清代臺灣科舉制度的實施、弊端與特色

Abstract

有關清代在臺實施的科舉制度，是影響臺灣社會發展的重要制度，也是清廷治臺期間首要的惠臺措施，因此向來對科舉的研究不少，舉凡科舉制度的變遷，有多少人考上進士、舉人？乃至科舉弊端的冒籍、科舉移民，都是研究的重點。然而由於過去相關材料的使用不足，以及較少由京師、省城的角度來看臺灣，並且僅就制度的變革，未由科舉社群（童生、生員、舉人、進士）、教官、提調官（知府、知縣）、學政（主要由臺灣道兼理）的角度來觀察執行面，因此尚有進一步研究的空間。本文介紹一些臺灣舉人《鄉試硃卷》的史料、2位有童試經驗者的詩稿與略歷，並討論過去相關的研究主題與成果；其次探討生員學額、舉人保障名額、進士的特定名額的變遷，第三討論上述科舉社群、教官、學政，即應考者、教育管理者、決定錄取名單者各自不同的角色，第四討論科舉制度在臺灣的特色。經如上討論得以了解，以臺灣道等人兼理學政的角色不一定稱職，而早期學額多、考生少，造成終清治臺期間無法遏止冒考的現象，形成弊端的主要來源。至於舉人給的保障名額，有些是禮部給的配額3、粵1，有3名是利用捐例，用一名15萬兩「買」來的。臺灣進士的名額到了道光3年（1823）在有10個舉人進京會試下，取得1名進士的名額，這也是朝廷給臺灣特別優惠的處置。至於學額中的粵籍名額，雖皆由在臺官僚代為爭取而得，但閩粵間學額的爭奪，是否也是清中葉前閩、粵械鬥的原因之一，有待進一步研究。

Due to the importance of the Qing Imperial Examination System in Taiwan, which was the court's primary favor for the island, it has been an important subject for scholarly research. Topics frequently discussed include: changes of the system, numbers of successful candidates at the highest (palace) as well as the provincial level (i.e. numbers of Advanced Scholar, or Chinshih and Recommended Man, or Chujen), and malpractices such as faking native place, exam migration, etc. However, due to insufficient usage of available records, a tendency of not inquiring through the perspective of national or provincial capitals for what happened in Taiwan, plus a proclivity to discuss mainly the evolution of the examination system and not the perspective of participants (such as those who attended examinations at all levels, instructors as well as administrators at provincial level, etc.), plenty room still remains for further investigation. This article opens with an introduction to some "Red Ink Transcription" records, experiences of two individuals who had taken part in the first level exam and their poems and resumes; it then briefly discussed relevant researches and findings. The second part discusses variations of the number of Student Members (Shengyuan), reserved number of Chujen, and specific quota of Chinshih. The third section explains different roles played by the above mentioned participants of the exam system. Then, it discusses features which were unique as practiced in Taiwan. The article concludes that it was not always proper to let the highest administrator of Taiwan (Taiwantao) to manage local education system concurrently. During the early Qing period, there were more quota of Shengyuan for Taiwan than the number of Taiwanese taking part in the exam, hence it was almost impossible to stop factitious examinees. It thus became the main source of malpractice. As for the reserved quota for Chujen, some were specified by Ministry of Rites: three for Fujian, one for Kwangtung, and three were reserved for donators of 150,000 taels of silver each. By 1823, there were 10 Chujen went to Beijing to attend the palace examination while one Chinshih was reserved for Taiwan. This was also a special privilege. As for the quota of Shengyuan reserved for Cantonese, even though it was obtained through the suggestion of officials in Taiwan, one suspects that fighting for those quotas might be one of the main causes of the frequent armed clashes between people from Fujian and Kwangtung. This, however, requires further research to verify.