“苦读”文化及其边界——基于晚清山西举人刘大鹏科考经历的社会学考察

“Work Hard”and Its Limits——A Sociological Analysis of the Imperial Examination Experience of Juren Liu Dapeng of Shanxi in the Late Qing Dynasty

山西举人刘大鹏(1857-1942)在晚清科举停废前通过苦读考中举人,但三次会试不中。刘大鹏的科考经历反映出科举学子间的“苦读”文化,结合时代环境考察发现,苦读学子需要与一定的经济资本、信息渠道、家族支持相结合,仅靠个人才智和苦读路径很难取得成就,“苦读”文化存在多方面的限制与边界。并且,古代官方倡导的“苦读”文化具有脆弱性,“苦读”文化在很大程度上依附于既有社会治理逻辑和文化秩序,苦读风气因科举停废成效大打折扣,走向退潮。底层文化资本以“苦读”为重要内容,因此,其有效性还需结合选拔制度的变革进行考察。

In the late Qing Dynasty,the industrious Juren Liu Dapeng(1857-1942)of Shanxi Province passed the provincial Imperial Examinations(IE),but failed the metropolitan examination three times before the IE was abrogated.Liu can be seen as the epitome of the IE scholars among whom the culture of“hardworking”has prevailed.Based on the analysis of Liu’s life story,we find many limitations and boundaries in the“hardworking”culture.The success of hardworking examinees was not merely due to their own intelligence and hard work;instead,their economic capital,information channels,and family support played important roles.The culture of“hardworking”eventually languished with the annulment of the imperial examinations system,indicating its fragileness.As“hardworking”is a key element of the“cultural capital of the underclass”,its effectiveness needs to be investigated in conjunction with the reform of the selection mechanism in education.