冤屈與枉死：中晚唐小說的司法誤判書寫研究

Injustice and Wrongful Death: A Study of Judicial Misjudgments in Middle and Late T'ang Dynasty Fiction

唐代選人之法，著重身、言、書、判四個面向，其中，以「判」作為衡量標準，意味著若欲成為合格的官員，案件審理上，務必得詳加留意，避免誤判造成冤案。即便如此，唐朝因司法誤判所造就的「冤屈」和「枉死」案例仍舊層出不窮，不但見諸史冊、碑誌文書，更在中晚唐小說裡「遍地開花」。首先，蒙受「冤屈」者，往往難以在短時間內循制度層面翻案。若欲化解誤判，必然得借助外在力量，突破僵化結構。具體呈現諸小說敘述，即是現實生活的「他助」，以及宗教救贖的「冥佑」。其次，因執法者罔顧司法程序，引發之「枉死」案例，按造小說敘事，則可區分成「冥界司法程序疏漏」導致的「亡者再生」，和「陽間司法誤判」衍生的「生者復仇」，兩種不同書寫型態。最後，本論文指出唐代後期不同作者、不同題材、不同旨趣的小說，之所以不約而同地觸及彼時的司法弊病，係奠基在中唐以降選舉、財政等制度層面，所產生的士風敗壞和胥吏弄權，這兩項結構性問題之上。

The T’ang Dynasty's method of selecting officials emphasized four aspects: character, speech, writing, and judgment. Among these, ''judgment'' was used as a measure, implying that in order to become a qualified official, careful attention must be paid to case handling to avoid wrongful judgments leading to unjust cases. Even so, cases of ''wrongful convictions'' and ''wrongful deaths'' caused by judicial errors in the T’ang Dynasty continued to emerge endlessly, appearing not only in historical records and inscriptions but also abundantly in novels from the middle and late T’ang Dynasty. Firstly, those who suffered ''wrongful convictions'' often found it difficult to overturn their cases within a short period of time through institutional means. Resolving wrongful judgments inevitably required external forces to break through the rigid structure. This is specifically illustrated in the narratives of various novels as the ''other’s help'' in real life and the ''divine blessing'' of religious redemption. Secondly, cases of ''wrongful deaths'' resulting from law enforcement officers disregarding judicial procedures, as depicted in novels, can be divided into two different narrative forms: ''the oversight of the underworld judicial process'' leading to ''the rebirth of the deceased'' and ''revenge of the living'' derived from ''judicial errors in the mortal world.'' Finally, this thesis points out that in the late T’ang Dynasty, the novels of different authors, with different themes and purposes, coincidentally touched upon the judicial malpractices of that time, which were rooted in the deterioration of the gentry and the abuse of power by local officials, based on the institutional aspects of the selection and financial systems from the mid-T’ang Dynasty onwards.