來自幽魂的書信：鍾文音《想你到大海：百年前未完成的懸念，來到了雨水的盡頭》的書信體研究

Letters from Ghostly Spirits: A Study on the Epistolary Form in Chung Wenyin’s Missing You to the Sea: The Unfinished Suspense from a Century Ago, Reaching the End of the Rain

被視為鍾文音創作生涯的開展與自我超越之作的《想你到大海：百年前未完成的懸念，來到了雨水的盡頭》，透過可以穿越古今的幽魂「夢婆」作為書信體的媒介，一方面承繼了西方十八世紀書信體小說沒落後，與十九世紀志怪傳統匯合的書信體特色；另一方面仿擬自五四以來最擅長使用的單音獨白書信體。本文首先探討鍾文音何以選擇筆記文件形式的書信體，指出書信體比其他文類更具可塑性來創造與再造馬偕與張聰明的人物形象與故事。同時以書信中有書信的嵌套形式串起小說今昔的兩條主軸帶出虛擬實境，也唯有透過幽魂附身傳輸的單音獨白書信，始能光明正大的擬仿百年前馬偕夫婦的心聲。其次，書信體是最適合內視與自剖的文體，作者藉此讓歷史人物現聲，一方面顛覆馬偕神格化的形象，據此思索各種宗教信仰的存在價值。另一方面讓歷史女性得以傾吐心聲，打破男性敘事的權威傳統，進而賦予百年前的女性話語權，以彰顯女性的主體性。其三，透過古今女性的雙聲複調而有了百年來愛情觀的思索，以及信仰與愛情的辯證，形構出虛實交錯的今昔對話。最後，作者以淡水為核心，讓今昔兩線螺旋交纏而拉出歷史的縱深，隱約指出淡水自1870年作為北臺灣國際貿易港的歷史地位，迄今已轉型為觀光小鎮，並隱喻淡水觀光淺碟化的反思。

Chung Wenyin’s Missing You to the Sea: The Unfinished Suspense from a Century Ago, Reaching the End of the Rain, regarded as both a turning point and a self-transcendence in her creative career, uses the ghostly figure of Mengpo, who traverses past and present, as the medium of the epistolary form. On the one hand, the work inherits the characteristics of the epistolary novel that faded in the West after the 18th century, merging with the strange tales tradition of the 19th century. On the other hand, it mimics the single-voice epistolary style that has been prevalent since the May Fourth Movement. This paper first explores why Chung Wenyin chose the epistolary form in the style of a document, arguing that this form offers more flexibility than other literary genres in creating and recreating the characters of George Leslie Mackay and Zhang Cong-Ming. By utilizing a layered structure of letters within letters, the novel intertwines two main narrative threads, past and present, creating a virtual reality. It is only through the monophonic, ghost-possessed letters that the heartfelt voices of Mackay and his wife from a century ago can be convincingly imitated. Secondly, the epistolary form is particularly suited for introspection and self-revelation, allowing historical figures to ''speak.'' Through this, the author subverts the deified image of Mackay and prompts reflections on the existential value of various religious beliefs. At the same time, it allows historical women to express their voices, breaking the authority of male-dominated narratives and giving women from a century ago the power to speak, thus emphasizing female subjectivity. Thirdly, the double-voiced polyphony of women from past and present offers a reflection on both the changing views of love over the past century and the dialectic between faith and love, constructing a dialogue between past and present that blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction. Finally, the author places Tamsui at the center, intertwining the two timelines in a spiral that extends the depth of history. The novel subtly points out Tamsui's historical significance as a northern Taiwan international trade port since 1870, and its transformation into a tourist town today, offering a reflection on the shallow commercialization of Tamsui tourism.