晚清中日交流下的圖像、技術與性別：《鏡影簫聲初集》研究

Image, Technology, and Gender in Sino-Japanese Exchanges during the late Qing: A Study of the Jingying xiaosheng chuji

光緒十三年（1887），掄花館主人出版了介紹海上名妓的繪圖本《鏡影簫聲初集》，並在《申報》上以贈書消息及詩文、廣告等不同形式密集地曝光此書。為名妓作傳或繪圖出版，在明清以來所盛行之才子佳人式妓女文化中並不罕見，而《鏡影簫聲初集》事實上也僅僅是上海1870年代以降所流行之大量以「名妓」為主題的寫真圖記或冶遊指南中的一種。然其特別之處在於，除了善於利用新式媒體進行自我宣傳之外，相較於同時期的名妓圖譜多採用木版印刷或新式石版印刷，此書則前所未有地強調其乃是交付日本匠人以銅版印刷而成。尤其值得注意的是，此書出版的1880年代，就上海的圖像印刷產業而言，正是木版印刷、石印印刷、與銅版印刷正面對決的關鍵時期。這就不由得讓人好奇掄花館主人究竟是誰？為何要特別選擇銅版來印製這類型的妓女圖像？此項選擇與名妓圖譜作為一種特別的文本類型有何關係？此種新技術所改寫的舊文類又如何被觀眾所接受？更重要的是，其銅版印刷技術的日本來源，對於此書的風格呈現是否有任何挹注與影響？總之，本文將以《鏡影簫聲初集》為中心，重建此書編輯與印製的過程，並將其與之前及同時期運用木版或石印印製的名妓圖譜進行比較，藉此探討性別的呈現如何與不同技術和媒材的使用產生關係，以及此跨文化新技術的移植是否有可能也帶來了新的性別眼光與性別建構。

In 1887, the owner of a publishing house, the Lunhuaguan, printed illustrated biographies of famous courtesans in Shanghai entitled Jingying xiaosheng chuji (Mirror Reflections and Flute Sounds: First Collection) and mobilized a media campaign in the Shenbao newspaper to promote the publication. It had not been uncommon to publish biographies or images of famous courtesans since the flourishing of courtesan culture in the Ming and Qing periods. However, as opposed to earlier or even contemporary publications of a similar kind, which were either printed from woodblocks or using lithography, Jingying xiaosheng chuji was printed in Japan by means of copperplate engraving. It is worthnoting that the 1880s, when the book was published, was a crucial period in the publishing industry in Shanghai. It was a time that traditional woodblock printing, lithography from the West, and copperplate printing brought from Japan were waging a battle for market supremacy. This article focuses on the publication of Jingying xiaosheng chuji. It first determines who the owner of Lunhuaguan was and goes on to analyze the book’s publication and effects. Who comprised the publication team? Why did the owner decide to choose copperplate printing for the images of famous courtesans? Did his choice have anything to do with the nature of this specific genre? How was this old genre now revised by new technology received by readers at the time? Most importantly, did Japan, as the source of its printing technology, contribute to the specific style of the images in the book? This paper will explore how gender was constructed and mediated through transcultural technology, resulting in a new formation or perception of gender in the making.