湯顯祖《紫簫記》及其相關議題研究

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

本文針對《紫簫記》及其相關議題進行探討，全文區分爲三大部分：其一，論《紫簫記》之政治諷諭問題，此處論述《紫簫記》之創作背景，與該劇流播、查禁與付印的時間，又針對“部長吏”之解釋，以及“酒、色、財、氣四偈”和張居正之間的關聯，提出自我看法。其二，論《紫簫記》未成與改寫之因，此部分指出，歷來探究《紫簫記》未成與改寫之因，多集中在政治諷諭上，筆者則認爲，看待這個問題，應當分兩部分理解，因牽涉政治諷諭致使中途輟筆，是爲外部因素，内部因素則是該劇本身就具備多項缺失，其爲湯顯祖的遊戲、實驗之筆，曲文、賓白過於駢儷，不適宜演諸場上，加以情節雜沓，是以成爲未竟之稿；其三，論《紫釵記》對《紫簫記》之改寫，此處則對比二劇，就文學造詣、人物形象、情節安排，來討論《紫釵記》有何革新，以觀察湯顯祖創作手法演變的軌跡。

This study is an investigation of Tang Xianzu’s (1550-1616) The Story of Purple Flute and its relevant issues. Part 1 is a discussion of the political satire in Purple Flute. It probes the background of Purple Flute and when the play was circulated, banned, and printed. Moreover, we propose an explanation of “Minister of Personnel” and how the four cardinal vices of alcohol, sex, avarice, and temper are related to Zhang Juzheng (1525-1582). Part 2 is a discussion of why Purple Flute was not completed and therefore rewritten. Existing scholarship on the issue mainly ascribes this to the play’s content of political satire. We suggest that this issue should be discussed in two parts: 1) external factors: the writing was suspended halfway as a result of its involvement in political satire; 2) internal factors: the play embodies many deficiencies. This play was Tang Xianzu’s playful and experimental creation. Its arias and dialogues contain too many parallel sentences and are therefore not suitable for stage performance. In addition, the plots are too complex. These factors resulted in an unfinished work. Part 3 is a discussion of how Tang rewrote Purple Flute and turned it into The Story of Purple Hairpin. Through a comparison of these two plays and a discussion of the innovations of Purple Hairpin in terms of literary accomplishments, character images, and plot arrangements, we observe the development of Tang Xianzu’s creation techniques.