試論吳炳《綠牡丹》之喜劇衝突

On comic collision in Lu-mu-dan by Wu-Bing

《綠牡丹》，一出著名的中國古典諷刺喜劇。吳炳用「衝突」的方式展現喜劇：正反面人物的善惡美醜衝突，一是熱情大膽，一是無恥虛偽；一是崇仰喜愛的讚許的笑，一是撻伐鞭笞的譏諷的笑。以及反面人物內心與現實的衝突，毫無才學卻又愛裝模作樣，靠著作弊方式拔得頭籌卻狐假虎威。而好人磨難後必有善終，壞人必自食惡果，這就是中國喜劇的精神。三次會試是《綠牡丹》的重要關目，〈社集〉、〈嚴試〉將反面人物內在情緒與現實情境的衝突表現淋漓，而〈簾試〉更是本出靈魂關目，正反面人物的強烈衝突，製造許多深刻的對話與畫面，而「綠牡丹」擔任穿針引線的功能，是生旦相逢聯繫的物件，一連串的誤會與巧合是綰合關目的元素，也成為《綠牡丹》的重要特色。

Lu-mu-dan, a famous Chinese classic sarcastic comedy, is shaped by Wu-Bingthrough the technique of “collision.” The goodness of the protagonistcollides with the wickedness of the antagonist. For instance, the former isardent and bold, while the latter is shameless and hypocritical; one laughsadmiringly on account of affection, while the other sneers scornfully for thepurpose of censure. In addition, another kind of collision takes place when theinternal part of the antagonist collides with the external reality. For example, onewho does not possess erudition feigns to act as one who does, putting on airswhen coming first-place through cheating. In conclusion, the very spirit of theChinese comedy is manifested when the good man ends up with a happy endingwhile the bad one winds up hoist with his own petard.The major plot of Lu-mu-dan comprises three tests: “shê chi,” “yen shih,” and“lien shih.” “Shê chi” and “yen shih” fully illustrate the collision between theinternal mind and the external reality of the antagonist; as for “lien shih,” itstems from the essential plot, amplifying the collision between the good and evil,giving rise to manifold in-depth dialogues and tableaux. Moreover,“lu-mu-dan” serves to interweave, functioning as an object making for theconnection between the male and the female protagonists. A succession ofmisunderstandings and coincidences is the element of the interweaving of thescenes, which is a main feature of Lu-mu-dan as well.