汉代南方疫灾、疫战与空间叙事

Epidemics, Battles against Epidemics and Space Narrative in Southern China during the Han Dynasty

汉代南方地区暴发疫灾43次,占当时全境总数的81.1%,并呈现出高发性与破坏性、突发性和规律性、群链性和恐怖性并行等三大特征。面对惊人的疫灾,汉王朝百姓进行了艰苦的疫战。考之史实发现,医学治疫已成为当时的常识,疫战采取了"为致医药"、隔离病人、安葬死者、巡行问责、赈济财物和减免赋税等救治救灾措施,采取了主要包括防治病毒、防治卑湿、清洁水源和强身健体等疫前预防措施,同时重视疫情研究、思想引导工作,实际上建立了直接救治、研究认识、灾前预防和舆论引导四位一体防疫机制。其认识在当时处于领先水平,其措施也是比较有效的,对后世影响深远,成为中国古代防疫救疫的基本模式。汉代南方因疫灾频发,人们对这一片地域之气候、水域、山林、生物及民情风俗的历史叙事均披上了一层浓重的"瘟疫"色彩,从而使南方成为"疫化的空间",甚至当时北方人们出现了"见行,如往弃市"的"惧南心态"。这种"空间叙事",有的是基本符合事实的,有的则是当时中原王朝正统儒家观念下的"谣言"或捕风捉影的"想像"。

There were 43 outbreaks of epidemic in southern China during the Han Dynasty, accounting for 81.1% of the total at that time. These epidemics shared three characteristics: they were highly frequent and destructive, sudden but regular;clustered and horrific. In the face of the appalling epidemics, the Han people fought hard. According to historical facts, the measures taken at the time mainly included direct treatment, research, precaution and public opinion guidance. The Han people took the lead in the understanding of epidemics at that time, and their measures were also relatively effective with far-reaching impact on future generations, and thus became the basic model of epidemic prevention and relief in ancient China. Since southern China was often plagued by epidemics during the Han Dynasty, the historical narrative of the climate, waters, forests, creatures and customs of this region was all very much related to epidemics, thus making southern China "an epidemic-plagued region". At that time, people in the north even had fear of the south, thinking "being drafted and sent to the south was equivalent to a death sentence". Some of these "space narratives" are basically in line with the facts, while some are just "rumors" or "imagination"of the orthodox Confucian concept of the central monarchy.