不爲良相，則爲儒商———“紳商”陳步墀的儒家情懷與慈善事業

If not a Competent Minister then a Gentry Businessman: the Confucian Thought and Charity Career of Chen Buchi

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

1908年6月，廣東肇慶、南海、東莞、清遠、四會及廣西桂林等地，遭遇特大洪災，牆傾屋摧，崩決百丈，田園徧成澤國，平民葬身魚腹，宛如末日降臨。這場百年不遇的大洪災，將一個人推到了臺前。在這次大洪災中，他每天在報章上刊發自己所撰寫的題爲“救命詞”的詩篇，呼籲大衆關注。許多女子刺繡他的詩義賣，捐錢助賑，爲他贏得了“繡詩樓主人”的雅號。在他的呼籲和感召下，官員、醫院、善堂，甚至優伶娼妓都投身到這次大型賑濟之中，充分體現了香港作爲慈善之都的深切意涵。同時他開創的賣物義賑演變成爲當今香港賣旗的源頭，對當今香港慈善理念的形成都有促進意義。進而，他的後續行爲還揭開了香港保良局領婚領育神秘的面紗之一角，使我們得以窺見粵港融合的過程中少爲人知的另一面。而且他以商人的身分出任香港保良局總理，其一系列的行爲包括賑災、領婚、領育、興辦教育，實際上是承擔了地方官或者地方鄉紳的一部分職能。這實際上是光緒廢科舉之後，不能夠學而優則仕的一部分讀書人，從“士子”轉型爲“紳商”，將“民胞物與，修齊治平”的理念予以現代化轉型及實踐的典型。

In June 1908, a disastrous flood inundated many counties of Guangdong province, such as Zhaoqing, Nanhai, Dongguan, Qingyuan, and Sihui, as well as Guilin in Guangxi province. Thousands of houses were destroyed, millions of people were made homeless, and their fields were all flooded— as though it was the end of the world.

Chen Buchi (1870-1934) rose to the historic arena during this very rare catastrophe. In the flood period, Chen published his poems entitled “Save Lives” in the newspaper every day to attract the attention of the public. These poems were embroidered on pieces of cloth by many ladies who sold them to raise funds for victims of the flood. This won Chen the fine sobriquet of Master of Studio of Embroidered Poems. In response to Chen’s call to salvation, many people from different sectors, such as government offices, hospitals, charity bodies, and even actors, actresses, and prostitutes, joined these charity activities. This illustrates Hong Kong’s fine renown of a charity city. In addition, Chen’s invention of selling goods for charity marks the origin of selling flags, which has long been an important fundraising activity in Hong Kong. This enhanced the significance of the concept of charity in today’s Hong Kong.

Chen’s later careers unravel part of the mystery about the practices of adoption of orphans and arranged marriages executed by the Po Leung Kuk of Hong Kong. This enables us to learn about this part of history in the integration process between Guangdong Province and Hong Kong, which otherwise could have been unknown to us.

As a businessman, Chen became president of the Po Leung Kuk. He conducted a series of social welfare activities, such as salvation of natural disasters, arrangement of marriages, adoption of orphans, and establishment of schools. His work substantially shared certain responsibilities with local officials or gentries. To a certain extent, Chen’s deeds reveal a significant change in the career of intellectuals. Since the abolishment of the imperial examination announced in the reign of Emperor Guangxu (r. 1875-1908), some intellectuals found no way to serve the government after the completion of their study and therefore changed their role from “intellectual” to “gentry businessman.” They became stereotypes for those who modernized the notion of “caring for people by giving them goods” and put it into practice.