Prohibition and resistance : the banned works of the Ming loyalists under the Qianlong “Four Treasuries” book ban movement = 禁制與抵抗 : 乾隆《四庫》禁書運動下的明遺民著作

Abstract

Does the exercise of power have its boundaries? Where exactly are these boundaries? These are the fundamental questions that this study concerns. During the compilation of the “Four Treasuries”, Emperor Qianlong initiated a ban on many books from the late Ming and early Qing periods, including the works by those Ming loyalists. However, the book banning campaign encountered significant hidden resistance. The resistance from officials and private book collectors actually affected the effectiveness of the campaign. This paper attempts to use Jin Bao’s work Bianxing tang ji and his posthumous reputation as a case study to analyze the complex considerations behind the official censorship policy, including the ruler’s views on Ming-Qing historical writings and the political identity of the Qing regime, as well as how the responses of the contemporaries influenced the implementation of the policy. It also aims to point out that Qianlong’s book-banning policy varied in different situations. Through strategic adjustments in evaluation, definition, and classification, he sought to use the interpretation and explanation of these books to construct the desired political identity, regulate the ideal monarch-subject relationship, and set the tone for this period of history, establishing the “correct” attitude for future generations to read history. Throughout this process, the interaction between Manchu and Han cultures and the complex reactions of the scholars of the prosperous Qing period became important contexts for understanding the policies of book compilation and censorship of the Qianlong regime. 權力的運作是否有其邊界？此一界限究竟在哪裡？這是本研究所關心的根本問題。乾隆皇帝在《四庫全書》的編纂過程中，對包括明遺民著作在內的大批明末清初書籍發起了禁制，但禁書運動卻遭遇了不少隱藏的阻力。來自官員和民間藏書者的抵抗力量，實際上影響了禁書運動的成效。本文嘗試以金堡的個案為例，通過金氏身後聲名及其著作《徧行堂集》在禁書運動中的遭遇，剖析官方禁制政策背後，統治者對明末清初的歷史書寫和滿清政權的政治認同等問題的複雜考量，以及時人的回應，如何左右政策的落實。本文更希望指出的是，乾隆對於明末清初書籍的禁制手段實際上非常靈活。通過在評價、定義和分類上因時制宜的策略性調整，他力圖利用對明末清初的書籍的解讀和闡釋，構建官方所期望的政治認同、規範臣下遵守他理想中的君臣關係，以及為明末清初這段歷史定調，替後人確立讀史應有的“正確”態度。在整個博弈過程當中，滿、漢民族與文化的互動，盛清士人群體的複雜反應，成為瞭解修書與禁書政策的重要背景。