《老残游记》“揭清官之恶”来源考辩

An Investigation of the Source of Exposing Incorruptible Officials' Evil in The Travel Notes of Lao Can

在明清两代人们已经普遍认识到"清官之恶",揭露"清官之恶"的文献大量见于笔记、小说、词话、随笔、奏折等,已成为常识与常论,《老残游记》中的"揭清官之恶"不过是在这个背景下顺理成章得出的结论而已。考诸史实,"揭清官之恶"并非一定来源于李贽、袁枚等,因为这在当时已经是一种显见的共识。

In Ming and Qing Dynasty people had generally realized ＂the evil of incorruptible officials＂ and it is common sense that the literature exposing the evil of incorruptible officials could often be seen in numerous notes, novels, tales, essays, memorials, etc. Therefore, the exposure of the incorruptible officials＇ evil in The Travels Notes of Lao Can was just a natural conclusion reached in this context. By examining various historical facts, it is known that ＂exposing the evil of incorruptible officials＂ is not necessarily derived from Li Zhi and Yuan Mei, because such exposure was an obvious consensus then.