回到日常生活:历史教学与“康乾盛世”的江南阐释

Elegy in an Era of Prosperity: A Sketch of the Social and Economic Life of Peasants in Jiangnan Area in Early Qing Dynasty

历史教学中,通常认为,清代前期,国家统一、社会安定、经济发展、国力强大,出现了中国传统社会最后一个盛世,乃至是世界上最强盛的国家之一。作为唐宋以降国家经济中心的江南,自然是盛世之下最耀眼的明珠,人口主体的农民,生活也较为富裕。这种他者构建的历史记忆,至今仍有相当影响。然而,在地方性知识中,江南农民未能躬逢盛世。"十室九空""生计艰难""糊口不支"等成为地方性知识人叙述农家生活的主要修辞。个中缘由,除了人们熟知的传统社会体制积弊和人口激增外,沿袭宋元以来,被不断加码的重赋政策,以及作为官方"仁政"之举,规模庞大且频繁的蠲缓在实践中的有名无实,也是我们认识"盛世"之下江南农家生活处于糊口边界的重要视角。

It is generally believed that in early Qing Dynasty, the country was unified, the society was stable, the economy was developed and the national strength was strong, which led to the last prosperous period of the traditional Chinese society. Jiangnan area, the economic center of the country since Tang and Song dynasties, was naturally the most dazzling pearl in the prosperous times. Similarly, the farmers, who were the majority of the population, were also relatively well-off. This historical memory constructed by the others still has considerable influence today. However, in the local knowledge, farmers in Jiangnan area failed to meet the standards of prosperous times. Hard living has become the narrative of rural life in local rhetoric. In addition to the well-known disadvantages of the traditional social system and population explosion,the government followed the policy of heavy taxation that had continuously increased since Song and Yuan dynasties. As an official act of "policy of benevolence", the massive and frequent remediation is not real in practice. It is also an important perspective for us to realize that in the "Era of Prosperity", family life of the peasants in Jiangnan area was at the boundary of poverty.