臨戰脫逃亦或壯烈殉國？——《盾鼻隨聞錄》、《寄蝸殘贅》作者汪堃考略

Running Away or Being Martyred?–A Historical Study on the Author of Dunbi suiwenlu and Jiwo canzhui

或因版本各異，署名眾多，對於《盾鼻隨聞錄》和《寄蝸殘贅》的作者，各家著錄不一，學界更存有爭議。雖有學者認為兩書作者皆是汪堃，然是否乃同一人又無法判定，至於汪氏為何有如此多的化名，更成難解之謎。本文確認兩書作者乃是同一人，皆是汪堃，並考證其生平，發現其在雲南任上恰逢叛亂，臨陣脫逃，清廷卻認定汪氏在叛亂中殉國，乃至立廟祭祀。汪堃自此便不敢以真名示人，只以「葵愚道人」、「樗園退叟」、「雲閣退叟」、「魯齋大令」等諸多化名著書，為己開脫。齋名「不懼無悶」或是汪氏獨特人格的體現，「寄蝸殘贅」這一怪異的書名更是其晚年心態的真實反映。

Perhaps owing to different versions of the texts and multiple pseudonyms used, there have been controversies among academics over the identity of the author of Dunbi suiwenlu and Jiwo canzhui. Although some scholars believe that the author of these two books is Wang Kun, this proposition has not been verified. Besides, why Wang Kun assumed so many pseudonyms remains a mystery. This article confirms that the authors of the two books are the same person—Wang Kun. Examining Wang’s life story, this article discovers that when he served as an officer in Yunnan province, he encountered a rebellion, and then he ran away. As Wang Kun believed that he was dead in the eyes of the Qing government, he did not dare to show his real name, and used various fake names to absolve himself of possible censures. Although Jiwo canzhui is a weird title for a book, it could be a true reflection of Wang’s mentality in old age.