Impurity in Liu E's Presentation of the "Pure Officials"

揭“清官”之惡中的清澈與混沌

侯宇明(Daniel Yu-Ming Hou)

《人文社會科學研究》 2卷1期 (2008/06) Pp. 1-27

https://doi.org/10.6284/NPUSTHSSR.2008.2(1)1

摘要

劉鶚於《老殘遊記》中明白告知讀者其著書目的之一即為揭露所謂「清官」之惡。然而，當我們詳細檢驗故事中角色和情節、劉鶚所附寫之小說自評、及其個人身世背景後，種種跡象顯示劉鶚對「清官」的描寫與攻擊可能另有企圖。故事中對「清官」的抨擊顯示劉鶚內心深受庚子事件的影響，此外，藉由小說之情節安排，劉鶚似乎對於本身過去若干實際作為試圖作一自辯。在劉鶚對於「清官」之惡的暴露中，雖然其以社會良心自居，並採取抱持道德的高蹈姿態，以書為史留下歷史見證，然而，作為《老殘遊記》的讀者，我們卻不可完全遽信之，仍須對劉鶚著書的可能諸多用意及企圖作詳細審慎之探討。

關鍵字

劉鶚 ； 老殘遊記 ； 玉賢 ； 剛弼 ； 清官

並列摘要

While constructing his plot for The travels of Lao Ts'an, the flagrant evils brought forth by the ”pure officials” are one of Liu E's major concerns. In his view, the virtue that those ”pure officials” embrace is precisely the origin of their sins and crimes. Nonetheless, a close reading of Liu E's presentation of characters and appended fiction comments in juxtaposition with his personal background reveals dubious points inside Liu E's narrative. Pursuing further, we realize that behind the façade of principled social criticism and historical awareness of a broad scale, Liu E's psyche is preoccupied with the fresh impact rendered by the Boxer Rebellion that took place in 1900. Secretly and possessively, Liu E’s castigation against the ”pure officials” coalesces toward that calamitous event. His express moral indignation seems to serve a personal agenda to solicit understanding from a sympathetic public. To read The travels of Lao Ts'an in such light, then Liu E's exposure of social malaise and his stance of conscience are cast into doubt; the historical perspective of his story, however relevant to history, is of limited referential value only.

並列關鍵字

Liu E ； The travels of Lao Ts'an ； Yu Hsien ； Kang Pi ； pure officials ； ch'ing-kuan

參考文獻

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