《中國人的性格》第十三章　公共匱乏

《中國人的性格》是美國傳教士阿瑟·史密斯（明恩溥）基于1872年赴華傳教期間的社會觀察撰寫的著作，首版英文名《Chinese Characteristics》于19世紀末問世，。作者在華生活逾五十年，書中融合人類學視角與傳教士立場，記錄了晚清民眾的性格特征與文化形態。

全書以27個主題章節剖析中國人行為模式，包含“保全面子”“省吃儉用”等生活哲學，以及“漠視精確”“因循守舊”等社會現象。通過對比西方工業文明，著重探討東方特有的生存韌性，如環境適應力與疼痛耐受性。書中案例多源自山東鄉村生活經歷，涉及衣食住行、孝悌觀念等主題，部分結論因宗教立場存在視角爭議。該著作開創西方研究中國國民性先河，被譯成多國文字，成為近代中西文化互鑒的重要文本。

第十三章　公共匱乏

中國最古老的經典之一——《詩經》上有一句也許是農夫所說的禱告辭，大意是：“降雨先至公田，爾后再及私田（雨我公田，遂及我私）。”在周朝興盛時期以及更悠遠的年代，或許確實有這樣的立場，但是現在是肯定不會有農夫或其他什么人祈求老天“先”降雨到“公田”了。我們常常被告之，中國實質上是采取家長制的統治方式，要求其臣民像子女一般服從于統治。一個種植園的黑奴聽到一句格言：“人人為自己，上帝為人人。”可他并沒有正確理解其含義，而把它改成：“人人為自己，上帝也為他自己！

普通中國人對權力本質的看法，與這個黑奴對古老格言的解釋有著相似之處。作為一個普通百姓，他認為，“我能管好自己的事情就夠了。”如果他真的能想到政府，大約也是這樣認為的，“政府已經足夠悠久，又強大無比，沒有我的幫助，完全能照顧好自己。用不著我們去操心。”

另一方面，政府盡管是家長，但更多的是在照顧家長自己，而不是作為全家的家長照顧他的家庭。一般說來，若不是危急存亡，政府是不會為百姓著想的。而由于事先什么準備都沒有，事情發生后，就必須做得更多。百姓清楚地明白，政府努力減輕諸如洪水泛濫災害中損失，目的只是為了保證稅收不受損失。而老百姓自己努力預防這類的災害，則是出于自我保護的本能。因為百姓們深信，若是讓政府來辦理這類事，反而要給自己增加大量的苛捐雜稅。

中國的道路狀況很能說明政府對公共事務的不重視以及百姓公共精神的匱乏。在這個帝國，許多地方都曾有過以前帝國修筑的公路。這種公路不僅在北京附近的地區可以看到，就像湖南、四川這些邊遠的省份也同樣可以看到。但這些道路，現在大多都已經損壞了。筑路需要花大筆的錢，而維護保養則相對要容易些。但是政府和百姓都忽略了維護保養，以至于讓這類的大公路發生了損壞，現在已經嚴重妨礙了交通。最有甚者，整條路都報廢了。有人估算，這些交通要道的毀壞，發生在明末清初的那個動蕩年代。那么，考慮到政治動蕩的那幾年，至今少說也有二百五十年了，這么一段漫長的時光足以修復這些交通干線。但是，這種修復工作從未有過，甚至也沒人提出過，其后果就是我們今天所熟悉的這種狀況。

政府的態度與百姓的態度是相互影響的，如出一轍。百姓關心的只是個人不要遭受損失，而不顧公共財產到底會怎樣。事實上，中國人就從沒想過，一條路或其他什么東西是屬于“公共擁有的”。“江山”（也就是整個帝國）被認為是當朝皇帝世襲的財產，他在位多久就擁有多久。道路也是他的，若要修復什么的，就讓皇帝老爺自己去干好了。

但是，從另外的意義上說，穿過農田的那部分道路，又是不屬于皇帝的。如果不提農民的農田也屬于皇帝這個前提的話，實際上，農田若是農民憑力氣開墾出來，那則屬于他自己的，農民要怎么用就怎么用。田中那些不屬于皇帝的路，給那些愿意走的人去走，也不必征得土地所有者的同意。

然而，盡管穿過農田的那部分道路歸農民所有，但是，通過農田的那部分道路同其他田地一樣，要支付稅賦。因此，這部分道路的所有者所獲得的好處并不比其他人更多。在這種情況下，顯而易見的，農夫們要盡可能地擠占道路，他在道路兩旁擴展溝渠和田埂，使道路越來越狹窄，交通也更為困難。若是夏季暴雨沖毀農田，道路和農田混在一起，農民會在路上重新開挖出自己的農田。這樣，再加上自然的狂風暴雨，原來的道路最后成了一條水溝。對于我們所說的“路權”的概念，中國人是毫無想象的。

在京津之間的白河上乘船旅行，途經天津與北京的交界處時，偶爾會看到河面上有小旗。經打聽才知道，這些小旗是用來指示，凡是立旗的下面均有水雷，過往船只必須繞開而行！我們還聽說過，一支參加軍事演習的中國部隊，在進行軍事演習時，居然直接把他們的大炮橫在一條干道上打炮，其引發的結果是，交通中斷，牲口受驚，很快導致了一場嚴重的事故。

一個馬車夫想卸貨，會在馬路中間直接裝卸貨物，而過往的人只能等到他干完活才能通過。一個農夫突然想砍倒一棵樹，他會把樹橫倒在路上，過往的人只能停下腳步，等到他把樹砍斷，搬開為止。

城市里對街道的侵占，其雜亂程度絲毫不比鄉村里自由自在的生活方式差。北京寬闊的街道兩旁擺滿了各種貨攤。這些地方本不是擺攤之處，如果皇帝偶爾打這條街道經過，這些貨攤都會很快搬走。皇帝一走，小商販們立刻又都回到原處，在大多數中國的城市里，狹窄的街道上排著各式手工作坊。殺豬的，理發的，肩挑賣吃的，做木工的，修桶的以及其他無數工匠，都插進小街的兩旁大顯身手。更有甚者，還會有女人們把家中被褥拿出來，攤開在大街上晾曬。因為她們的小院子遠不如街道來得寬敞，中國人幾乎沒有不能擺到街上的東西。

阻塞街道交通的不僅僅是這些小商販。木匠在其攤位前留下一堆木塊，染色工把長長的布匹掛在高處，賣面條的沿街曬起面條。因為，在他們看來攤前的空地不是屬于任何“公共”的，而是屬于攤主的。但是既然道路被他們所占據，就需要有相應的維修的責任。可是現階段，中國人根本沒想過這一點。一個人即使想維修道路（這樣的事情從來沒有發生過），他也沒時間和所需的一切。而許多人合在一起修整道路，那更是不可能的，因為每個人都生怕自己比別人干的更多而得到的好處卻更少。其實，對于每個地方官員，如果他們去要求沿路的村莊能各自養護一段，保證所屬范圍里的道路四季通行，這一切都不是很難辦的事情。但是，中國的官員能不能想到這一點，這是一個大大的疑問。

中國人對屬于“公共的”一切不僅不當一回事，或不加愛護，或占用，甚至這些財產還成了偷盜的目標。鋪路用的石子被人搬回家去用了，城墻上的方磚日漸減少。在中國的某個港口城市，有一座外國人的墓地。當人們發現那塊墓地是無人看守時，它的圍墻就被弄得一塊磚也不剩下。就在幾年之前，北京紫禁城里發生過一起驚天的案子。人們發現，某些建筑物屋頂的銅飾物被盜，這在皇宮里引起了一場非常大的轟動。中國人普遍持有這樣的一個看法，在十八個省份中，遭到盜竊最多的人，就是貴有天下的皇帝本人。

中國人是否有愛國主義態度？這是一個經常被提出來的問題，同時也不是用一句話就能回答清楚的問題。中國人，特別是中國的文士階層，無疑是具有強烈的民族感情的。因此他們對外國人普遍抱有敵對情緒，并認為西方人的發明源于中國。他們的這種敵意，很大程度上來自于這種民族感情。

近年來，湖南省出現大量排外的文章，惡意誹謗外國人，試圖引起一場大混亂，把洋鬼子趕出天朝。在中國人看來，寫出這些文章的舉動是值得贊賞的，正如我們看待反對無政府主義的態度一樣。這樣的攻擊舉動其主要原因是由于誤會，另一方面，也是由于中國人對西方國家的憎恨。也許有許多中國人認為，這場運動充分體現了愛國主義精神。但是，這些寫文章的中國人除了為國效勞的需要之外，還為之獲取了可觀的名利報酬。而究竟是名利所致，還是愛國情緒的驅動，兩種愿望孰輕孰重，這個問題需要有更多的證據才能說得清楚，而不能僅憑某一個了解中國的外國人的印象而下定論。

當前，一個中國人是愛國者可以不必非常關心韃靼王朝的命運，但我們完全有理由認為，無論怎樣改朝換代，中華民族的整體感情是與今天一樣的——就是極度的漠不關心。對此，孔夫子曾含蓄地在《論語》中對關于人們面對公共事務時說了話：“不在其位，不謀其政。”在我們看來，這句意味深長的話一半是結果，另一半則在很大程度上是造成中國人對與自己無關的事漠不關心的原因，導致他們在與他們無關的事情上都不感興趣。

對此，哈克·古柏查先生記錄下了一個很好的事例：“1850年，道光皇帝駕崩。當時，我們正離京外出旅行。有一天，我們在一家客棧喝茶，和幾個中國人坐在了一起。我們便和他們悄悄地攀談起政治，談到了皇帝在近日駕崩，這本是一樁肯定會引起每個人興趣的重要事件。我們表達了自己的擔憂，由于皇位的繼承者還沒有公布于世，政事充滿了變數，于是就說道：‘你們中間誰能知道皇帝的三個皇子中哪一個會繼承皇位？如果是大兒子，他會沿襲現行的政府體制嗎？如果是小兒子，他還太小，據說朝廷中分為兩大派系，他會傾向哪一派呢？’我們簡要地提出各種猜測，目的在于激發這些善良的老百姓們提出自己的看法。但是，他們對我們所說的話根本提不起任何興趣。

“我們一次又一次地向他們提出有關問題。這些問題，在我們看來是相當重要的，但他們只是搖頭，只顧著各自抽煙、喝茶。他們的無動于衷的確激起了我們的不滿。這時，這些可敬的中國人中有一個從凳子上慢慢站了起來，走到我們身邊，完全是以一種長輩的架勢拍拍我們的肩膀，更像是帶著嘲笑的面容在說：‘我的朋友，聽我說，你何必要為這些吃力不討好的事操心勞神呢？自有那些當官的去關心國家大事，他們拿的是朝廷的俸祿，吃這碗飯。就讓他們去掙他們的錢好了，我們別為與我們毫不相干的事煩惱，我們一個銅板都得不到，還傻乎乎地去關心政治，不是傻瓜么！’其他人也隨聲附和道，‘就是這么個理。’于是，他們又示意我們，我們面前的茶已經涼了，煙斗里的煙也抽完了，該走人了。”

人們還曾記得，1860年英國軍隊進攻北京的時候，用來拉物資的，就是從中國山東買來的騾子。天津和通州為了維護各自地方的利益，簽訂了投降條約，應允只要英法聯軍不侵犯這兩座城市，他們同意提供所需的一切軍需物資。為外國軍隊干苦力活的絕大多數是從香港雇來的中國人，這類苦力被中國軍隊俘虜后，被剪掉辮子又送還給英軍——不難看出，如果說中國人的確存在著愛國主義精神，真有公共精神，那么這些詞的含義，也應該不同于盎格魯撒克遜人平素所使用該詞時所理解的那個涵義。

當人們被迫起來反抗統治者的壓迫和苛捐雜稅時，總會有一些人站出來成為帶頭人。這樣的情況并不罕見。在他們的領導下，抗議運動會搞得轟轟烈烈。此時，政府萬般無奈，還是會做出妥協。但一旦事情過后，無論廣大的“愚民”們被如何處置，政府總會報仇，那些帶頭人總難免為了正義而一死。為了正義甘冒危險、愿獻生命，這才算得上是公共精神的最高體現。

在中國歷史上的種種關鍵時刻，尤其是改朝換代時，總有一些懷有赤子之心的志士仁人挺身而出，擔當起重任，義無反顧地獻身于他們所崇敬的事業。這些人不僅是中國真正的愛國者，他們的行為本身也無可辯駁地證明，中國人能夠在具有公共精神的領導人的帶領下，激發出極大的英勇氣概，做出慷慨的壯舉。

英文原版：

THE Bookof Odes, one of the most ancient of the ChineseClassics, contains the following prayer, supposed to beuttered by the husbandmen : " May it rain first on our publicfields, and afterwards extend to our private ones." Whatevermay have been true of the palmy days of the Chou Dynastyand of those which preceded it, there can be no doubt thatvery little praying is done in the present day, either by husbandmen or any other private individuals, for rain which isto be applied "first" on the "public fields." The Chinesegovernment, as we are often reminded, is patriarchal in itsnature, and demands filial obedience from its subjects. Aplantation negro who had heard the saying, " Every man forhimself, and God for us all," failed to reproduce the preciseshade of its thought in his own modified version, as follows,"Everyman for himself, and Godfor himself!" This newform of an old adage 'contains in a nutshell the substance ofthe views of the average Chinese \\nth regard to the powersthat be. " I, for my part, am obliged to look out for myself,"he seems to think, if indeed he bestows any thought whateveron the government, and " the government is old enough andstrong enough to take care of itself without any help of mine."The government, on the other hand, although patriarchal, ismuch more occupied in looking after the Patriarch, than incaring for the Patriarch's family. Generally speaking, it willdo very little to which it is not impelled by the danger, if it does nothing at first, of having to do all the more at a laterdate. The people recognise distinctly that the prospectiveloss of taxes is the motive force in government efforts to mitigate disasters such as the continual outbreaks of irrepressible rivers.What the people do for themselves in endeavouringto prevent calamities of this sort, is due to the instinct of selfpreservation, for the people thus make sure that the work isdone, and also escape the numberless exactions which aresure to be the invariable concomitants of government energylocally applied.

No more typical example could be selected of the neglectof public affairs by the government, and the absence of publicspirit among the people, than the condition of Chinese roads.There are abundant evidences in various parts of the EmpireIthat there once existed great imperial highways connectingmany of the most important cities, and that these highwayswere paved with stone and bordered with trees. The ruinsof such roads are found not only in the neighbourhood ofPeking, but in such remote regions as Hunan and Szechuen.Vast sums must have been expended on their construction,and it would have been comparatively easy to keep them inrepair, but this has been uniformly neglected, so that the ruinsof such highways present serious impediments to travel, andthe tracks have been abandoned from sheer necessity. Ithas been supposed that this decay of the great lines of traffictook place during the long period of disturbances before theclose of the Ming Dynasty, and at the beginning of the present Manchu hne ; but making all due allowance for politicalconvulsions, a period of two hundred and fifty years is surelysufficiently long in which to restore the arteries of the Empire.No such restoration has either taken place or been attempted,and the consequence is the state of things with which we arebut too familiar.

The attitude of the government is handsomely matched by chat of the people, who each and all are in the position of one who has no care or responsibihty for what is done withthe pubhc property so long as he personally is not the loser.In fact, the very conception that a road, or that anything,belongs to " the public " is totally alien to the Chinese mind.The "streams and mountains " (that is, the Empire) are supposed to be the property in fee simple of the Emperor for thetime, to have and to hold as long as he can. The roads arehis too, and if anything is to be done to them let him do it.But the greater part of the roads do not belong to the Emperor in any other sense than that in which the farms of the peasants belong to him, for these roads are merely narrow strips of farms devoted to the use of those who wish to use them, not with the consent of the owner of the land, for thatwas never asked, but from the force of necessity. The entireroad belongs to some farm, and pays taxes hke any otherland, albeit the owner derives no more advantage from itsuse than does any one else. Under these circumstances, it isevidently the interest of the farmer to restrict the roads asmuch as he can, which he does by an extended system ofditches and banks designed to make it difficult for any one totraverse any other than the narrow strip of land which is indispensable for communication. If the heavy summer rainswash away a part of the farm into the road, the farmer goesto the road and digs his land out again, a process which, combined with natural drainage and the incessant dust-storms, results eventually in making the road a canal. Of what we mean by "right of way" no Chinese has the smallest conception.

Travellers on the Peiho River between Tientsin and Pekinghave sometimes noticed in the river little flags, and uponinquiry have ascertained that they indicated the spots wheretorpedoes had been planted, and that passing boats were expected to avoid them! A detachment of Chinese troops engaged in artillery practice has been known to train theircannon directly across one of the leading highways of theEmpire, to the great interruption of traffic and to the terrorof the animals attached to carts, the result being a seriousrunaway accident.

A man who wishes to load or to unload his cart leaves itin the middle of the roadway while the process is going on,and whoever wishes to use the road must wait until the pro'cess is completed. If a farmer has occasion to fell a tree heallows it to fall across the road, and travellers can tarry untilthe trunk is chopped up and removed.

The free and easy ways of the country districts are wellmatched by the encroachments upon the streets of cities.The wide streets of Peking are lined with stalls and boothswhich have no right of existence, and which must be summarily removed if the Emperor happens to pass that way.As soon as the Emperor has passed, the booths are in theirold places. The narrow passages which serve as streets inmost Chinese cities are choked with every form of industrialobstruction. The butcher, the barber, the peripatetic cookwith his travelling-restaurant, the carpenter, the cooper, andcountless other workmen, plant themselves by the side of thetiny passage which throbs with the life of a great metropolis,and do all they can to form a strangulating clot. Even thewomen bring out their quilts and spread them on the road,.for they have no space so broad in their exiguous courts.There is very little which the Chinese do at all which is notat some time done on the street.

Nor are the obstructions to traffic of a movable nature only.The carpenter leaves a pile of huge logs in front of his shop,the dyer hangs up his long bolts of cloth, and the flour-dealerhis strings of vermicelli across the principal thoroughfare, forthe space opposite to the shop of each belongs not to animaginary " public," but to the owner of the shop. The idea that this alleged ownership of the avenues of locomotion entails any corresponding duties in the way of repair, is not onewhich the Chinese mind, in its present stage of development,is capable of taking in at all. No one individual, even if hewere disposed to repair a road (which would never happen),has the time or the material wherewith to do it, and for manypersons to combine for this purpose would be totally out ofthe question, for each would be in deep anxiety lest he shoulddo more of the work, and receive less of the benefit, thansome other person. It would be very easy for each localmagistrate to require the villages lying along the line of themain highways, or within a reasonable distance thereof, tokeep them passable at almost all seasons, but it is doubtfulwhether this idea ever entered the mind of any Chineseofficial.

Not only do the Chinese feel no interest in that whichbelongs to the " pubhc," but all such property, if unprotectedand available, is a mark for theft. Paving-stones are carriedoff for private use, and square rods of the brick facing to citywalls gradually disappear. A wall enclosing a foreign cemetery in one of the ports of China was carried away till not abrick remained, as soon as it was discovered that the placewas in charge of no one in particular. It is not many yearssince an extraordinary sensation was caused in the Imperialpalace in Peking by the discovery that extensive robberies hadbeen committed on the copper roofs of some of the buildingswithin the forbidden city. It is a common observation amongthe Chinese that, within the Eighteen Provinces, there is noone so imposed upon and cheated as the Emperor.

The question is often raised whether the Chinese have anypatriotism, and it is not a question which can be answered ina word. There is undoubtedly a strong national feeling, especially among the literary classes, and to this feeling much ofthe hostiUty exhibited to foreigners and their inventions is to be traced. Within recent years the province of Hunan hasbeen flooded with streams of anti-foreign hterature full ofmaUgnant calumniations, and designed to cause riots whichshall drive the foreign devil out of the Celestial Empire.From the Chinese point of view the impulse which leads tothese publications is as praiseworthy as we should considerresistance to anarchists to be. The charges are partly due tomisapprehension, and in part also to that race hatred fromwhich Western nations are by no means free. Probably manyChinese consider these attacks thoroughly patriotic. But thatany considerable body of Chinese are actuated by a desire toserve their country, because it is their country, aside from theprospect of emolument, is a proposition which will requiremuch more proof than has yet been offered to seciu-e its acceptance by any one who knows the Chinese. It need notbe remarked that a Chinese might be patriotic without takingmuch interest in the fortunes of a Tartar Dynasty like thepresent, but there is the best reason to think that, whateverthe dynasty might happen to be, the feeling of the mass of thenation would be the same as it is now—a feeling of profoundindifference. The key-note to this view of public affairs wassounded by Confucius himself, in a pregnant sentence foundin the " Analects " : " The Master said : He who is not in anoffice has no concern with plans for the administration of itsduties." To our thought these significant words are partly theresult, and to a very great degree the cause, of the constitutional unwillingness of the Chinese to interest themselves inmatters for which they are in no way responsible.

M. Hue gives an excellent example of this spirit. "In185 1, at the period of the death of the Emperor Tao Kuang,we were travelling on the road from Peking, and one daywhen we had been taking tea at an inn, in company withsome Chinese citizens, we tried to get up a little political discussion. We spoke of the recent death of the Emperor, an Important event which of course must have interested everybody. We expressed our anxiety on the subject of the succession to the Imperial throne, the heir to which was not yetpubHcly declared. 'Who knows,' said we, 'which of the threesons of tlie Emperor will have been appointed to succeedhim? If it should be the eldest, will he piu-sue the same system of government? If the younger, he is still very young,and it is said that there are contrary influences, two opposingparties at court ; to which will he lean? ' We put forward,in short, all kinds of hypotheses, in order to stimulate thesegood citizens to make some observation. But they hardlylistened to us. We came back again and again to the charge,in order to elicit some opinion or other on questions that reallyappeared to us of great importance. But to all our piquantsuggestions they replied by shaking their heads, puffing outwhiffs of smoke, and taking great gulps of tea. This apathywas really beginning to provoke us, when one of these worthyChinese, getting up from his seat, came and laid his two handson our shoulders in a manner quite paternal, and said, smilingrather ironically : ' Listen to me, my friend! Why should youtrouble your heart and fatigue your head by all these vainsurmises? The mandarins have to attend to affairs of statethey are paid for it. Let them earn their money, then. Butdon't let us torment ourselves about what does not concernus. We should be great fools to want to do political businessfor nothing.' ' That is very conformable to reason,' cried therest of the company ; and thereupon they pointed out to usthat oiu: tea was getting cold and our pipes were out."

When it is remembered that in the attack on Peking, ini860, the British army was furnished with mules bought ofthe Chinese in the province of Shantung ; that Tientsin andTungchow made capitulations on their own account, agreeingto provide the British and French with whatever was wantedif these cities were not disturbed; that most indispensable coolie work was done for the foreign allies by Chinese subjectshired for the purpose in Hongkong; and that when thesesame coolies were captured by tlie Chinese army they weresent back to the British ranks with their cues cut off—it is notdifficult to perceive that patriotism and public spirit, if suchthings exist at all in China, do not mean what these wordsimply to Anglo-Saxons.

Upon the not infrequent occasions when it is necessary forthe people to rise and resist the oppressions and exactions oftheir rulers, it is always indispensable that there should be afew men of capacity to take the lead. Under them the movement may gather such momentum that the government mustmake some practical concessions. But whatever it does withthe mass of the "stupid people," the leaders are invariablymarked men, and nothing less than their heads will satisfy thedemands of justice. To be willing not merely to risk butalmost certainly to lose one's life in such a cause is the highestpossible example of public spirit.

At critical epochs in Chinese history, especially when thereis likely to be a change of dynasties, single-hearted and resolute men have often thrown themselves into the breach, witha chivalrous devotion to the cause which they espoused worthyof the highest praise. Such men are not only true patriots,but are irrefragable proofs that the Chinese are capable ofbeing stirred to the most heroic exertions in following publicspirited leaders.