無聲之戀：沈從文的〈神巫之愛〉

Silent Love: Shen Congwen's “The Shaman's Love”

沈從文苗族故事系列之一〈神巫之愛〉(1929)，一直未獲評家正視。沈氏創造的苗族神話，實為五四故事新編風的另一章，但後來的評家從未把故事新編看成是五四文學主流的一支。五四一代固然鼓吹西方科學及都市文明不遺餘力，是「進步歷史觀」的信徒；可以說科學知識以及知識份子的神聖化，是五四文化的特色之一。但是西化衝擊的同時，五四文人對落後的鄉村「傳統文明」又流露出難以擺脫的眷戀情結。沈從文的苗族神話所描繪的「化外文明」等於是對「都市文明」的直接批判。本文以巴赫汀的嘉年華理論，闡釋〈神巫之愛〉蓄意建構一個「官方世界之外的第二世界和第二生命」。本文以沈氏同時期寫作的都市羅曼史系列和苗族故事作對比，顯示出他有意藉苗族開放自然的性觀念，凸顯出「文明人」面對「性事」的不健康的心態，並強調語言－－文明的象徵－－對自然情慾的扭曲。而〈神巫之愛〉中，在眾多美女以情歌情話爭寵的情況下，一對啞巴姊妹花以無聲的言語獨得神巫的青睞，更進一步透露出沈從文對語言的質疑。同時不可忽略的是，除了意圖表達意識型態，〈神巫之愛〉也呈現出沈從文在文類上的實驗嘗試。

“The Shaman's Love” (1929), one of Shen Congwen's Miao stories, has never been seriously treated by critics. The Miao myths created by Shen are in fact a variant of the trend, popular during the May Fourth period, of rewriting ancient stories. But this trend has never been considered part of the mainstream by later critics. On the one hand, the May Fourth generation believed in “the idea of progress,” promoting without reservation Western sciences and city culture; we may say that one of the main features of May Fourth culture was the apotheosis of scientific knowledge and intellectuals. On the other hand, however, May Fourth intellectuals disclosed their nostalgic longing for the “traditional culture” represented by the backward countryside. Shen's Miao stories depict an “uncivilized culture” that directly challenges “city culture.” This article uses Bakhtin's theory of “carnival” to explain how “The Shaman's Love” has created “a second world and a second life outside officialdom.” I will compare Shen's Miao stories with his City romances, written around the same period, with a view to showing how he intentionally uses the Miao people's open, natural attitudes toward sex to throw into relief civilized people's unhealthy mentality in face of sex. In the meantime, Shen emphasizes how language--the symbol of civilization--distorts sexual desire. In “The Shaman's Love，” among the Miao beauties who solicit the shaman's love with love songs and love talk, a pair of mute sisters manage to win his heart with silent language; this further reveals Shen's mistrust of language. At the same time we should not ignore that, while intentionally declaring his ideological stance, Shen also attempts to experiment with literary genre in “The Shaman's Love.”