“科举”余绪:清末最后的“杂试”与“朝考”

The Aftermath of the“Imperial Examinations”:The Last“Alternative Tests”and“Chaokao”in the Late Qing Dynasty

1905年清廷立停科举后,仍保留了生员考职、优拔贡考试、保送举贡等善后“杂试”,同时与这些考试相对应的有关朝考制度也得到保留。随后在具体的实施过程中也引发了很大的反响与争议,清廷各级决策者以科举的方式推行之,一般士子则依旧视之为旧科举,趋新媒体则批评为科举复盛。凡此种种,均可见在科举立停的新形势下诸杂试所起的替代科举作用,及朝野对于科举制的迷恋,乃至学堂被逐渐科举化的情况。

After the abolition of the imperial examinations in 1905,the Qing government retained the“alternative tests”(Za Shi)as rehabilitative measures,such as the civil service examination for certified students(Shengyuan kaozhi),the examination for tribute students(Youbagong kaoshi),and the recommendation-based tribute test(Baosong jugong).The corresponding court examination system for these tests was also preserved.The implementation of these measures generated significant reactions and controversies.Decision-makers at all levels of the Qing government promoted these examinations in a manner similar to the old imperial examination system,ordinary scholars viewed them as a continuation of the traditional imperial examinations,and the emerging media criticized them as a resurgence of the imperial examination system.This reflects the role of these various alternative tests as substitutes for the abolished imperial examinations,the officials and scholars’persistent attachment to the imperial examination system,and the gradual integration of the new-style schools into the imperial examination system.