十九世紀中國社會的結群暴力

Abstract

十九世紀的中國社會發生幾件標誌性的暴力事件，川陝楚白蓮教事件、太平天國戰爭、義和團運動等，它們就像浮出水面的島嶼，沿著某一軌跡分佈排列，構成一串島鏈，這條島鏈就是十九世紀中國社會的暴力形象，而島鏈下方其實是一條巨龍般的山脈在海底綿延，島嶼不過是它火山噴發而露出水面的一角，山脈才是整個形勢之所在，整個中國社會暴力的本體。本文之目的，即在試圖勾勒這座暴力山脈的輪廓，探討其內部活動與結構。十九世紀中國社會民眾結群與暴力的活動日益興盛，除了暴力犯罪團體，他們又透過秘密宗教、秘密會黨與團練等各種形式結群，進行暴力性的競爭；道光咸豐時期，社會陷入集體暴力對抗的結構與情境，在集體暴力螺旋作用之下，進一步造成普遍性的社區集體暴力化。同治光緒時期，遍布全國各地、持續四十餘年的反教活動接續了這股集體暴力的趨勢變成一股潛流，透過長期輿論操作與社會動員，建立了一個反教與暴力的集體心理基礎，演變為具有強大動能的社會運動。義和團事件後，基層社會分化與對抗結構更形嚴重，秩序的力量加速崩塌。而與這股暴力活動同步發展的，是暴力心態與暴力文化，行為與心理共振，心理與行為互動，中國社會的暴力已完全無法自我停止。The 19th century Chinese society witnessed several landmark violent events, including the White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War, and the Boxer Rebellion. These events can be likened to emergent islands, distributed along a specific trajectory, forming an archipelago. This archipelago represents the manifestation of violence in 19th century Chinese society. Beneath this chain of islands lies a massive, dragon-like mountain range extending across the ocean floor. The islands are merely the exposed tips of volcanic eruptions, while the submerged mountain range embodies the true nature and entirety of societal violence in China. This paper aims to delineate the contours of this metaphorical mountain range of violence and examine its internal dynamics and structures.The 19th century Chinese society saw a proliferation of public grouping and violent activities. Beyond violent criminal organizations, people formed groups through various means such as secret religions, secret societies, and tuanlian, engaging in violent competition. During the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods, society became entrenched in a structure and context of collective violent confrontation. The spiral effect of collective violence further precipitated the widespread collectivization of community violence. In the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods, anti-Christian activities, which persisted for over four decades and spread throughout the country, perpetuated this trend of collective violence, evolving into an undercurrent. Through sustained manipulation of public opinion and social mobilization, these activities established a collective psychological foundation for anti-Christian sentiment and violence, metamorphosing into a social movement with significant momentum. In the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, the structure of division and confrontation in grassroots society intensified, accelerating the collapse of social order. Concurrent with these violent activities was the development of violent mentalities and a culture of violence. Behavior and psychology resonated and interacted in a reciprocal manner, rendering the violence in Chinese society self-perpetuating and irrepressible.