千百年来士人齐集、梦寐以求的"正途"。士人汲汲于功名,由此形成的功名意识不仅主宰士人命运的悲欢,而且渗透、弥散到整个社会,积久成为一种集体无意识。这种由科举衍生而来的功名意识,甚至到了1905年科举废除之后,在士人与社会中依然广有市场,并没有因科举的废除而发生根本性的动摇,科举、功名在士人的心目中仍居于无可替代的中心位置,具有别样的魔力。以致于1905年清政府在宣布废除科举的同时又推出一系列学堂奖励政策。即使到了民国时代,这种意识也并没有完全褪尽。本文即以科举废除前后功名意识的流变为中心,一方面着力还原由废科事件引发的清末民初知识人社会的多重面相,以及功名意识在士人与社会中的长久影响;另一方面透过功名意识的流转呈现近代中国制度变革所面临的纷繁复杂的难局和困境。

The imperial examination system was the most important approach to scholars' status,fortune and wealth in the history of traditional China. The concept of gong ming (scholarly honor or official rank) dominated their fate and affected the entire intellectual community,thus turning itself into a kind of collective unconsciousness. The concept had a wide impact even after 1905 when the imperial exams were abolished. For this reason,the Qing government developed a system of school award,which guaranteed a continuation of its incentive economy. The concept has a lasting influence and diversifications in the time of the Republic of China. It showed that there was a complex history of knowledge transition and a dilemma of institutional reforms in modern China.