16世纪两类士大夫的代表:文人王世贞与相臣张居正

Two Types of Scholar-officials in the 16th Century in China: Wang Shizhen the Scholar and Zhang Juzheng the Minister

王世贞与张居正是16世纪最为重要的两位士大夫代表。作为文人领袖的王世贞,入仕之初就积极参与文人社团的活动,中年以后成为文人群体的领袖,由于他时常褒贬时政,因而成了被打击压制的对象,仕途坎坷,成为当时"反智论"者的牺牲品。他的人生经历虽对其治史产生影响,但他评论史实终究还是遵循了客观公正的原则,故能在明史研究上作出杰出的成就,成为明代最为重要的史学家。张居正初入仕途就为"储相"的庶吉士,后一直任职于翰林院,最终成为强权首辅,而他所走的正是大学士阶层几乎相同的道路。尽管他生前荣耀,死后却相当凄惨,注定也是个悲剧人物。他们二人正是嘉、万时期文人与权臣的代表,而他们命运的坎坷也正是当时文人与权臣命运的缩影。

Wang Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng have been regarded as two most important representatives of scholar-officials in the 16th century. Wang Shizhen got involved enthusiastically in literary circles in his early official career and became a leader of literati in his middle age. His critiques of political affairs made him a target of attack and repression and his official career full of frustrations as a victim of the 'anti-intellectualism.' Although his personal experiences did impact his study of history, he had tried his best to be objective and impartial in his comments on historical events. Maybe that is why he could reach remarkable achievements in Ming history studies and became one of the most important historians in the Ming Dynasty. By contrast, Zhang Juzheng had been a 'Shujishi,' a new official trained to be a high official in future, in his early official career, then a member of the Imperial Academy (Hanlinyuan), and finally became an influential minister. His career is typical for intellectual elite. Although he was honorable and glorious in his lifetime, he was doomed to be sad and tragic after death. They both stand for scholars and influential ministers in the reigns of the Emperor Jiajing and the Emperor Wanli respectively and their fates are those of the two types in miniature.