上海格致書院與「博覽會」的經驗

格致書院代表了1870年代企圖將西方科學與科技知識引入中國的諸多努力之一。書院的設置及構想與上海的西人社群密切相關，其中影響最大者為亞洲文會。書院的原始規劃是透過公共圖書館與科學演講散播西方新知，在逐步擴大作為輔助教材的科學儀器與機械模型的規模後，書院計劃擴大成展覽與演講佔有重要地位的綜合科技學院。這個計畫包括三部份：讀書室、演講教學與具有教育性質的科學與科技展覽，其中展覽部份在書院籌設初期成為努力焦點。這是第一次在中國舉辦博覽會的嘗試。在經過六年努力後，格致書院董事會放棄了展覽計畫，但作為開啟民智管道的博覽會所需條件卻在努力過程中逐一顯露出來，構成中國未來博覽會的重要經驗。本文因此將研究格致書院的焦點放在與圖書館、演講教學有關的博覽會。

關鍵字

格致書院；亞洲文會；展覽；博覽會

並列摘要

The Shanghai Polytechnic Institution was one among many initiatives in the 1870s to bring Western scientific knowledge and technology to China. Its origins were closely connected to the Western community in the Shanghai Settlement, more specifically the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The Institution's initial program was to promote the diffusion of useful knowledge through a public library and reading-room. Then, by supplementing the reading-room with scientific equipment and models, the nature of the establishment was changed into a complex kind of school, following the example of the London Polytechnic. The Shanghai Polytechnic Institution thus planned operations on three levels: first, the library and reading-room; second, lectures and classes; and third, the exhibition of machinery, equipment and manufactured goods for educational purposes. This last aspect gained more and more importance, to the point that it absorbed the greatest portion of both the energy and the resources of the Institution's governing board. It also marked the first attempt to stage a public exhibition in China. After efforts that lasted for six years, the board abandoned the exhibition scheme. But many requirements for exhibitions, whether educational or commercial, were revealed in this seeming failure. This article reviews the history of the Institution's exhibition in relation to the functions of the library and lectures on scientific subjects.