家居、舟居、山居——袁中道生命中期之空間體認與身心安頓

Abstract

本文試圖探究晚明文人袁中道（字小修，號柴紫居士）如何通過選擇與建構居住空間之實踐活動應對存在困境。歷來對公安派文人文學思想的研究，多聚焦於領袖袁宏道（字中郎，號石公），而有關其弟袁中道之生命形態、心境轉變及空間體認等主題，仍有一定的開拓空間。考察小修之生平事蹟可知，其屢歷科考失利、親友凋零之沉重打擊，面對多重困境，他如何調適身心？在不同的生命階段，「家居」、「舟居」、「山居」空間為小修提供了安定之所，而他作為身處空間之內的生命主體，亦賦予空間深刻而豐富的意涵。本文以「空間體認」為研究視角，結合小修之生平經歷，探究他在面對不同境遇時，如何通過空間活動建立起主體與空間的緊密關聯，並進一步觀察他在佛學與心學、出遊與棲居、離鄉與歸返、進取與退隱、放逸與收攝中的實踐與調適。閱讀小修之詩歌、遊記、尺牘等作品可知，山水與佛法、手足與知音、文學與經典，實能給予他心靈上的慰藉，並逐步消解其對存在的焦慮與死亡的恐懼。對袁小修之空間體認與心境轉變展開個案研究，不僅有助於釐清其本人生命中期以後自我懺悔的動態發展歷程，對於理解公安派前後期文學思想之轉型，或亦具有一定意義。

This paper investigates how Yuan Zhongdao (courtesy name: Xiaoxiu, artistic name: Lay Buddhist Chaizi), a notable literatus of the late Ming dynasty, responded to existential challenges through the lived practices of selecting, shaping, and inhabiting space. While scholarly attention on the Gong’an School has predominantly focused on its leading figure Yuan Hongdao (courtesy name: Zhonglang, artistic name: Shigong), topics such as Yuan Zhongdao’s modes of life, shifts in mental disposition, and spatial perception remain comparatively underexplored. A close examination of Yuan Zhongdao’s life reveals that he suffered repeated failures in the civil service examinations and endured the profound emotional impact of losing close relatives and friends. These accumulated hardships prompt further inquiry into how he sought to adjust his emotional and physical well-being in the face of persistent and multifaceted adversity. Throughout different phases of his life, Yuan adopted three principal forms of dwelling: residing at home, living aboard a boat, and retreating into the mountains. These spaces were not merely physical shelters but were deeply existential environments shaped by his embodied experiences, where he sought emotional and spiritual balance as well as inner tranquility. By employing the concept of "spatial perception," this study examines how Yuan’s spatial practices enabled him to cultivate a meaningful relationship between the self and his immediate surroundings, particularly during the uncertain middle years of his life. The paper further explores how Yuan negotiated various tensions—between Buddhist thought and the philosophy of Wang Yangming, between travel and settlement, between departure and return, between ambition and withdrawal, and between indulgence and self-restraint. Through close readings of his poetry, travelogues, and personal correspondence, it is evident that natural landscapes and Buddhist teachings, familial bonds and intimate friendships, as well as literary and religious texts, provided him with profound spiritual solace, gradually alleviating his existential anxieties and fear of mortality. This case study of Yuan Zhongdao’s spatial perception and evolving inner landscape not only illuminates the dynamic process of personal reflection and self-reconciliation during his middle and later years, but also offers a fresh perspective on the ideological evolution of the Gong’an School in its later period.