劉錚雲《檔案中的歷史：清代政治與社會》評介

On Liu Cheng-yun’s History in Archives:Politics and Society in the Qing Dynasty

《檔案中的歷史：清代政治與社會》一書是劉錚雲先生三十餘年來整理、研究清代檔案與歷史的成果結晶。本書涉及清代政治制度、經濟制度、基層組織、會黨叛亂等多種議題，並從個案研究出發來考察清代中央與地方的權力競爭，以及地方民眾的生活實態。作者將傳統正史、志書、方志、文集等史料與檔案材料相結合，大大豐富了清代歷史的研究圖景。這些個案研究為我們提供了幾個觀察清代政治與社會的剖面，讓我們看到中央政府、地方官府與基層社會之間存在著持久的張力，同時也讓我們認識到，在制度議定與實行過程中，三者之間的關係被打通，上層政治與基層生活在制度運作下有了更多互動的可能；到了清代中後期，地方社會動蕩不安，政治制度與道德秩序漸漸失效，中央和地方層面的政治競爭日益加劇，出現了新一輪權力博弈與格局重組。

History in Archives: Politics and Society in the Qing Dynasty, written by Prof. Liu Cheng-yun, presents the author’s fruitful achievements in collecting archives and studying Qing history over the past 30 years. This book discusses a wide range of topics, including political institutions, economic institutions, and social organizations as well as the life of ordinary people in the Qing Dynasty. It attempts to combine traditional historical materials and newly emerging archival records, in order to provide a much broader picture of Qing history. By means of several case studies, the book provides new perspectives from which to examine the politics and society of the Qing Dynasty. It indicates that there was always a tension among the central government, local government and local society. In the progress of decision making and institutional implementation, elite politics and ordinary life interacted with each other. In addition, from the mid-Qing Dynasty, due to social upheavals as well as political and moral disorder, the political competition between the central and local governments was gradually intensified, resulting in a new round of power restructuring.