清代小说中的乡村塾师

The Old-style Private School Teachers in Qing Dynasty Novels

清代小说呈现了鲜活的乡村塾师群体,提供了大量“活化石”。他们以秀才或童生为主,人员众多,分布甚广。其授徒原因或为治生需要,或为功名诱惑。他们大多离家坐馆,地位低下,事务繁重,收入微薄,生活孤苦,且行为受束。面对不堪境遇,他们渴望辞馆,但因生计压力,又被迫坐馆,内心始终交织着人生苦闷与现实无奈。这些乡村塾师反映了塾师群体的生存状态与复杂文化心理及其基层文化精英的社会地位。

The Qing Dynasty novels present a lively group of old-style private school teachers and provide a large number of“living fossils”.They are many people and widely distributed.There are roughly two reasons for their teaching:one is the need of living,the other is the temptation of fame.Most of them leave home and sit in the library,they are low status,heavy affairs,low income,lonely life,and behavior is restrained.In the face of unbearable circumstances,they are eager to quit the job,but the pressure of livelihood forced them to continue.Their hearts are always intertwined with life depression and reality.They reflect the state of the old-style private school teacher and the complex cultural psychology as well as the social status of the grassroots cultural elite.