文治之下的抗議：嘉慶四年蘇州士人的集體抗議與皇帝的反應

Protest under “Rule by Culture”: The 1799 Suzhou Literati Protest and the Imperial Response

嘉慶4年（1799）蘇州吳縣知縣甄輔廷任意鞭笞（擅責）生員，引發了一場士人集體抗議事件，本文即嘗試針對此事件做個案研究。嘉慶深知官僚貪腐惡行之嚴重性，為瞭解這起事件，因而盡力整合士人的意見。此舉與雍、乾二帝一心只想以嚴厲手段處理類似事件，實有天壤之別。而嘉慶對於該事件更為寬大的處理方式，可謂劃時代的改變，並深為十九世紀蘇州士人所稱讚。事實上，這意味著朝廷對待官員及漢人儒生的態度有所調整。嘉慶對於這次蘇州抗議事件的新立場，其影響至為深遠。事實上，此已預示十九世紀清帝針對同類騷動將採行的對應慣例。當然，文人抗議於十九世紀仍是非法。然而，如同嘉慶對於1799年蘇州事件的處置方式，十九世紀的清帝常會加以克制而不處死暴動首要分子，並要求涉案之地方官員為暴動負責，甚或加以革職。再者，即如蘇州事件所預示般，十九世紀的清帝亦相當關心地方官員擅責生員之事，並嚴懲違犯的官員。而此與乾隆時期，若官員過問擅責即遭懲罰之情況至為不同。簡而言之，與過去的清帝相比，十九世紀的清帝們較為願意去探討是否因官員貪腐瀆職而造成地方騷動。

In 1799 the Wu County magistrate flogged a licentiate, provoking Suzhou literati to protest against his arbitrary action. This article shows that the outcome of this protest was substantially shaped by imperial intervention, for the Jiaqing Emperor sought to raise literati morale while maintaining bureaucratic discipline. The protest thus illuminates a broader context of changing state attitudes toward literati collective actions. This article also examines how Suzhou people understood and remembered this event, which shaped the development of literati political activism in the nineteenth century. Local and provincial officials initially meted out harsh punishments to the protestors. However, as the event unfolded, Jiaqing acted to modify their verdicts. While not directly countenancing the protest, Jiaqing thus in effect acted to chastise the bureaucracy. After a long period in which Qing emperors had believed that disciplining of literati took precedence over encouragement of literati morale, the bureaucracy was revealing signs of decay. Various social problems required the public participation of literati. In the 1799 case, in contrast to the harsh punishments such protests evoked during the reign of his father, the Qianlong Emperor, Jiaqing limited the punishment to only three leaders of the protest, and the punishments meted out to them were rather light.