鴉片戰爭乃近代中國的轉捩點，其重要性自不待言，而士人則是清朝統治階層的主要組成分子之一，有關士人在鴉片戰爭前後扮演的角色，卻受到研究者忽視，鮮少討論。鴉片戰爭最終雖以議和收場，且雙方未有大規模戰事，但士人要求主戰的聲音卻喊得震天價響，在此過程中，士人之間恍恍忽忽有一個網絡在運作著，藉由士人網絡的串聯，彼此互通聲息，為主戰士人營造有利的社會氛圍，甚或詆毀主和大臣。是故，本文聚焦於鴉片戰爭前後，士人對主戰派林則徐與姚瑩、主和派穆彰阿與琦善等人的品藻為主，透過神化主戰英雄與妖魔化主和奸臣的過程，討論士人如何形塑輿論風潮，製造英雄與妖魔。其後，進一步探問士人網絡在鴉片戰爭中發揮的作用，包括檢討主戰英雄的自我宣傳，以及「穆黨」勢力的散播，藉以說明士人網絡在鴉片戰爭期間的關鍵影響，並釐清士人如何運用網絡連繫，製造社會輿論並形塑個人形象。

The opium war marked a turning point in modern Chinese history, and its importance spoke for itself. The literati played important roles during the Qing dynasty, nevertheless, their roles in the opium war were neglected and rarely discussed. Although the opium war ended with a peace negotiation without involving large-scale warfare, the literati still demanded to fight with British. During this process, a network of literati worked secretly in order to build a better atmosphere for the “hawks” and criticism of the “doves”. The aim of this article is to focus on the literati’s comments on Lin Tse-Hsu, Yao Ying, Mujangga and Kisan. It also examines how the literati molded public opinion through the process of deifying the “hawks” and demonizing the “doves.” The article further discusses how the literati’s network worked during the opium war through various means, including the self-propaganda of the hawks as well as the spread of the Mujangga-party’s influence. Lastly, this article explores the importance of the literati’s network during the opium war and how the literati shaped public opinion and their self-image through this network.