北上公车与诗画创作:以黄培芳《北行日记》为中心

The Journey Northward for Imperial Examination and the Creation of Poems and Paintings: Focusing on Huang Peifang’s Northbound Diary

嘉庆二十三年(1818年)十一月,广东士人黄培芳于广州启程北上公车,翌年二月抵达北京,行期将近三个月。在《北行日记》中,黄培芳详细记录此次北上赴考的行程。本文以之为中心,结合同时代人的游记、诗文、地方志等各种文献以及黄培芳本人的画作,讨论以下问题:(一)广东士人如何选择北上路线,各条路线的优劣所在。(二)在穿州过府中所经历的各种艰难与乐趣。(三)分析北上公车对广东士人诗画创作产生何种影响。笔者认为广东士人的公车之路,除备尝艰难困苦外,路费花销也很大,每名士人公车之行的单程费用,须花费100两白银(相当于120元洋钱)。科举考试既是一场智力的较量,也是体力与意志的比拼。路途的艰辛和开销的庞大,在一定程度上制约了广东举子的科考成绩。但是北上公车,极大地开拓了广东士人的视野和交际圈,即使铩羽而归,对于广东士人的诗画创作却大有裨益,这是无法用孰得孰失来衡量的。

In November 1818, a Cantonese named Huang Peifang departed from Guangzhou for the imperial examination in Beijing. The journey lasted nearly three months and ended in February of the following year. Huang Peifang recorded the entire trip in his Northbound Diary. This paper focuses on the diary and Huang Peifang’s paintings, along with travel logs, poems, local chronicles and other documents of the same era, to discuss the following questions:(1) How Cantonese scholars chose the route to the North, advantages and disadvantages of each route.(2) Hardship and joy during the journey.(3) The impact of the northbound journey on the creation of poems and paintings of Cantonese literati. The author believes that apart from the hardship, the journey’s cost is also very large, about 100 taels of silver for single-way. The imperial examination is not only a contest of intelligence, but also of physical strength and mental will. The hardship of the journey and the huge expenditure might somehow undermine the Cantonese examinees’ results. However, the journey greatly expanded the vision and social circle which benefited to the creation of poetry and painting.