19世纪中国举人人数考论——《中国绅士:关于其在19世纪中国社会中作用的研究》补正

Research on the Number of Juren in the 19th Century China——A Rectification of The Chinese Gentry by Chuang-li Chang

张仲礼对19世纪中国绅士阶层内部构成和人数变化的权威研究,奠定了清代各级科第功名人数的基础。然其对19世纪中国举人人数的研究,因史料来源问题,所采用的5个数据中有3个关键性数据错误,加之未详细统计晚清各省捐输乡试广额的数量,且忽略了清代乡试中特殊的恩诏广额和太平天国运动造成各省乡试延展、补考对晚清举人人数的重大影响,导致对19世纪举人人数估算失误。实际上,太平天国后乡试中额和举人人数较战前分别增加30.5%和25%,远非书中所说的“略形增加”,且皆超过他认为有重大影响的生员人数增幅23%。《剑桥中国晚清史》援引张仲礼有误的史料和估算结果,做出更加错误的推论,皆低估了举人中额在中国科举时代的分量及对晚清政局的影响。

In the “Chinese Gentry” written by Chung-Li Chang, the study of the internal structure and varying population of Chinese gentry hierarchy in the nineteenth century lays an authoritative data foundation for calculating the number of officials selected from imperial examinations at all levels in Qing Dynasty. However, due to the shortcomings of historical materials, three of five pieces of data used to study the population of Chinese Juren are mistaken. In addition, there is a lack of detailed data for the over quotas of provincial degrees available for sale. Besides, the huge influence of special quotas of provincial degrees granted by the emperor and the extension and reassessment for provincial examinations caused by Taiping rebellion are neglected. All those factors lead to a miscalculation of the population of Juren in the provincial examinations in nineteenth-century. In fact, the increases were 30.5% and 25% relatively, which are far away from the “slight increases” claimed in the book and more than the number of scholars considered to have a significant impact(23%).