述異與異述：唐人小說集同題敘事研究

Abstract

唐代文人喜談奇事，「述異」為小說傳播的有利環境，歷來研究多關注於同樣題材在朝代之間的承衍，忽略了在時代風尚下，唐代出現一大批彼此情節相仿、時代接近的「同題小說」。唐代同題小說雖幾乎廣布於每一位小說家筆下，卻也集中於特定的小說集中，本論文主要以戴孚《廣異記》、李復言《續玄怪錄》、皇甫氏《原化記》及杜光庭的小說集為研究對象，探究何以特定小說家筆下多有同題小說，而這些敘事有所不同的「異述」，又如何透顯出小說家的寫作特色。 首先，由唐代小說集較早期的《廣異記》來看，戴孚除了與多篇唐傳奇有同題之作外，個人筆下便出現多篇情節相仿的小說，為罕見的「內部同題」。整部小說集雖有相似之感，人物、內容細節等變化，反映出小說受書寫前在社會中廣為流傳的性質，以及唐代小說作者浮現的寫作意識。由於文人著眼於奇事蘊含的天地義理，使戴孚將這些內容「廣集而示之」，呈現出當代社會的直接樣貌。其次，在小說集成為唐代小說的主流時，《續玄怪錄》為其中名聲最著的一部，從李復言對題材內容的交代，可確知同題小說大量出現與當代談論奇事的風尚有關，「敘事」的重要也因而凸顯。在情節安排上，李復言慣於利用事件序列的空白創造懸念，再以大篇幅的「直接引語」回顧，箇中原因為他不隨事件發展輕易切換描述對象。在描寫人物時，李復言會虛構角色身分，以獲得更大的創作空間；設置明確的行為動機，使人物形象更為鮮明。小說家利用「敘事」塑造出小說的個人面貌。而在時代相距不遠的《原化記》，皇甫氏對天地異相、奇事的解釋與描述，使全書篇章得以相「繫連」。各篇不僅於細節、內容上有所「溝通」，更體現於題旨之間互相「發明」，皇甫氏在肯認天的主宰之餘，還發揚出人之意志的影響。從內容、題旨與同題小說的差異，可見皇甫氏書寫同題小說的積極意義，他不只是將個人之作集結成冊，更具有構設「小說集」的編纂企圖。最後，在唐末、五代之際，杜光庭創作的同題小說數量龐大，且多為其筆下「傳」類小說，係因他以「道教之眼」取法唐代小說並進行重寫。在內容擇取上，他不取「定命類」與「外丹說」小說，因其與他欲推廣的道教觀念有所扞格。重寫時，杜光庭傾向以神仙為傳主，且會經由文字刪改、增添，強化甚至是賦予小說道教色彩，並強調特定的道教觀念。道教至唐末逐漸式微之背景，促使杜光庭重寫唐代小說，以文學加強道教的宣傳，具有特殊意義。 同題小說於唐代大量出現，除了有時代因素，更出於小說家於取材、寫作上的考量，雖集中出現，卻是由不同光景之小說集交織而成，在各書中具有不同意義。題材間的相仿並不代表創作的侷限，反倒彰顯出小說發展至唐代，「敘事」已趨於成熟乃至開始個人化。另一值得注意的是，當小說匯集於小說集當中，便產生另外的詮釋層次與可能，而這是歷來對唐代小說研究較少關注的面向。

Tang Dynasty literati had a penchant for discussing peculiar events, and it created a favorable environment for the spread of fiction. Most studies have focused on the same theme's inheritance across dynasties, neglecting the emergence of a large number of “same topic stories” during the Tang Dynasty, that shared similarities in plot and period. Though these same topic stories appear in nearly every fiction writer's work, they often concentrate within specific collections of fiction. This study primarily explores the Dai Fu's Guangyi Ji, Li Fuyan's Xu Xuanguai Lu, Huangfu's Yuanhua Ji, and Du Guangting’s collections of fiction, aiming to understand why specific authors frequently composed same topic stories and how they reflect authors’ unique writing styles. Firstly, examining the early Tang Dynasty collection Guangyi Ji, Dai Fu not only shares themes with much Tang fiction but also produced multiple stories with similar plots, a rare occurrence of “internal same topic stories.” Despite a sense of similarity throughout the collection, variations in characters and content details reflect the popularity of stories before they were written, as well as the emerging consciousness of a fiction author. Dai Fu extensively collected these stories to present a direct representation of contemporary society, given the scholars' focus on the cosmic principles embedded in these peculiar events. Secondly, when the collections of fiction became mainstream in the Tang Dynasty, Xu Xuanguai Lu was one of the most famous. From Li Fuyan's explanation, it is clear that the abundance of same topic stories is related to the contemporary trend of discussing peculiar events, highlighting the importance of narration. In terms of plot arrangement, Li Fuyan often created suspense by utilizing gaps in event sequences, followed by extensive “direct speech” as retrospection. This is because he avoids shifting the subject of focalization hastily with plot. Also, Li Fuyan's would create characters’ identities to gain more freedom on writing and the establishment of clear behavioral motives to make characters more vivid. The book reflected how authors used narrative to shape personal characteristics in their stories. In the closely related era of Yuanhua Ji, Huangfu’s explanations and descriptions of celestial phenomena and peculiar events enabled the chapters to be interconnected. Each fiction in the collection not only coordinates but also interacts in terms of themes, showcasing Huangfu's belief in human will's influence while acknowledging heaven's dominance. With the differences in content and themes of same topic stories, Huangfu shows his specific purpose in writing them. He aimed not only to compile his works into a book but also to construct a collection of fiction. Finally, during the late Tang and Five Dynasties, Du Guangting wrote a large number of same topic stories, mostly in his biographies. He rewrote the Tang Dynasty novels from a Daoist perspective. On his selection, he did not choose "fate-deciding" and "external alchemy" stories since they conflicted with the Daoist concepts he promote. When revising, Du Guangting tended to use immortals as the main characters and would modify, add, or delete text to enhance or even imbue the story with Daoist color, emphasizing specific Daoist concepts. The declining popularity of Daoism towards the end of the Tang Dynasty prompted Du Guangting to rewrite stories to enhance Daoism's propagation through literature, which carries special significance. Same topic stories were prevalent in the Tang Dynasty, attributable not only to the time but also to authors' considerations in sourcing and writing. Despite their concentration, they were from different collections, each carrying different meanings in books. Similarity in plots does not equate to creative constraints; instead, it highlights that by the Tang Dynasty, “narrative” had matured and even started to individualize. Another noteworthy point is that when stories are compiled into collections, they generate additional interpretative layers and possibilities, a facet often overlooked in Tang Dynasty fiction research.