戊戌变法运动与八股文的近代命运

The Reform Movement of 1898 and the Modern Fate of Eight-part Essay

戊戌变法运动是一场革除旧制、取法西方的改良运动,人才问题是这场改革的核心问题。鉴于中国传统人才观无法抗衡东西方列强的近代科技文明,戊戌维新派指出,作为清代人才选拔的科举制度不可能选拔出有用人才。而作为这种制度最为重要的考试文体,八股文成了众矢之的。但维新派对清代取士制度的描述往往有矫枉过正、夸大其词之处。为了坚定光绪帝变法的决心,康有为把士子师长的禁读后世书描述为官方功令,梁启超把依据八股文优劣进行取士的做法描述为一种制度,把道光朝以来出现于殿考、朝考中以楷书定名次的个别现象描述为“仅试楷法”。这些不符合实际的描述导致一系列对于明清科举制度和八股文的误解。我们应该看到,三场取士制度经历过一个前后变化的过程,尤其是乾隆皇帝对阅卷取士事务的介入,直接导致八股文体规定的实质性变化。我们应该采取实事求是的历史态度,对八股文体的历史价值及其近代命运作出恰出其分的评估。

The Reform Movement of 1898 was a reform movement to abolish the old system and learn from the West. Talent is the core of this reform. In view of the fact that Chinese traditional talent view can’t compete with the modern scientific and technological civilization of the eastern and western powers, the reformers of 1898 pointed out that the imperial examination system, as a talent selection system in the Qing Dynasty, could not select useful talents. As the most important examination style of this system, the eight-part essay has become the target of public criticism. However, the reformers’ descriptions of the selection system in Qing Dynasty are often overcorrected and exaggerated. These unrealistic descriptions lead to a series of misunderstandings about the imperial examination system and the eight-part essay in Ming and Qing Dynasties. We should see that the three-game system of selecting scholars has experienced a process of change before and after. Emperor Qian Long’s intervention in marking papers and selecting scholars directly led to substantial changes in the eight-part writing style. We should adopt the historical attitude of seeking truth from facts, and make a proper assessment of the historical value and modern destiny of the eight-part writing style.