太平天国统治区的民变与政府应对研究

在太平天国统治区,特别是1860年代太平军奄有苏浙膏腴之地,之后"如蜩如螗,如沸如羹"的"民变"呈现了一道别样的历史景象。民变的抗争矛头大多指向太平天国的经济政略。广泛而频繁地引发激变四野的民众反抗,也是政治权力控制地方社会不当的直接反映。太平天国严禁集体暴动的原则是一以贯之的,在应对民变的实践上则具有以剿为主、不注重善后、过分干涉租佃事务、区分事件类型和性质等特点。民变多元复杂的社会效应对太平天国统治产生影响。首先,"高效"镇压的背后,反映了民变耗费政府财力、牵扯行政精力和分散太平军兵力的实质;其次,民心渐失,后期太平天国"人心冷淡"的现实,不仅是在军中、朝内,在民间亦是如此。更重要的是,统治区风起云涌的民变在某种程度上宣告了太平天国在社会控制层面的失败,预示着"天国"陨落的命运。

Popular Riots in the Areas Occupied by the Taipings and the Response of the Regime

In the areas controlled by the Taipings, especially the prosperous regions in Jiangsu and Zhejiang occupied by the Taipings in the 1860s, there were numerous riots. The riots, most of which were targeted at the economic policies of the Taipings, illustrate the failure of the regime to control the local society. The Taipings suppressed the riots with coercive power without considering social consequences and directly intervened in the business between tenants and landlords. The complicated and diversified social consequences of the riots had great impact on the Taiping rule. First, the coercive suppression of the riots demanded a large part of the government resources and weakened the military power of the Taipings. Second, the Taipings were gradually losing popular support from the local society because of the riots. Most importantly, the continuous riots in the areas ruled by the Taipings to some extent show their failure to control the society. The failure of the social control foreshadowed the end of the Taiping regime.