《虞初志》諸家評點所反映小說觀之建構及特質

The Construction and Characteristics of Novel Views Reflected by the Commentaries of Yu Chu Zhi

明人嗜讀傳奇而有選集《虞初志》，該書除盡納《續齊諧記》外，所選皆是唐傳奇，構成主要部分。成書後有多位評點家如李贄、屠隆、湯顯祖、袁宏道等施加評點，形成一文人團體施展文評手眼之場域。爾後仿作於明清蔚為風潮，此類小說選集總被稱為「虞初體」，則知《虞初志》對於明清小說之發展具有相當影響力。據此，本文切入觀察其背後之編者與評點家之小說意識，發覺已不再只是注重載道廣聞，而是作為一種達情顯志之賞玩，評點家不僅藉著表現閱讀情緒與讀者產生共鳴，尤其極為重視小說人物之性情表現，顯見李、袁等人將文學觀化作實際批評，進而影響當代思潮；同時，評點家亦視小說如「文學」作品，於是在評點內容上出現解析文法、沿用詩文評點之術語與方法等現象，沖淡小說作為教化載具的特質。凡此則知小說性質於明人理解已大不同以往，而《虞初志》暨評點正是體現其中轉變之樞紐。

People in the Ming Dynasty were addicted to reading legends and had an anthology Yu Chu Zhi, in which the stories in Xu Qi Xie Ji and the legends of the Tang Dynasty were selected to constitute the main part. After the book was written, many critics, such as Li Zhi, Tu Long, Tang Xianzu, Yuan Hongdao, etc., applied their criticisms, forming a field where a group of literati could show off. Afterwards, Yu Chu Zhi was imitated in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and this type of novel anthology was called ''Yu Chu Style'', which demonstrated the fact that Yu Chu Zhi did have a considerable influence on the development of the Ming and Qing novels. This study observes the notions of the editor and critics of the book, finding out that they were no longer just focusing on lecturing morals, but as a way of expressing emotions and aspirations. The critics not only identified with readers by expressing their emotions but also emphasized the expressions of the characters in the novel. It is obvious that Li, Yuan and other critics had turned literary commentary into practical criticism, which in turn affected contemporary trends of thought. At the same time, critics also regarded the novels as literature. As a consequence, in their commentaries, there were analysis of the writing, and the terminology and methods used in poetry and essay criticism, which in turn weakened the characteristics of novels as a vehicle of education. All this indicated that the nature of novels was quite different from the understanding of the Ming people, and the Commentaries of Yu Chu Zhi held the key position of the transformation.