論《封神演義》呈現的儒道理與小說之教

Confucianism, Taoism and 'Small-Talk Religion' of Feng Shen Yan Yi

成書於明代的神魔小說《封神演義》，其內容係兼採前代話本《武王伐紂平話》及當時民間流傳的各種商周戰爭故事，並加上作者豐富的想像力而成。全書以「天命」角度敘寫武王伐紂、太公封神之事，但因藝術手法不如說部「四大奇書」，歷來由文學方面所作的評論頗為低下。本文透過「同其情的理解」角度，對《封神演義》進行價值重估，探討書中對既有的儒家義理、道家思想、道教神譜的接受與改造，並反思該書「小說之教」對於中國、臺灣的道教與民間信仰所產生的影響。由是，吾人可知，就思想及對宗教信仰的影響層面而言，《封神演義》是一部不宜加以忽視的古典小說。

The fantasy novel Feng Shen Yan Yi, written during the Ming Dynasty and adapted from the Huaben novel Wu Wang Fa Zhou Ping Hua, fictionalized the folktales of Shang and Zhou war stories using rich imagination. This book recounts the stories of King Wu's crusade against King Zhou and Investiture of the Gods from the perspective of 'fate'; however, its appraisal is much less favorable than the Four Great Masterpiece due to its artistic skills. From the view point of 'empathetic understanding,' this paper reassesses the value of Feng Shen Yan Yi, discusses the reception and transformation of the existing Confucianism, Taoism and theogony of Taoism, and reflects on the effects of the 'small-talk religion' on Taoism and folk religions in China and Taiwan. As a classical novel it is understood that the effects of Feng Shen Yan Yi on Chinese thought and religious beliefs cannot be underestimated.