祇恐遺珠負九淵：明清易代與《偏關志》書寫

“In Fear that Pearls will be Lost to the Deep”: The Ming-Qing Transition and the Compilation of the Pianguan Gazetteer

本文以《偏關志》為例，探討地方文人對明清易代史事的書寫，以及方志編纂背後各種影響讀者的意圖。偏關原是明代衛所，戍守大明邊疆。明清之際偏關將士相繼投誠於大順與大清，繼而又響應反清復明的軍事行動。事後，地方在強大的政治壓力下重新書寫地方的當代史事。編纂者運用史筆，讓讀者不易察覺偏關投降的歷史，也運用特殊的編排方式讓叛清者留下史傳，更在字裡行間透露出戰亂對當地人倫關係的傷害，企圖用少量的文字延續地方的口傳歷史。但此志在有清一代一直以稿本的形式保存，直到民國時期才刊印成書。地方文人閱後確實受到啟發，並重新發現遭到壓迫的地方史。只是事隔近三百年，在恢復歷史記憶的同時，也丟失志書中字裡行間所透露的訊息。 Using the Pingguan Gazetteer as an example, this article explores accounts of the Ming-Qing transition in local gazetteers and the subtle editorial efforts to influence the opinions of readers. Pianguan was originally a Ming military garrison, guarding the border of the empire. During the Ming-Qing transition, soldiers of Pingyuan one after another defected to the Qing after the fall of Beijing. But then, they played an influential role in the military efforts to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming. Afterwards, local officials were charged with writing a new account of recent local history under great political pressure. The gazetteer editors compiled a history that made it difficult for readers to discern Pianguan’s history of defection, and also used their editorial skills to grant biographies to those who had resisted the Qing. In their historical accounts they also exposed the suffering that the war had brought to Pianguan, in an attempt to use some of the written record to preserve orally transmitted historical narratives. But this edition of the gazetteer remained in manuscript form for the entire Qing dynasty, and was only published during the Republican era. Local scholars who read it found it illuminating and rediscovered a part of local history that had been suppressed. With three hundred years of separation from the historical events, in the process of recovering the historical memory, they also overlooked information laid forth in the records of the gazetteer.

Using the Pingguan Gazetteer as an example, this article explores accounts of the Ming-Qing transition in local gazetteers and the subtle editorial efforts to influence the opinions of readers. Pianguan was originally a Ming military garrison, guarding the border of the empire. During the Ming-Qing transition, soldiers of Pingyuan one after another defected to the Qing after the fall of Beijing. But then, they played an influential role in the military efforts to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming. Afterwards, local officials were charged with writing a new account of recent local history under great political pressure. The gazetteer editors compiled a history that made it difficult for readers to discern Pianguan’s history of defection, and also used their editorial skills to grant biographies to those who had resisted the Qing. In their historical accounts they also exposed the suffering that the war had brought to Pianguan, in an attempt to use some of the written record to preserve orally transmitted historical narratives. But this edition of the gazetteer remained in manuscript form for the entire Qing dynasty, and was only published during the Republican era. Local scholars who read it found it illuminating and rediscovered a part of local history that had been suppressed. With three hundred years of separation from the historical events, in the process of recovering the historical memory, they also overlooked information laid forth in the records of the gazetteer.