由「形殘之迷」悟「神全之境」——論析當代戲劇《徐九經升官記》、《美女涅槃記》

The Realization of Spiritual Perfection through Physical Deformity: On the Modern Plays The Promotion of Hsu Chiu-ching and A Beauty’s Attainment of Nirvana

《徐九經升官記》和《美女涅槃記》是中國當代新時期兩部新編故事劇。《升官記》由郭大宇和習志淦共同編劇，《美女涅槃記》由習志淦編劇。一九九三年湖北漢劇團曾來臺公演，國立復興國劇團亦分別在一九九二年、一九九五年將這兩齣戲搬上臺灣京劇舞臺，可知其在海峽兩岸戲曲舞臺受到的關注與重視。這兩齣戲分別刻畫一個醜男、一個醜女，劇情著重點都以美醜為觀照，探討基石也同樣是「以貌取人」的議題，編導的處理原則都是「以醜為美」。就情節故事而言，題為《徐九經升官記》，其實是「徐九經罷官記」；題為《美女涅槃記》，其實是「醜女涅槃記」。而一個醜男究竟如何由貶官而升官而罷官，一個醜女又如何變成美女而臻於涅槃，二人心理意識的蛻變歷程正是本文意欲探討的論題之一。題目「形殘」、「神全」之詞係從《莊子•養生主》轉化而來。莊子論形體之殘並非只就手足而言，亦包括面貌醜陋之人；而奇醜無比的徐九經、胡翠花，亦可納入《莊子》書中「形殘」人物，因此筆者加以轉用。本文除前言、結語之外，分兩節論述。第一節即是從主角人物「貌醜形殘」的共同特點切入，探討徐九經和胡翠花雖然性別、身分、地位、際遇、困境及心理意識皆不同，但是他們都曾經自我認同的活著，而後走過自我迷失的沼澤，最後以意志抉擇神全，回歸真我。形殘是其「外在不美」之所在，神全則是其「內在美善」之所在，成為「不美之美」的人格塑造。第二節論述這種「不美之美」的人格塑造，在腳色表演、滑稽特質、哲學思想三方所展現的藝術精神。由於當代新編戲為著力拓展人物的心靈空間、心理結構和生命意識，因而打破「生旦淨末丑」之腳色行當，這兩齣戲即深具如此特質；尤其徐九經更是結合「丑生」行當，淋漓盡致發揮司馬遷《史記》中的滑稽精神。最後以老子美醜善惡之辯證及莊子形神殘全之美學思考，探討這兩齣戲的主題意蘊。徐九經和胡翠花由「形殘之迷」悟「神全之境」，都經過「見山是山、見是水」的認同，到「見山不是山、見水不是水」的質疑，終於進入「見山是山、見水是水」的圓融。

The Promotion of Hsu Chiu-ching by Guo Da-yu and Xi Zhigan and A Beauty's Attainment of Nirvana by Xi Zhigan are two new modern Chinese plays that have won high acclaim on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. They were staged in Taiwan respectively by the Hupei Han Operetta Troupe in 1993 and by the National Fu-hsing Chinese Operetta Troupe in 1992 and 1995. The Promotion of Hsu Chiu-ching depicts the official career of an ugly man, depicting how he experiences demotion, is later happily promoted, and eventually decides to abandon his post. A Beauty’s Attainment of Nirvana relates how an ugly girl is transformed into a beauty and finally attains the state of nirvana. Each play emphasizes the contrasts between beauty and ugliness, the human tendency to judge people by their appearance, and the creative theme that ugliness is beauty. This paper explores the processes by which ugliness is transformed into beauty in these two plays. “Physical deformity” and “spiritual perfection,” the two key notions in the title of the paper, derive from the Chuang-tzu. Hsu Chiu-ching and Hu Ts'ui-hua can both be considered “deformed” in the Chuang-tzu's sense, since deformity there covers ugliness in addition to physical handicaps. This paper explores the thematic implications of the two plays by way of the Lao-tzu's dialectic of the beautiful and the ugly and the Chuang-tzu's aesthetic thoughts on physical deformity and spiritual perfection. This paper is divided into two sections. The first deals with the ugliness of Hsu Chiu-ching and Hu Ts'ui-hua. Diametrically different in sex, identity, status, experiences, predicament, and psychological awareness, both experience a process of spiritual growth in three stages. First they live in self-awareness; next, they momentarily go astray; and then eventually they reach spiritual perfection through their strong will power and regain their true selves. Their ugly appearance turns out to be mere physical deformity, while their inner beauty and goodness eventually bring them to spiritual perfection. This process of transformation is the formation of personality based on the notion of the beauty of the nonbeautiful. The second section discusses the aesthetics of this sort of personality formation by way of role acting, clownish attributes, and philosophical reflection. In emphasizing its characters’ spiritual life, psychological structure, and awareness of their own existence, modern Chinese drama has attempted to transcend the traditional role types of sheng, tan, ching, mo, and ch'ou. This trend is manifest in the two plays under discussion, especially The Promotion of Hsu Chiu-ching. Here the role types sheng and ch'ou are aptly combined, and clownish humor, as described by Ssu-ma Ch'ien, reaches its epitome.