自我定義的生命故事──太平天國時期鄭蘭孫《蓮因室詩詞集》中的自傳性書寫

Self-Defined Life Story: Zheng Lansun’s Autobiographical Writings in Poetry Collection of Lotus Karma Studio during the Taiping Rebellion Era

目前學界對世變中女性及其文學之研究，集中於晚明及晚清婦女在亂世中的受難角色、世變中女性的文學形象、女性的家國書寫等方面，對女性自傳性書寫的研究有待深入。
鄭蘭孫（1814-1861）《蓮因室詩詞集》將儒家倫理、佛教信仰與自傳性書寫高度綰合，異於此前及同時代女性自傳性創作，別具探討價值。鄭蘭孫親歷咸豐癸丑（1853）太平軍揚州兵燹，因保存夫家徐氏宗族文獻而捨棄自身詩詞稿，甲寅（1854）春避居如皋，選擇性地默錄部分詩詞與自註，構成《蓮因室詩詞集》詩集卷上及詞集一半；甲寅至庚申（1860）後之創作，則為詩集卷下及詞集嗣後篇目。此外，她默錄亂前所作自序（1852），又作後序（1854），並自題十絕句於卷首，生前即對其別集作有意編排、選錄與迴護。
通過文本細讀，文中分析鄭蘭孫如何採用詩、詞、文等文體，自序、小註、詩題等具敘事功能的副文本，呈現其由閨閣才女轉變為過渡性的再生人世客，最終為無性別色彩之佛教徒的身分認同與形象轉換，並塑造了前世為蓮座侍香童子、今生因慧業偶謫人間、來世永侍蓮臺的生命故事，展現出太平天國時期女性自我定義並構建生命故事的深層欲望。她默錄、編排詩詞稿，並保持敘事連貫性，展現出明清女性別集作為自傳性載體的充分潛力。

Current research on Chinese women’s literature during times of upheaval primarily focuses on aspects such as the suffering roles of women during the late Ming and late Qing dynasties, the literary portrayals of women in times of crisis, and women’s writings on family and the state; however, studies on women’s autobiographical writings still await attention. Intricately intertwining Confucian ethics, Buddhist faith, and autobiographical writing, Zheng Lansun鄭蘭孫(1814-1861) sets her autobiographical work apart from those of women before and during her time, a distinctive case study worth further exploration.
At the fall of Yangzhou in 1853 during the Taiping Rebellion, Zheng gave precedence to rescuing her husband’s family documents, leaving behind her own poetry manuscripts. After the war, she wrote from memory a tenth of her manuscripts through the process of selectivity, which would become the first volume of Lianyin shi shici ji蓮因室詩詞集(Poetry Collection of Lotus Karma Studio). From 1854 to 1860, she then composed poems that would form the second volume; furthermore, she wrote a preface from memory that was initially written in 1852 and a second one in 1854, a rarely seen practice, as well as included ten quatrains at the beginning of the collection, an arrangement to justify in advance the compilation.
Zheng utilizes a variety of genres and paratexts, blending lyricism and narrative to portray the process of self-identity construction, crisis, and transformation. Her self-image and self-identity changed from a“talented woman”才女to a traveler reborn in dire straits and finally to a genderless Buddhist. By using a confessional narrative, she constructs the life story of her past life as a“child serving incense before the Lotus Dais,”her then-present life as a talented woman, and her afterlife as an“eternal servant before the Lotus Dais.”As a result, her collection reveals a strong desire to define and establish her own life story during the Taiping Rebellion. Furthermore, her efforts in recording, compiling, and narrating her own life story demonstrate the potential of women’s poetry collections as autobiographical texts.