劉向〈孽嬖傳〉多重隱喻之探究

Discussing the Multiple Metaphors in Liu Xiang's“Nie Bi Zhuan”

本文藉由保羅‧利柯(Paul Ricoeur，1913-2005)與海登‧懷特(Hayden White，1928-2018)主張「歷史應被視擴展的隱喻」，說明劉向〈孽嬖傳〉人物經過多位史家的「再現」，因而具有多重隱喻的意涵。中國特殊的婚姻制度，欲以嚴明的嫡庶制度為嫡宗建立穩固的宗法繼承權，然此制度除了仰賴男性對欲望的控制外，女性爭妒亦成為此制度無法順利運行的主要變因。《左傳》記載多則奪嫡立庶造成的政治危機，司馬遷《史記》譴責君權膨脹作為歷史事件的重要閥口，而劉向將男性的失控歸咎於「孽嬖」之亂，此變化與春秋戰國後宗法制度崩解，災異觀的成熟，以及西漢後宮問題有密不可分的關聯。

This article uses Paul Ricoeur (1913─2005) and Hayden White (1928─2018)'s proposition that“history should be regarded as an extended metaphor”to explain the many experiences of the characters in“Nie Bi Zhuan”（孽嬖傳）. Those characters reappeared in history through several historians, therefore, has multiple metaphorical connotations. Due to China's distinctive marriage system, a strict concubine system is intended to establish solid patriarchal inheritance rights for the direct lineage. However, apart from this system’s reliance on men's control of desires, female jealousy has also become the main reason why this system cannot operate smoothly.“Zuo Zhuan”（左傳）records many political crises caused by seizing the right to enthronement, Sima Qian's（司馬遷）“Shiji”（史記）uses the condemnation of men's unlimited desires as an important historical event, while Liu Xiang blames the chaos on powerful females called“Nie Bi”by Liu. This change is closely related to the collapse of the patriarchal system after the Eastern Zhou, the maturity of portent studies, and the problem of the harem during the Western Han Dynasty.