清官、漢奸與黃河：《老殘遊記》中的治理想像

上個世紀初以來，被歸類為「譴責小說」的《老殘遊記》，一向以批評剛愎自用、殘酷嚴苛的清官聞名。然而，這樣一部以清官批評為主軸的小說，卻是以治理黃河與為漢奸辯護的寓言作為開頭。這樣的敘事安排有何作用？而這一安排對於我們理解作者劉鶚以及《老殘遊記》又有何意義？本文指出，十九世紀中期以後的黃河氾濫，不只重塑了華北的地理景觀，也形塑了劉鶚認識世界的視野。無論是《老殘遊記》所批判的清官問題，或者劉鶚在現實中所遭遇到的困境與「漢奸」罵名，無一不與黃河氾濫，以及劉鶚對於黃河問題的應對策略密切相關。小說不只揭示清官、漢奸與黃河是小說最關切之處，同時也說明了三者之間密不可分的關係。

關鍵字

劉鶚；《老殘遊記》；黃河；清官；漢奸

並列摘要

Labelled as the ＂novel of denunciation＂ since the early twentieth century, Liu E's The Travels of Lao Can is famous for its condemnation of ＂uncorrupted officials,＂ or qingguan, who did not tolerate bribery but who, nevertheless, pursued official prestige at the expense of the people. This novel, however, curiously begins with the fables about the governance of the Yellow River and a defence for Qing collaborators, or hanjian. What is the aim of such a narrative design? And in what sense is such design meaningful to our understanding of Liu E the author and the novel itself ? This study shows that the Yellow River floods since the mid-nineteenth century not only reshaped the landscape of northern China, but also helped frame the way Liu E, a river engineer and a novelist, looked at his world. The novel's criticism of qinguan, Liu E's frustration in serving as comprador and his infamy as a hanjian should be understood in terms of their relation to the Yellow River floods, and Liu E's hydraulic approach in flooding control.