“治河即所以保漕”?——清代黄河治理的政治意蕴探析

"Was Control of the Yellow River Undertaken to Protect Water Transport?":An Analysis of the Political Implications of Yellow River Conservancy in the Qing Dynasty

清代高度重视黄河治理,不仅拨付巨额帑金,还置河督、设厅汛、创体制,表现出一种前所未有的干预力度。以往研究多认为原因主要在于清承明制,"治河即所以保漕",而事实远不止此。不可否认,在以内河水运为先的时代,只要政治中心在北、经济中心在南这一格局不变,保障漕运即为治河的重要使命,何况清初黄河泛滥为患深重。但与此同时,在立足未稳、形势复杂的情况下,清帝还将治河纳入了建构政权合法性的战略工程之中,救灾捍患、廑念民生、祭拜大禹陵、封典河神以及探寻河源等,均为接续治统的重要考量。至清中期,尽管河难治官难选,河务问题重重,清帝仍积极探索,竭力"事河",其原因除了"保漕",尚有延续惯性、恪守祖宗"家法"的考虑。由此,作为清代最具雄心的工程之一,黄河治理不只是水利工程,更成为关涉甚重的国家政治工程,彰显着清代的政治文化传统。

The Qing dynasty gave a high priority to controlling the Yellow River,not only expending large sums on it but also appointing a Yellow River governor,setting up a specific office,and establishing institutions,exhibiting an unprecedented intensity of intervention.Previous research has tended to believe that the main reason for this was that since the Qing had taken over the Ming system,it saw Yellow River conservancy as a measure for supporting water transport.However,the facts show that a lot more was involved.It is undeniable that if,at times when river transport was a priority,the political center was in the north and the economic center was in the south,the protection of water transport was a major mission for river conservancy,let alone the frequent flooding of the Yellow River in the early years of the Qing dynasty.At the same time,however,under the unstable and complicated situation,the Qing emperor also included the governance of the river into the strategic project of constructing the legitimacy of the regime.The activities of disaster relief,protection of the people’s livelihood,worship at the tomb of Yu the Great,continuing the previous ruling traditions,bestowing on honors on river gods,and exploring the Yellow River’s source were all based on this important consideration.In the mid-Qing period,despite multiple serious problems including difficulties in the Yellow River control and selection of officials,the Qing emperors still actively explored“managing the River”(shi he).Other considerations besides“protecting water transport”,were the inertia of tradition and observation of the ancestral family rules.As one of the most ambitious Qing projects,the governance of the Yellow River was not only a water conservancy project but also a national political project of great importance,highlighting the political and cultural traditions of the Qing dynasty.