唐宋“水力磨坊案”发覆——兼谈中国古代“重本抑末”论的表达与实践  

Reinterpretation of "Watermill cases" of Tang and Song Dynasties:On the Expression and Practice of the Ancient Chinese "Stressing the(agriculture) Basis and Restraining the Superficial" Theory

作　　者：方万鹏[1] FANG Wan-peng(College of History,Nankai University,Tianjin 300350)

机构地区：[1]南开大学历史学院,天津300350

出　　处：《中国农史》2021年第6期99-107,共9页Agricultural History of China

基　　金：国家社会科学基金后期资助项目“技术社会史视野下中国传统水力机械研究”(21FZSB064)。

摘　　要："水力磨坊案"是指水力磨坊因在用水的问题上与农田灌溉、水运之间产生矛盾而被拆毁的水案,在唐宋京畿是一个颇为突出的现象。水力磨坊的经营者多为官方或权势之家,水案的发生亦往往有帝王的诏令或躬身参与,是故相应的历史记载多见于正史君臣传记、政书或类书当中。"水力磨坊案"的历史书写突出表现在对"圣君良吏"人物形象的建构,而其作为事件的叙事完整性却存在缺陷。这一书写特点既彰显了唐宋王朝所秉承的"农本"政治文化,亦揭示了政治制度与政治行为即实际运作层面之间的复杂面相,从而使得水案本身具备了丰富的政治表达意蕴。在传统政论语境下,农田灌溉与水力磨坊分别是"农本"与"末技"的代表,"水力磨坊案"的历史书写与史实面相的差异实则反映了中国古代"农""技"观念表达与实践的不同历史侧面,不能据此简单得出"重本抑末"的结论。A "Watermill case" referred to the water case caused by the contradiction between watermill and farmland water conservancy, which was a quite prominent phenomenon in the capital city of Tang and Song dynasties and its environs. The operators of watermills were mostly officials or powerful families, and the occurrence of water cases often involved imperial edicts or personal participation. Therefore, the corresponding historical records were mostly found in biographies, political documents, or reference books of official history. The historical writing of "watermill cases" prominently reflected in the construction of the "sage emperor and good officials" image, however which had defects as narrative integrity. This writing style not only showed the "agriculture-based" political culture inherited by the Tang and Song Dynasties but also revealed the complex expressions of the relationship between the political system and political actions. Therefore, the water cases had the affluent implication of political expression. In the traditional political context,farmland irrigation and watermill represented "the agriculture basis" and the "technology". As a result, the difference between the historical writing and historical facts of "watermill cases" reflected the different perspectives of the expression and practice of "agriculture" and "technology" in ancient China. From that, we could not draw a simple conclusion to the "stressing the basis and restraining the superficial" theory.

关 键 词：水力磨坊案 历史书写 政治表达 “重本抑末”论 

分 类 号：S-09[农业科学] K207[历史地理—历史学]