| 摘要: | 舊籍說先秦有一種制度：王朝派出專門官員到各地去採集民間歌謠。這種官員在古籍上有著不同的名稱，如「行人」、「遒人」、「軒車使者」、「逌人使者」等等。採詩的目的是為了知民情、觀風俗。雖然我們現今仍不明瞭《詩經》成書的情形為何，但如何使輿情上達天聽，讓在位者能藉此以考察民情風俗，政治得失，是很受傳統上同情民生疾苦的知識分子所認同。自古以來在中國地位低的人向居上位者進諫，不但不被制止，反而受到鼓勵。堯、舜時代尚有「置敢諫之鼓」，「立誹謗之木」的傳說。西周以來「召公諫厲王彌謗」，戰國時期孟子屢以《詩經》中的人物事例作微言諷諫，逐漸形成後代知識分子敢言、敢諫的傳統。而漢代時詩教傳統則發揮了「主文而譎諫」，在進行「風化」與「風刺」的作用時「或傷人倫之廢」、或「哀刑政之苛」，具有「言之者無罪、聞之者足以戒」的特質。在唐代元和時期，以白居易為首的新樂府運動，甚至希望在朝者能夠恢復「采詩官」，採集他們的作品，呈獻於朝廷，作為政治改革的參考。降至民國，胡適、陳寅恪這些飽受西方文化薰陶的現代知識份子，仍能秉持此項傳統，或著述表彰、或為文諷諫，都說明了這項諷諫傳統的可貴。
It is said that there was a system in ancestral Chin Dynasty: The Emperor’s Court sent out officials to collect folklores in all corners of the territory. Such official carried different names in different documents, for example, “Hsin-Ren”, “Chu-Ren”, “Hsuan-Che Messenger”, “Yo -Ren Messenger”, etc. Poetry-collecting was been conducted to know what common people were thinking and the local customs were been observed. Even if we could not acquire evidence or illustrations to prove this ancestral system from the literature we have obtained, nor could we understand how the book Shijing came into existence. However, the idea of how the people’s voice can get across to the leader (Emperor) so that he can evaluate the efficiency of his policies, merits and shortcomings and civil customs through them has long been identified with by the learned people of the time who traditionally sympathized greatly the suffering under-privileged level in the society. From ancient China, not only was not curbed, but was encouraged, for people of lower ranks to give advice and criticism to people of higher ranks. There was the legend of the establishment of “Drums for the Dare-Say”, and “Wood Established for the Slanderers” in the time of Emperors Yao and Shun. In West Zhou Dynasty, there was the story of how “Chao-Kung advised Emperor Li to mend slanders,” in the Warring States era, Menfucius constantly raised people and incidented in Shijing to advise the authority with one individual’s words; all these gradually formed the tradition of the outspokenness and the art of criticism in the learned people of the following generations. In Han Dynasty, the tradition of teachings in poetry exercised the idea of “criticism in literature” and while the poetry functioned as “forming customs” and “forming criticism,” it was also “lamenting the lapse of morality” and “moaning the strictness of criminal code,” which carries with it the quality of “guilt-free on the speakers’ part, yet advices the listeners as well.” In Yuan-ho era of Tang Dynasty, New Poetry Movement led by Bai, Jui-yi expressed their hope that the authority can bring back the system of “poetry-collecting officials” to widely gather poets’ works and presented them to the Court as references to political reformation. Well into the era of the Republic, modern scholars much affected by western culture, such as Hu, Shih and Chen, In-Ke, continued on with this tradition. They praised people and incidents in their wr iting, sometimes they advised and criticized. All these showed us how valuable the tradition of criticism is. |
