明清小说中科举制的商品属性分析——以“范进中举”为例

An Analysis of the Commodity Attribute of the Imperial Examination System in Novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasties——Taking Fan Jin zhongju as an Example

科举制度是统治阶层与知识阶层之间交易福利与顺从、权力与拥护的政制设计,提供了统治阶层购买忠诚、知识阶层收获待遇的交换场域,因此,商品属性是其固有属性之一。在以《儒林外史》为代表的明清小说中,科举制的商品属性的生成前提、盈利状况与后续效应得到了形象生动的展现,从实利角度解释了科举制度能够吸引无数士子迷乱癫狂、撩拨市井大众趋之若鹜的重要原因,并以此为基础,揭示出商品化的科举制加剧阶层固化、加速自身衰落、加增统治危机的必然性。

The imperial examination system was a political system design of trading welfare and obedience,power and support between the ruling class and the intellectual class.It provided an ex⁃change field for the ruling class to buy loyalty and the intellectual class to receive treatment.There⁃fore,commodity attribute was one of its inherent attributes.In the novels of the Ming and Qing dy⁃nasties represented by Rulin waishi(The Scholars),the prerequisites,profitability and subsequent ef⁃fects of the imperial examination system are vividly presented,explaining from a practical point of view the important reasons why the imperial examination system could attract numerous scholars,and arouse the public to go for it.Based on this,it is revealed that the commercialized imperial examina⁃tion system intensified the class solidification,accelerated its own decline and increased the inevitabili⁃ty of ruling crisis.