泾渭清浊:乾隆朝的考察辨析及其功用意义

The Turbidity and Clarity of the Rivers Jing and Wei:An Analysis of the Examination Undertaken during the Qianlong Reign and Its Implications

综合分析清代泾渭清浊的年内差异,可以发现泾清渭浊、泾浊渭清均较常见,泾渭二水在交汇处孰清孰浊并非恒定不变,亦非总是泾渭分明。然而,乾隆皇帝将《诗经》中"泾以渭浊"认定为泾清渭浊,奉命实地考察的官员亦得出相同结论,这一认知、调查以及御制诗文遂被镌诸碑石,拓片则钦赐王公大吏,以期达到吏治规训等目的,并对后人解读该诗句及辨识泾渭清浊产生了直接影响。以此为个案,尝试既考察不同群体的环境观念,又重视不同认知的整合统一,将自然环境与社会文化等多个层面有机地结合起来,将有利于推动环境史研究。

A comprehensive analysis of the turbidity and clarity of the Jing and Wei Rivers over a year undertaken during the Qing Dynasty showed the Jing was often clear while the Wei was turbid,and vice versa.Which was clear and which turbid at the point of convergence varied.However,Emperor Qianlong,impressed by a line in the Book of Songs saying 'The Wei River muddies the Jing,' declared that the Jing River was clear and the Wei River turbid,and officials ordered to carry out on-spot investigations came to the same conclusion.This conviction,the investigation and an imperial poem were engraved on steles,with rubbings bestowed on princes and high officials as disciplinary guides,etc.This had a direct influence on following generations' interpretation of the lines and identification of the two rivers' clearness and turbidity.Taking this event as a case study,this paper attempts to review the ideas of different groups about the environment,with due regard to the integration and union of different perceptions,bringing together the natural environment and social culture at multiple levels in an organic way and thus facilitating the progress of research on the history of the environment.