清中葉的文人技藝與小說敘事 ——以《儒林外史》、《野叟曝言》為考察中心

Abstract

清代中葉的文人小說，比起過去任何小說都更關注「文人」的思想與行動，《儒林外史》、《野叟曝言》是其中代表性的作品。過往的研究主要針對文小說的「思想」方面與「知識」方面探討；然而，這兩方面常無法相互綰合、對話。前者強調於反省儒學之「道」，而後者則停留在「才學」的層次。本文試圖另闢蹊徑，從「技藝」的觀點探討士人在儒學之外的實踐與操習，以期能夠聯繫這兩者之間的關係，補充過去受到忽視的部分。

本文觀察到《儒林外史》與《野叟曝言》中「詩敘述」的呈現，與過去小說常見的形式截然不同。《儒林外史》的敘事者有意使小說中的詩作「不可見」，而《野叟曝言》的敘事者則於小說中置入了數百首的詩詞，呈現出近乎「氾濫」的詩敘述。本文首先探問，何種原因使得這兩部小說作者選擇採用了新的「詩敘述」方式？接著追問，作為清中葉社會中的「士人」（舉子、文人、道學者），吳敬梓、夏敬渠如何看待「詩」這項傳統文人技藝？而小說中的「詩敘述」又如何呈現士人對於「技藝」的擔憂？

藉由解讀小說作者詩文著作、剖析小說敘述，並輔以清代文人文化與舉業改制的社會背景，本文指出，文人小說作者關注士人「技藝操習」的問題，除了對此提出診斷，也嘗試思考解決方案。《儒林外史》的敘事者認為，在排除文藝的科舉社會下，以及通俗化的文藝社會中，「詩」的技藝實踐再也無法連結士人的學問與心志，小說因而呈現了士人之「技」與「道」斷裂的現象。《野叟曝言》的敘事者則以更多種類、更大篇幅的「文人技術」展演，試圖緩解士人對於技術無助於「政治實踐」的焦慮，但「詩」的技藝並未因敘事者的刻意提振而受到重視，反而呈現了更加「無用」的衰微跡象。綜而言之，本文嘗試提供一個重新理解文人小說的視角，從中可見清中葉士人對於「技藝」深入的觀察與反思。

Literati novels in the mid-Qing dynasty show a marked interest in the thought and behavior of literati, more so than any other time period, Rulin waishi and Yesou puyan are representative of this phenomenon. Previous research has mainly focused on exploring aspects of thought and knowledge in these novels, however these two threads of inquiry have not been able to form a cohesive dialogue with one another. While research on Mid-Qing thought considers the Confucian concept of “the Way” (dao), studies on knowledge have remained only at the layers of talent and erudition. This thesis attempts to pave a new path, exploring the practices of literati outside of Confucianism through the lens of literary craft, in an attempt to create a common thread between heretofore divergent scholarship and to fill in gaps unnoticed by previous scholars.

Rulin waishi and Yesou puyan both make salient use of “poetic narration,” completely different from anything seen in previous novels. The narrator of Rulin waishi consciously makes all the poems in the novel invisible, whereas the narrator in Yesou puyan inserted hundreds of poems and lyrics into his novel, creating an excessive poetic narration. This thesis will first explore, what reasons caused the authors of these two novels to use this new method of poetic narration? Next, it will ask, as “scholars” (examination graduates, literati, and students of “the way”), how did the authors Wu Jingzi and Xia Jingqu view the traditional literati craft of poetry? How does poetic narration in these two novels reflect a scholarly concern with craftsmanship?

By means of a thorough survey of the poetic works of both authors, analysis of the novels’ narration, and a supplementary look at the social backdrop of Qing dynasty literati culture and imperial examination system reforms, this thesis points out that, besides giving their diagnoses for the contemporary issues in practices of poetic craftsmanship, the authors of these two novels also attempted to consider solutions. The narrator of Rulin waishi believed that in a society where the examination system has removed its former focus on literary skills, and furthermore a society that has popularized the arts, the practice of poetic craft is no longer able to connect with the learning and ambitions of scholars, and so the novel presents a phenomenon within literati circles where “craft” and “the Way” have become completely distinct from one another. The narrator of Yesou puyan expands on issues of literati crafts with much greater breadth and at greater lengths, attempting to alleviate literati concerns that the arts serve no purpose in government. However, although the craft of poetry is not valued, despite the narrator’s deliberate focus on it. To the contrary, poetry manifests as a craft that is furthermore useless and declining. In summary, this thesis tries to provide a new perspective from which to understand the literati novel, within which one can see deep explorations and reconsiderations of craftsmanship in the communities of literati during the middle period of the Qing dynasty.