繙譯考試與清朝旗人的入仕選擇

Imperial Translation Examinations and the Way to Governmental Officials of the Bannermen in the Ch'ing Dynasty

清朝日常公文行政呈現多元文字並行的特色，文書繙譯工作的順利進行，是確保國政正常運作的重要環節，其中又以清、漢文和清、蒙文的繙譯最為重要。這類工作專任旗人，國家為甄選繙譯人才，設有部院衙門的晉用考試，以及授予功名的繙譯科考，可統稱為繙譯考試。旗人投身繙譯考試，須先驗看馬、步射，通過後方准入場，因此不僅要擁有兼通兩種語文的能力，還須具備良好的騎射技能，始能脫穎而出。在國家政策保護下，旗人享有種種特權，隨著時空環境的變遷，的確有部分旗人昧於現實，依舊沉溺在昔日榮景，但是有更多的旗人面對家庭生計陷入困難，並積極尋求解決之道，繙譯考試便成為旗人社會向上流動的重要選擇。一般認為，清中期以後，旗人清語、騎射的能力每況愈下，不免令人質疑以繙譯取士、用人辦法的施行，不過是徒具形式而已。然而，官僚系統始終編制有專責繙譯的職缺，文書繙譯的工作也持續進行，所以問題的關鍵當在制度的設計是否能對旗人產生誘因，以及旗人任職的動機和意願。因此，本文擬以繙譯考試為例，從國家、家庭、個人三方面，探討清語、騎射能力的保持與旗人出路的關係。

In the Ch'ing Dynasty, official documents were written in multi-languages. Translation work hence became the key link to the performance of governmental operation, especially the translations from Manchu to Chinese and Mongolian. This job was exclusively assigned to the bannermen. To select talented translators, the Ch'ing government would held the recruiting exam and the translation test, which could be termed as the imperial translation examinations. Before entering the examination hall, a bannerman mustfirstly pass the test on archery. Therefore, a potential examinee should have good calibers for both languages and archery. Under the protection of national policies, the bannermen enjoyed various privileges; however, as time went by, some bannermen, ignoring the social reality, indulged themselves in bygone glories, while others tried to look for solution to the predicaments of lives. Joining the imperial translation examinations turned out to be a crucial choice for the improvement of social status among the bannermen. In general, while the bannermen's abilities in Manchu language and archery had deteriorated since the mid-Ch'ing Dynasty (the mid-eighteenth century), the method to recruit governmental officials through the imperial translation examinations was frequently criticized as a mere formality. However, since the vacancy of the governmental position of professional translator persisted and the translation work still needed, the real problem consisted rather in whether the examination system and the translation job could be an incentive to the bannermen's career pursuits. For this reason, this paper is designed to utilize the imperial translation examination as an example to illuminate the relationships among Manchu language, efficiency in archery and the bannermen's career.