中西合璧的小說新體──清初耶穌會士馬若瑟著〈夢美土記〉初探

Meng Meitu Ji: The First Chinese Story Structured on Western Fiction

法國耶穌會士馬若瑟在1698年來華布道，此後除了一度返歐，一生幾乎都在中國度過。在中西文學交流史上，馬若瑟以法譯《趙氏孤兒》聞名於世，影響重大。在中國經典的詮釋上，馬若瑟無疑是清初所謂「耶穌會索隱派」的代表性人物，貢獻卓著“常人有所不知的是，馬若瑟在1709年也寫過一篇不滿三千字的文言小說＜夢美土記＞。此文刊本迄今未見，作者問題留下不少爭議。本文由三方面處理＜夢美土記＞，第一，先由馬若瑟的《漢語劄記》入手確定他的著作權，再以＜夢美土記＞與馬氏所著的《儒交信》的文筆、主題為內證再予補強。第二，本文認為＜夢美土記＞是中國小說史上首見的第一部中西合璧之作，蓋馬若瑟行文除向中國傳統取典外，《漢浯劄記》中，他也明白指出他在虛構上模倣者係西塞羅的＜西比歐之夢＞，所以整部＜夢美土記＞便架設在星空美土或天堂的追尋之上，其中且不乏但丁《神曲》的影子。第三，本文認為＜夢美土記＞是耶穌會索隱派的寓言，馬若瑟的片言隻語，無不暗示如何借由閱讀中國古經以走上基督大道，在天堂與天主結合為一。乾隆朝夏敬渠的《野叟曝言》有角色征服歐洲，在西方建立一個儒家的「人文國」，本文最後舉出馬若瑟的＜夢美土記＞則擬借閱讀《易》、《詩》、《書》三經，以夏變夏，在中國建立一個大基督國。

Joseph-Henri-Marie de Prémare, a French Jesuit, went to China in 1698 and stayed there until his death. In the history of literary exchange between China and the West, Prémare is famous for his translation of the Orphan of Zhao趙氏孤兒, while in Chinese classics studies, Prémare is no doubt a proponent of so-called ”Jesuit figurism.” In my paper, I discuss Prémare's ”Meng meitu ji”夢美土記, a wenyan文言 story of less than three thousand Chinese characters written in 1709 which so far has not seen publication and whose authorship has remained in question. I explore the story from three aspects First, I argue for Prémare's authorship based on his own account in Notitia lingua Sinicæ, and thematic and linguistic comparisons with Ru jiao xin儒交信, a novella generally attributed to him. Second, I point out that ”Meng meitu ji” is the first story in Chinese which structures itself on Western fiction, as it takes as its plot model Cicero's ”Dream of Scipio.” Finally, I argue that the ”Meng meitu ji” is an allegory for Jesuit figurism. In the story, Prémare alludes to different Chinese sources in an attempt to suggest the arrival of Christianity before the Qin 秦 dynasty. Prémare therefore argues that Christian truth can be located in such pre-Qin Chinese classics as the Yijing 易經, the Shying 詩經, and the Shangshu 尚書. I conclude my paper with a brief comparison between Xia Jingchu's 夏敬渠 Yeshou puyen 野叟曝言 and the ”Meng meitu ji,” since one of the characters in Xia's novel founds a Confucian kingdom by conquering Europe. This contrasts with Prémare's attempt to bring China into Christendom by narrativizing and allegorizing his figurism.