Historical views of Qing Confucian loyalists in Hong Kong: a study of Ou Dadian’s "Shilue"

Abstract

After the establishment of the Republic of China, many former Qing subjects employed different means to express their pro-Qing political and moral stance. Those from Guangdong gradually migrated to Hong Kong, which was ceded to Britain in the aftermath of the Opium War, because of the geographical proximity of the two places. Under the British colonial rule, they formed a unique 'social circle' dedicated to academic study, literary creation and the compilation of historical works and local chronicles, with emphasis being laid on education and the spreading of Confucian thought. Ou Dadian (1877-1937), a scholar who had spent a considerable period of time on the teaching of Confucian classical studies, was one of these migrants. His twelve publications on Confucian classics and one on the book 'Laozi' all received considerable attention from scholars. This article seeks to examine the historical views of this migrant Confucian scholar articulated during his stay in Hong Kong through the rarely found history textbook, i.e. "Shilue".

中華民國建立後，不少清遺民都會借助多式多樣的方法表達他們擁戴清朝的政治立場與道德取態。廣東籍的清遺民因著地緣的關係，相率移居清廷在鴉片戰爭後被迫割讓給英國的香港。他們在此英國殖民管治下的地方形成特有的「社交圈」，致力學術研究、詩文創作與史籍方志的編修。他們尤著意於教育工作與儒家思想的弘揚。區大典（1877-1937）是這群寓居香港的廣東籍清遺民中長期從事經學教育工作的經學家。他編撰成書的經學著述十二種與子學著述《老子講義》均已受到學者的重視。本文則擬藉區大典編撰、今坊間已難得一見的一冊歷史教科書－《史略》，窺探此位清遺民經學家寓居香港期間的史學視野。