庸人自擾－－清代採選秀女的訛言與社會恐慌

Ignorant People Disturb Themselves: Societal Panic and Rumors About the Selection of Xiunü in the Qing Dynasty

依照清朝的制度，採選秀女與普通漢人並不相干，但清代各地卻發生了十九次這類的謠言。在這十九次之中，順治年間九次，康熙年間八次，雍正、乾隆年間各一次。在地域上，順治十三年 (1656) 的謠言涉及至少九個省。就省分而言，發生頻率最高的是江蘇，特別是蘇州、松江兩地又多於其它地區。順治年間訛言特別頻繁，可能與採選秀女的制度不明、滿漢在族群上互信不足這兩個因素有關。而在順治十八年以後，清廷每三年於八旗兵丁駐守的城市採選旗人女子，也容易引發漢人無端自擾，謠言紛起。加上江蘇地方官員常選取漢人女子進貢入宮，亦可能造成漢人疑惑不安。另一方面，漢人社會（特別是江南地區）重視嫁妝與聘禮，金額日益增加之餘，成為這類訛言與社會恐慌爆發的潛在導火線，一旦謠言出現，貧者往往藉此嫁娶以節省花費。

In the Qing Dynasty, the selection of xiunü 秀女had nothing to do with the Han Chinese, but rumors that the selection would involve Han Chinese arose nineteen times during the Qing Dynasty, including nine times during Emperor Shunzhi 順治’s rule, eight times during Emperor Kangxi 康熙’s rule, and one time each during Emperor Yongzhen 雍正’s rule and Emperor Qianlong 乾隆’s rule. The rumors began in 1656 and circulated in at least nine provinces. They arose most frequently in Jiangsu 江蘇Province, especially in Suzhou 蘇州 and Songjiang 松江. Perhaps the largest number of rumors circulated during Emperor Shunzhi’s rule because of unclear xiunü selection guidelines and mistrust between the Han Chinese and the Manchus. After 1661, cities garrisoned by soldiers of the Eight Banners 八旗兵 held xiunü selections once every three years. This easily led to unfounded worries among Han Chinese, and rumors started to spread. Another possible cause of worry among the Han Chinese was that local officials in Jiangsu Province had often selected Han women for their tributes to the palace. In addition, Han Chinese (especially those who lived in the lower Yangtze River area) attached great importance to dowries, and the increasing amount spent on dowries had become an explosive issue, further propelling rumors and societal panic. Once a rumor started to circulate, poor families would quickly marry off their daughters to avoid costly dowries.