盧柟事件的真相、渲染與文化意涵－－〈盧太學詩酒傲王侯〉相關文本的探析

Facts, Exaggerations, and Cultural meanings in 'Scholar Lu Subdues the Royals with Poems and Wine'

〈盧太學詩酒傲王侯〉收錄於馮夢龍《醒世恆言》卷廿九，是篇選取新聞事件寫成的故事。這件殺人案情纏訟十多年，才能結案。被告盧柟不僅家破，身處於囹圄，還差點被謀害身亡，端賴詩人謝榛的仗義救助，前往北京刑部申冤，引起各方關注，才得到重審釋放的機會。此事見錄於盧柟《蠛蠓集》、王世貞《弇州山人四部稿》、錢謙益《列朝詩集小傳》、《明史‧文苑傳》。本文試從文獻史料來探索這樁新聞事件，由於時日久遠，「真相拼貼」頗為艱難！官方審訊的紀錄並未留存下來，盧柟的自述只能算是一面之詞；但是從官府辦案十餘年未決，又橫生獄中謀害的枝節，可想而知獄政上有極嚴重的問題。地方官員、仕紳與百姓之間的磨擦，也日益擴大。當時刑部官員李攀龍、王世貞的相挺，或有若干事證可援，也只能說是文友義助，未必是「真相」！至於錢謙益的選擇性書寫，以及《明史‧文苑》的引述與修改，企圖抹滅後七子王世貞、李攀龍的義行，壓抑復古派人物，也就不言而喻。馮夢龍的擬話本小說，秉持生花妙筆，從六十餘字的軼聞，添加成兩萬多字的小說。在嘽緩拖沓的書寫節奏中，描繪晚明文人閒散生活的樣貌，同時也反映了社會階層的對立，貧富懸殊，「仇富」心理升高，官員、胥吏以及一般百姓，也捲進了仕紳與僕役之間的衝突。馮夢龍的小說書寫形式，事實上還包含了文人對社會律法的質疑與抵抗。所謂時過而境遷，時隔四百七十餘年的人事糾紛中，靠拼貼而成的「真相」，還是漫漶不清；但是虛擬的小說故事，卻可以幫助我們「填補真相」，得到更多的想像與認識。

Scholar Lu Subdues the Royals with Poems and Wine,' collected in Feng Meng-Lung's Xingshi Hengyan,volume 29, is a story based on a contemporary incident. It involves a murder case which was fought at the court for more than 10 years before it was concluded. The defendant Lu Ran was prisoned for long, almost killed, and left with a ruined family. He was trialed again and finally released only when the poet Xie Zhen helped him out, by appealing to the Justice Department in BeiJing and by stirringup public attention to the case.This incident was also recored in Lu Ran's Collected Works of Wa Meng, inWang Shi-Zhen's Yenzhou Shanren's Four-volume Manuscripts, in Qian Qian-Yi's Biographical Notes on Poets of the Dynasties, and in the literary section of The Ming History. This article examines the incident by reviewing all historical documents available. Although no official court records regarding this case existed, and Lu Ran's statement subjective, there were facts to be extracted. That this case was debated over a decade long, and an attempt was made to murder Lu Ran in the prison, led our attention to the problems of the administrative system of the prison at the time. There were also apparent tensions between local people, officials, and the riches and nobles. Even the literati and officials of the Justice Department, such as Li Pan-lung and Wang Shi-zhen, could provide only few facts. In Qian Qian-Yi's Biographical Notes, facts were selective, so were those further revised in the literary section of The Ming History. Both showed clear attempts to undermine the righteous acts of Wang Shi-zhen and Li Pan-lung, proving little regarding what really happened in the case. Feng Meng-lung's adaptation skillfully expanded a short piece of news into a story of 20000 words. He represented vividly the life of the literati in the late Ming period, bringing out tensions between people of different social status. Indeed, the story delineated the gap between the rich and the poor, illustrating conflicts between officials/gentlemen and their servants, and ultimately questioning even the judicial system per se. With a gap of four hundred and seventy some years today, we may never get to the truth of the incident with all available facts, but the story, though imaginative, can help us understand a great deal what historical documents can not.