中國夜未眠──明清時期的元宵、夜禁與狂歡

Sleepless in China: Carnivalesque Celebration of the Lantern Festival and Official Regulation of Everyday Life during the Ming-Qing Period

雖然只是常年歲時調節生活節奏的一個節令，元宵節和其他單日節令有著關鍵性的差異：從三至十餘日不等的連續節慶，既為迎春活動帶來高潮，也為從舊曆到新年的過渡儀式畫下句點。更重要的是，它具有強烈的社會性格：城裡的燈市與鄉間的廟會，成為元宵節種群眾自由交際互動的主要場景，人人倘佯在元宵節的錦繡排場上，既是觀眾，也是演員。從統治階層的立場而言，普天同慶元宵，正是「與臣民共樂太平」的寫照。朝廷藉著非常節慶中的燈飾與煙火，正可向天下邦國展示日常生活裡物阜民豐的承平歲華。但是隨著夜禁的開放，統治階層所必須擔慮的不僅是治安上的風險，更重要的是，百姓在「不夜城」裡以「點燈」為名，或在「觀燈」之餘，逾越各種「禮典」與「法度」，並顛覆日常生活所預設規律的、慣性的時空秩序──從日夜之差、城鄉之隔、男女之防到貴賤之別。對禮教規範與法律秩序的挑釁與嘲弄，正是元宵民俗各類活動遊戲規則的主軸，流行各地的民間「偷青」習俗，儘管只是儀式性的竊取，但取得吉兆的唯一法門卻是悖禮的行為與違法的手段。而在明清時期發展成型的「走百病」論述，婦女因而得以進城入鄉，遊街逛廟，甚至群集文廟、造訪官署，從而突破時間的、空間的，以及性別的界域，成為元宵狂歡慶典中最耀眼的主角。

For thousands of years, the Chinese have been celebrating the Lantern Festival, which not only climaxes the entire Spring Festival celebrations, but also symbolizes the completion of the transitional passage from the past year to a new one. Unlike other annual observances that comprise only one-day fetes and are celebrated mostly within family, the Lantern Festival is usually celebrated continuously over several days with various social activities. During the late imperial era, with official approval for lifting the curfew, places like the lantern markets in the cities and the temple fairs in the villages became spectacles where people, regardless of gender, social status, or any other identities, were all allowed to enjoy the colorful night together. They were both actors and spectators on an open stage with shining lights above. Normally, the separation of night and day, the demarcation of urban and rural, the differentiation of elite and commoner, and the distinction between male and female constituted the order of everyday life in imperial China, as well as basic ontological and principles of Confucianism. Yet, the celebration of the Lantern festival was carnivalesque; people encouraged to break the rules, cross the above-mentioned boundaries, and even turn them upside-down. The Lantern Festival was thus perceived by some as a grave threat to the social norms and the legal order that defines everydayness. In the paper I investigate the Lantern Festival in the context of the dialectical tension and interdependence between state and society. Since the Lantern Festival was celebrated by both the government and the populace, it is an ideal lens on the penetration of the political authority from top down and the resistance to social power from bottom up. Hence I delve into how the political authority participated or even initiated the celebration of the Lantern Festival in order to demonstrate the present order as a time of peace and prosperity, but at the same time also endeavored to monitor and police the popular celebration for fear of its explicit subversive qualities. On the other hand, based upon a comparative scrutiny of local gazetteers, literati's miscellaneous notes and fiction, folklore, and dramas, I also examine how the popular discourses were formed and varied during the Ming-Qing period to justify such carnivalesque activities as ''stealing greens (touqing)'' and ''warding off the hundred diseases (zou baibing),'' which strongly demonstrate subversive vitality of the common people.