地獄版權――葉德輝印經因緣考

Hell’s Copyright: On Karma and Ye Dehui’s 葉德輝 Printing of Sutras

葉德輝（1864-1927）自命為一名儒者，但與其將其視為一個思想家，不如說是一位嗅覺敏銳、縱橫於目錄、出版與文物界的文化名人。他強調「余性不佞佛，又不通內典」，卻從光緒三十一年（1905年）陸續刊刻《宋真宗御注佛說四十二章經注》（1905），以及《佛說十八泥犁經》（1907）、《佛說鬼問目蓮傳經》（1907）、《佛說雜藏經》（1907）、《餓鬼報應經》（1907）等地獄真經，並作〈佛說十八泥犁經序〉，強調這些經典為六朝以前的古籍之外，更詳論地獄之說的源流，認定佛教「彼氏之說，竊自儒家」，凡此都讓人覺得莫名所以，實卻透露了有趣的時代消息。本文即以葉德輝中年抱疾與家族屯蹇的宗教實踐為始，探討地獄知識的傳播與拜神酬願、施印佛經等宗教消費，以及文化生產間的關係；其次國事蜩螗，特別是西方勢力對於地方權力和民生經濟的影響，造成國人普遍浮現一種「人間地獄」的憂思，從而與基督教的天堂地獄之說展開對話，將原本偏於庶民宗教「地獄天堂」的關懷，在知識界轉化為一個重要的關鍵詞，葉氏亦乘此風潮，以儒者面具企圖從「釋氏」手中奪回地獄話語的版權。然他所挑戰的對象，既非釋迦，也超越了晚清新學者「不歆天堂，不畏地獄」的改革思想，而是藉由長久中、外文化交流的歷史事證，證明中華文化的容受力，警示新一波東來的基督文明，前鑑不遠。另外，作為一名清末民初優秀的出版家，葉氏儒商的背景使其在刊刻時需考量積德、積書與積金之最大效益，地獄真經的刻印，即選擇了當時熱絡的地獄話題，以善本為底本，良工覆刻，名家題面，再經由葉氏〈序〉轉熟為生的筆法，巧用文、史、藝術中地獄信仰的典故，為民間誦懺經咒的習俗增添了古、異的色彩。

Ye Dehui 葉德輝 (1864-1927), a self-proclaimed Confucian scholar, was not so much an intellectual as a prominent figure in the cultural heritage sphere. Ye possessed a keen business sense and engaged in a wide range of cataloguing and publishing activities. He insisted that “by nature I do not like Buddhism, and do not understand Buddhist scriptures;” however, from the 31st year of the guangxu光緒 reign period, he started to block-print Buddhist scriptures on hell. For example, he published the “Scripture in Forty-two Chapters Annotated by the Song Emperor Zhenzong 真宗” (1905), the “Scripture on the Eighteen Hells” (1907), the “Scripture on Ghosts Asking Mulian 目蓮 ” (1907), “Miscellaneous Buddhist Scriptures” (1907), and the “Scripture on the Retribution of Hungry Ghosts” (1907). He also wrote “A Foreword to the Scripture on the Eighteen Hells” in which he emphasized that these were all ancient scriptures that predated the Six Dynasties. In addition, Ye described in detail the origin of hell and asserted that “this Buddhist discourse was stolen from Confucianism.” While these positions are difficult to explain, they in fact reveal interesting information about the historical era in which Ye lived. This article takes as its starting point the religious practices related to Ye Dehui’s midlife illness and the difficulties encountered by his family. It discusses the dissemination of information on hell, the religious practices related to the printing of sutras and the veneration of spirits, and the connection between such activities and cultural production. In addition, at this time national affairs were in a tumultuous state, especially with western forces impacting the local authorities and the economic situation of the people. This led to the widespread appearance of worries about “hell on earth,” and it prompted a dialogue with the Christian concept of heaven and hell. This dialogue transformed “heaven and hell” from a popular religious issue to a key concept within intellectual circles. Ye Dehui followed this trend and, adopting a Confucian stance, he attempted to regain the “copyright” over the discourse on hell from Buddhism. However, the primary challenge he confronted was neither Buddhism, nor the revolutionary idea of late Qing清 scholars who did “not admire heaven and were not afraid of hell;” instead, it was the historical evidence concerning the long cultural interaction between China and the rest of the world, which demonstrated the receptiveness of Chinese culture and heralded a new wave of Christian civilization moving east. In addition, as a renowned publisher of the Late Qing and Early Republic, Ye Dehui’s background as a Confucian merchant led him to consider the most effective means of accumulating merit, texts and funds in the process of printing. In publishing scriptures on hell, he chose to highlight the current popular discourse on it. He used rare books as master copies, elaborate engraved covers, inscribed dedications by famous personalities, and a literary technique characterized by transforming the already known into something new. He moreover masterfully utilized literary, historical and artistic allusions related to the belief in hell, and added hues of the ancient and strange to the popular custom of chanting repentance sutras.