自「文以載道」至「文道分離」— 學術史視域下阮元學圈的文統觀及其意義

Abstract

清代學術的發展特色之一，即為「學術史視域的出現」。清儒透過此視域而有極大的企圖心為各學科區分畛域，釐析經、史、子、文各知識間的界限與區別。因此，本文於「學術史」視域下，探討清代中葉十八世紀以降阮元學圈針對「文學」作「辨章學術、考鏡源流」的分梳，致其擺脫「文以載道」的束縛，而促使文學獨立，成為清末民初純文學萌發的潛流。 本文認為清代駢、散文之爭的背後，不完全是漢、宋學之爭所導致，清儒應有更宏闊的目的。因此，筆者大略梳理唐、宋至清中葉以前的文學觀，可知「文以載道」之論深烙於學者文人，無論此「道」所指為禮樂教化之社會功能性，抑或天理、天道之形上義。要之，文以貫道、明道及載道乃為首要，尤以編纂總集的方式，益加落實並助長傳播此論之效。 阮元學圈的學者面對近千年的桎梏，卻力持六朝之作方為「文」，甚而鉤沈自孔子〈文言〉至明代《四書》文之文統流脈，其鵠的即欲為文獨立於道學、經學、史學及子學之外，而成為獨立的學科知識。因此，他們以「文筆論」及《昭明文選》為其理論根據，首先批評備受後世推崇的唐、宋八家之作，認為其內容皆為經、史、子學的知識領域，屬筆而非文。他們因而透過觀念的辨析與宣揚，說明「文」於形式、內容上須具備「對偶」、「用韻」的特徵，並運用華麗之辭藻以抒一己之情性，不應受陳規舊法而為文。其次，他們經由崇祀六朝文人、學者的方式，以展現其實事求是的精神，宣明其對文的理念絕非蹈空之言。 由於〈文選序〉標舉非文不選的原則，故為阮元學圈所重視。在「以字為首出」的清代學風下，阮元提出「古文小學與辭賦同源共流」的理論，造成《文選》的研究亦深受影響，而具體表現在李善《注》的鉤沈，甚至將徐鉉、徐鍇與曹憲、李善並祀之舉上。職是之故，清儒也藉此而開啟《文選》中的名物制度、宮室車服、草木鳥獸之學的另一學術動向。 阮元學圈的學者不僅反省古文及唐、宋八家外，並提倡《文心雕龍》的研究，以及出現文學史觀的雛形，而為民初的文學史家所繼承與稱許，此一功業，皆奠基於學術史的視域下而有所成。影響所及，直至清末民初章太炎、劉師培及黃侃等人，皆有所承而提出「文以藻繢成章為本訓」及「古代文章家皆明字學」之論。雖言如是，他們終非全盤接收而有所轉化，甚有批評阮元之處。此時，又進入下一更為複雜多變的文學轉型階段。

One of the development features of the academic research in the Qing Dynasty is the emergence of prospective of academic history. Confucians in the Qing Dynasty held great ambition to distinguish boundary between disciplines and carefully analyze boundary and difference among various kinds of knowledge of Classics, Shi, Zi and Wen through this perspective. So, this paper will discuss, under this perspective, the classification of distinguishing the academic chapter and examining the origin and branch Ruan Yuan Circle did against the literature in 18th century of the middle of the Qing Dynasty which leaded it to free from constraint of writing being for conveying the truth and promoted literature to stand alone to become a potential school of pure literature emerged in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic.

In this paper it holds the opinion that behind the dispute of parallel prose and prose in the Qing Dynasty it is not completely the result of debate between Sinology and Song Learning but Qing Confucians should hold a bigger target. Therefore, the writer basically puts in order literature views from the Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty to the middle of the Qing Dynasty and gets the results that the theory of writing being for conveying the truth was deep in scholars’ mind, whether the “truth” refers to social function of music education or formal meaning of heavenly principles and natural law. In short, writing should primarily link truth, translate truth and convey truth, and especially through the way of compiling collection it further commit and promote the effect of spreading this theory.

Facing thousand-year long obstacles, scholars of Ruan Yuan Circle struggled to hold the opinion that the works in the Six Dynasties should be the very literature, and even collected and explored school vein of literature from Wenyanzhuan of Confucius to The Four Books of the Min Dynasty with the purpose that made literature to be an independent discipline different from Neo-Confucianism, study of Chinese Classics, Historical Science and Confucianism. As a result, they took theory of verse and prose and Zhao Min Selected Works as their theoretical basis and first criticized the works of eight great writers, praised highly by the later generations, in the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty in thought that the content of these works were all in the fields of the Classics, History and Confucianism but not writings. They, therefore, through discrimination and propagation of theory, stated that literature should have features of antithesis and rhyme on form and content and should express one’s feeling by using rhetoric but not be restricted to outmoded conventions and old laws. Secondly, they showed their spirit of being practical and realistic through the way of worshipping scholars of the six dynasties and declared that their concept of literature didn’t words without basis.

The Preface of the Selected Works held the principle that it would not select anything but literature writing, and that’s why it was thought highly by Ruan Yuan Circle. Under the study style of character being the first in the Qing Dynasty, Ruan Yuan was the first putting forward the view of ancient Chinese fiction sharing the same origin and school with verse and prose which resulted that the research to Selected Works was badly influenced and it embodied in analysis to Annotation of Li Shan and even thought on the same level of Xv Xuan, Xv Kai and Cao Xian, Li Shan. Therefore, scholars in the Qing Dynasty thereby opened another scholastic trend of science of name and object system, car and clothes in palace, and grass, wood, bird and beast in the Selected Works.

The scholars in Ruan Yuan Circle not only introspected ancient Chinese and the Eight Great Men of Letters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, but also promoted the research of Dragon-carving and the Literary Mind. Besides, the emergence of rudiment of viewpoint of literature history was inherited and praised by literary historians in the early Republic. This achievement was formed on the basis of the prospective of literary history. Its influence involved until Zhang Taiyan, Liu Shipei and Huang Kan in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic who all inherited and proposed the theories that the basic lesson was that writing should be form with rhetoric and that the ancient writers were all Confucians in the Min Dynasty. On the other hand, they didn’t accept completely but did some change and even criticized Ruan Yuan in some place. Now, it went into the nest phase of complicated and versatile literary transformation.