性別與戲曲批評——試論明清婦女之劇評特色

Gender and Drama Criticism: Characteristics of Ming-Qing Women’s Commentaries on Plays

中國戲曲批評隨著明清兩代戲曲的風行而臻於大盛。除了居於主流的男性批評傳統之外，明清婦女亦留下了至今尚鮮為人注意的戲曲批評材料。這些材料沒有曲學或劇學的專著，絕大多數是戲曲文學批評，以當時刊行劇本之序跋、題辭、總評、評點等方式流傳，還有些見於當時詩集與文集的記載。明清婦女評論過的劇目已知有二十八種，其中以湯顯祖的《牡丹亭》著墨最多，成就和貢獻也最大。例如清康熙甲戌（1694年）刻成的《吳吳山三婦合評 < 牡丹亭還魂記〉》（《三婦評本》），在中國戲曲評點史上就有著特殊的地位。本文主要從批評的角度、批評的深意、批評的重心與批評的風格這四方面檢視明清婦女的劇本批評（尤其是《三婦評本》），分別舉出「女性觀（關） 照」、借題發揮以自抒胸臆、重人情甚於重辭章、重神悟甚於重評判這幾個概括性的重要特色。本文試圖填補在研究明清婦女之文學表現上的一些空白，展現出她們在創 作以外的評論活動，並突顯了中國戲曲批評與評點中男性以外的另一種策略和傳統。

Drama criticism reached maturity in China during the Ming-Qing era with the popularity of musical drama. In addition to the mainstream male critical tradition, Ming-Qing women also left their own heritage of drama criticism, heretofore rarely noticed by Chinese drama scholars. These critical materials for the most part were women's commentaries on scripts. They appeared as prefaces, postscripts, or reviews in the printed texts of plays, and sometimes in their own or others’ poetry or prose anthologies. Up to now, at least 28 plays are known to be commented on by Ming-Qing women, among which The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu of the late Ming received their most enthusiastic attention. The Three Wives of Wu Wushan's Commentary on The Peony Pavilion, printed in 1694, was a good illustration of Ming-Qing women's interest in, appreciation of, and contribution to, this masterpiece of classical Chinese drama. My article examines Ming-Qing women's drama criticism, especially The Three Wives’ Commentary, in terms of critical angle, intent, focus, and style, which, I conclude, show these main characteristics respectively: female perspective/feminist concern, self-expression and representation, more emphasis on human feelings than on rhetoric and melody, and empathetic understanding instead of judgmental evaluation. With the aim to complement the study of Ming-Qing women's literary expressions and contributions, I illustrated in this article their significant critical undertakings besides creative writing. Their play critiques as a whole revealed not just a different kind of tradition, but also different kinds of critical strategies, from the mainstream male interests in traditional Chinese drama criticism.