中國古典中短篇小說中的詩文關係與抒情性──以愛情為主題的討論

Abstract

重探古典小說中的「詩筆」問題是全文研究的核心概念，然而本文雖以唐代的「詩筆」為基礎而展開相關議題之探究，但討論的重點並不置於詩賦文體上，而是關注於兩個面向：一是古典小說中的詩文關係，二是抒情性的呈現，這兩點都需要從古典小說演變發展的幾個階段來加以檢視與探討。不過，由於古典小說歷時久遠、作品繁多，故本文在選材上即以與「詩筆」修辭關聯密切的愛情主題為主，並針對中、短篇古典小說中的幾個階段性發展：從「詩筆」運用的起點─史傳與漢魏六朝小說，到「詩筆」成為小說文體特徵之一的唐代傳奇小說，再到文言與白話小說的修辭比較中，各自選取某些代表性的小說文本，以作為深入細讀與探究「詩筆」修辭的焦點。 本文共分六章，首章說明研究動機、提出問題意識，並解釋文本的選擇與研究概要。第二章則為全文論述的概念基礎，先從對唐代「詩筆」定義的重新思索開始，一方面希望重探並擴展「詩筆」研究的其他面向，另一方面則回顧傳統論述對「史才」與「詩筆」的價值評判，以及傳統與現代對「詩筆」的觀點、評價之差異，進而抉發出「詩筆」研究的現代意義。其次，藉由小說與詩歌的語言特質、敘事與抒情美典的分析比較，以及對抒情詩特徵的概述等等，這些問題的釐清都有助於將以往關注在「詩筆」自身的研究焦點，轉向小說整體詩文關係之析論，從而可以深究作者的書寫策略，以及古典小說中詩�文、抒情�敘事之間的修辭關係。 第三至五章旨在探討「詩筆」修辭在幾個小說發展階段的重要特點。第三章追溯史傳與漢魏六朝小說中的用詩情形，雖然此時的詩歌運用多以搜聞輯佚的實錄紀事為目的，但當作者在載錄之際、亦欲藉詩歌來達致散文敘事中的抒情效果時，他們的抒情手法亦是影響後代小說作者構思與運用「詩筆」的起點。人物歌詠是此一階段常見且突出的抒情方式，以作為表現人物或激昂或悲怨的強烈情緒；而以書面文字形式所呈現的贈詩與抒懷，雖然於此之時尚不多見，但是詩歌開始走向講究字句修辭、表現含蓄內斂的情感路徑，卻是往後中國抒情詩的主流，也致使「詩筆」運用逐漸走向委婉含蓄的抒情方向。 第四章以唐代傳奇小說之討論為主，首先針對小說與詩歌兩大文體，爬疏兩者之間的互動與關聯，可以發現唐代作者在小說中結合詩、文要素的多元嘗試，確實是「詩筆」在古典小說中得以成立的重要基礎。其次，由於詩歌與小說各自擁有不同的語言特質與美典差異，當詩歌內在於小說、成為小說整體的一部分後，「詩」與「文」之對話將可在古典小說中交織、激盪出更多豐富的意涵；而以〈鶯鶯傳〉為例之析探，更可說明詩、文對話所形成的多聲合奏，使小說不只有一種價值意識，而具有更開放的詮釋空間。最後，後人所盛讚的唐傳奇之抒情餘韻，乃因作者在小說敘事中突顯了「詩筆」的抒情性，激情迸發的強烈情感與小說人物的執一意志相結合，成為傳奇人物的精神風貌；而迴環婉轉、含蓄蘊藉的內斂情感，則追求一種躍出詩之外的情感餘韻， 兩者都是唐傳奇中能夠「傳要妙之情」、且備受推崇之所在。 第五章擇取兩種以才子佳人為主角的小說類型來比較「文言與白話的修辭差異」，本文以流派初期的三部代表作品作為探討的文本對象，中篇傳奇小說以元代《嬌紅記》與明代《賈雲華還魂記》、《鍾情麗集》為主，清初才子佳人小說則以與天花藏主人有關的《玉嬌梨》、《平山冷燕》和《定情人》為例。此處關注的焦點有二：一是針對文言、白話文體在「詩筆」修辭上的差異比較，以及小說作者對於詩賦文體所抱持的不同價值意識與審美傾向，如何反映在小說創作的具體實踐上。二是從「意象與抒情場景」之設計構思來看，則能細探作者如何藉意象之選擇、象徵之使用，以及隱喻、含蓄的用言方式與抒情場景之營造等方面，呈現兩種才子佳人小說的抒情性。 第六章是結論，一方面綜論全文的研究概要，另一方面也期望能承續「詩筆」論題的研究方向，繼而延伸探討本文尚未論及的古典愛情小說，以及《紅樓夢》的複雜面向。

This thesis is a discussion of 'poetic writing' in Chinese classical novels. However, its focus lies not on the poetic form itself, but the poetry-prose relation in classical novels and the presentation of lyricism. This is accomplished through the examination of classical novels in their various stages of development. In view of the vast volume of works written throughout the long history of classical novels, this thesis selects only those that relate closest to 'poetic writing' i.e. those with a love motif, before proceeding to make rhetoric comparisons among representative texts from the following: 1) works from Han to the Six Dynasties — the budding point of 'poetic writing' in narratives; 2) Tang romance fictions, in which 'poetic writing' became a characteristic style; and 3) Literary Chinese and Vernacular Chinese novels.

There are 6 chapters in total. The first introduces motives, raises questions, explains text selections and illustrates research outlines. The second chapter deals with basic concepts, such as reconsidering the Tang definition of 'poetic writing' and reevaluating its values to determine the contemporary significance of 'poetic writing'. By analyzing and comparing different aspects of novel and poetry, and listing the characteristics of lyric poem, researchers are able to shift their focus from the study of 'poetic writing' itself to one of poetry-prose relation in novels, which in turn can help in the understanding of writing strategies employed by authors and the rhetoric relations of poetry-prose and lyric-narrative in classical novels. The important traits of 'poetic writing' exhibited at various stages of novel development are discussed in chapters 3 to 5, with the third chapter tracing the usage of poetry back to historical writings and narratives from Han to Six Dynasties. Though most poems written during this period were for the purpose of documentation, authors nonetheless tried to achieve the kind of lyrical effects found in prose writing. This can be seen as the start of what influenced subsequent novel authors to also conceive and apply the style of 'poetic writing' into their works. During this particular era, the display of intense emotions in odes to personages was a common technique used to express lyricism. What not so common then was a rhetorically deliberated and elaborated poetry style where personal sentiments were expressed in an inward and subtle manner. However, this style gradually gained momentum and led the art of 'poetic writing' onto the path of delicateness and subtlety. It eventually became the mainstream in Chinese lyric poem. By looking at Tang romance fictions in chapter 4, this thesis sets out to comb through the correlation and interaction between two literary forms: novel and poetry. Due to their differences in language and aesthetic qualities, when poetry was incorporated into novel and became an integral part of it, the dialogue between 'poetry' and 'prose', by means of Bakhtin's dialogism, offered a new range of possibilities and potentials when it comes to interpreting classical novels. The lingering lyrical mood in Tang romance fictions so often lauded by posterity was in fact the result of authors highlighting the lyricism of 'poetic writing' during novel narration. This is also the main reason why Tang romance fictions have been held in great esteem. Chapter 5 compares rhetorical differences of 'poetic writing' between the Literary Chinese and Vernacular Chinese language. It accomplishes this goal by looking at the two genres that both had Scholar and Beauty as the protagonists — medium-length romance novels from Yuan / Ming era, and Scholar-Beauty novels from early Qing. Using three archetypal works from each genre, this chapter 1) illustrates how the distinct value consciousness and aesthetic preferences that novel authors in different eras held for the poetic form were reflected in the actual practices of novel creation; 2) analyzes how two different kinds of lyricism were presented by authors of each genre through the selection of imageries and use of symbols, the manipulation of subtle and metaphorical language, and the construction of lyric scenes. The sixth chapter concludes this research. It recapitulates the whole discussion with the hope of continuing this study of 'poetic writing' and further extending the discussion to classical romance novels not covered by this thesis, including the complex facets of The Dream of the Red Mansion.