经济特科考论

On the Special Examination of Statecraft(Jingji Teke)

1897年10月,贵州学政严修奏请开设经济特科,正式拉开甲午战后科举改革的序幕,也成为戊戌变法"最初之起点"。此次特科,上承康乾年间的"博学鸿词"科,下启癸卯特科,不仅宣示了国家考试制度、人才选拔机制乃至官员任用机制的重大革新,更被"康党"趁势造势,借以开辟登进同党的仕途捷径,加速其废除八股的改革筹谋。尽管由于"戊戌政变"的发生,此次特科仅行保举而未及召试,但其作为戊戌年清政府发出的第一个重大改革信号,的确在相当程度上鼓舞了士心,促成了政治风气、教育风气和社会风气的迅速转变。而经由戊戌特科的废罢所昭示的帝后两党的公开决裂,及其对于精英人才政治心理的沉重打击,不仅成为保皇力量迅速集结壮大的重要推手,也深刻影响了清朝此后的人才格局乃至政治走向。

In October 1897,Yan Xiu,the Xuezheng（学政）of Guizhou, proposed that the Qing government hold a special examination of statecraft （Jingji Teke 经济特科）. This proposal was regarded as a prelude to the reformation on the imperial examination following the Sino - Japanese War of 1894 - 1895,as well as the original point of the 1898 Reform Movement. Fol-lowing the Bo Xue Hong Ci （博学鸿词）examination in the Kangxi and Qianlong periods,the Jingji Teke was a preliminary trial of thel903 Jingji Teke. It was an important innovation to the national examination system,talent selection and official se-lection mechanism. Meanwhile, Kang Youwei,s Party also considered the Teke as a political shortcut to recommend their allies to the government,and promoted their plan to abolish the eight - legged essays. The Jingji Teke was only partly conducted be-cause of Wuxu Coup. However,to a certain extent,it had really inspired people as an important reform signal,and swiftly im-proved the political, educational ethos and social atmosphere. The failure of the Teke indicated a public rupture between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, s Parties and also heavily hit the political psychology of elites,which played a vital role in uniting the royalists and further deeply affected the structure of talent and even the political trend of Qing Dynasty.