犯罪與城市──清代同治朝重慶城市竊盜案件的分析

Crime and City: An Analysis of Theft in Chongqing City during the Tongzhi Reign in the Qing Dynasty

本文以清代同治朝巴縣的竊盜案件為例，從多個角度探討19世紀中葉犯罪行為與城市化之間的關係。當時重慶的城市化程度達到19－20％，城市內發生的竊盜案件占整體竊盜案件的比例，也從18世紀中葉的19％，上升到33％。重慶城市內竊案集中在城內的5個坊，皆是商業中心與行政中心。城市內入室偷竊的主要手法是破壞門扇，而鄉村的竊案則是破壞牆壁為主，這與城、鄉環境的差異有關。此外，城市內各類房屋的形式也有其弱點，以致容易遭竊。至於城市內竊盜案件的失物，比起鄉村，有更多高價、多樣化的物品，顯示城、鄉之間在物質消費水平上的差距。城市內充斥著開放店鋪與人來人往的客棧，使得成為竊盜標的物的可見性與可接近性高過鄉村。在城市內設有防範竊盜的機制，即柵欄與坊捕，然而防範效果並不理想。因此許多事主的呈詞就把矛頭對準捕役，認為捕役與竊賊串通，但從重慶的實例看到「蠹捕」包庇竊賊與賊犯勾結的例子並不多。以上結果顯見城市化的發展影響犯罪的發生。

Based on an analysis of the theft cases in Ba County from 1862 to1875, this essay discusses the relationship between criminal behavior and urbanization in China in the mid-19th century from a variety of perspectives. During this period, Chongqing's urbanization rate reached 19-20%, and the proportion of burglary cases in the city rose from 19% in the mid-18th century to 33% in the mid-19th century. Burglaries in Chongqing were concentrated in five of the city's commercial and administrative centers. The main method of burglary in the city was to break through doors or windows, while theft in the countryside mainly was by damaging walls, which reflected the difference between the urban and rural environments. Moreover, the different types of houses in the city had different weaknesses in burglary prevention. Few houses were not vulnerable to theft. The stolen goods taken in the city, the items were more expensive and diverse than those taken in the countryside, reflecting the gap in the level of material consumption between people in the cities and rural areas. The city was full of shops and inns bustling with people, illustrating the higher visibility and accessibility of objects to be targeted by thieves than in the countryside. There were mechanisms in place in the city to prevent theft, i.e. fences and constables. However, such preventive mechanisms were not 100% effective. Many victims of theft actually suspected the police of colluding with the burglars, but the present study of Chongqing disclosed few known cases of police cover up for or collusion with the burglars. The above results illustrate how the development of urbanization affected the occurrence of crime in China.