英國工業革命中的動物貢獻與生命經驗初探

A Tentative Exploration of the Contribution of Animals to the British ''Industrial Revolution'' and Their Experience Therein

英國工業革命自十九世紀末，已吸引無數史家探究，建立有豐富史實與相競觀點， 可謂一相當成熟的研究領域。然而，近數十年來日益勃興的動物史學，迫使著史家重新 審視過往研究，提醒學界傳統以「人類」做為核心關切對象之敘事，資遮蓋了動物主體、 「經驗與能動性，繼而導致史學上之偏盲，扭曲歷史真實。工業革命敘事，傳統亦未納入動物參與及其主體經驗。更甚之，一個以工業化做為核心的現代化敘事，更往往將現代 | 性視為一個人與自然停經、動物退出人類生產之歷程:於其中，動物更理所當然遭受偏象。本文希冀修正傳統工業革命敘事，重新以「動物」做為觀照主體，檢視十八、十九 世紀英國工業化進程中，動物所擔綱之角色、所起之貢獻，以及所承受之身體經驗。文 章將依序探討農、礦、交通運輸這三個分別對工業化之奠基、動力提供與運作維繫具開 鍵貢獻之產業，分析其中牛、羊、豬、馬等不同物種各異之參與與遭遇。文 這納入了動物主體與經驗之工業革命歷史敘事，之於史學、以及之於現實中之人 「關係的潛在意義。

The British ''Industrial Revolution'' has attracted enormous attention from historians with competing viewpoints from the late nineteenth century onwards. Over the past few decades, the rise of animal-human history has challenged the predominant anthropocentric tendency in history that tends to ignore the animal subjects and their historical experience, which has led to the distortion of the historical realities. The historiography of the British industrializing process exhibits just such a tendency. In addition, often regarded as a principal component of the modernization process, industrialization has further been taken as a process wherein humans have become divorced from nature and, animals divorced from the production process. This, unfortunately, further justifies the absence of animals from the traditional historiography of the British industrial revolution. This article seeks to revise our understanding of the British industrial revolution by placing nonhuman animals under the historical focus. It explores the roles played by nonhuman animals in the industrial revolution, their contributions, as well as their lives and bodily experiences therein. It investigates in turn three chief industries that contributed to the emergence and sustenance of the British industrial revolution-agriculture, coal mining and transportation-and traces the historical experience of different animal species involved therein| namely, cattle, sheep, pigs and horses. In conclusion, the article reflects on the implications of this revised narrative of the British industrial revolution-one that incorporates its crucial animal actors-for the historical discipline as well as for human-animal relations in the larger society.