英文摘要 |
Mao Zong-gang's edition of Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms has become widely popular since the early days of the Qing Dynasty. Questions remain as to what exactly is adapted in his version of the story, and under what influence, if ever, of classical ideas of genre? This article proposes that Mao's adaptation of the zan (hymn of praise) in this classic is the most significant formal innovation, and that it thus provides a key to his concept of the novel.Following the convention of standard historical writing as well as story-telling, most versions of the “Three Kingdom” in the Ming Dynasty contain the zan part. Mao differs from other compilers by retaining the poetic form of the Jin-ti as the main form of the zan, removing others such as miao-zan (temple hymn) and lun-zan ( deliberative praise), both of which appear in other versions of the novel. This undertaking highlights the rhetorical effect of genre maneuver, brings forth unity to the entire novel and thus enhances thematic coherence. The rhetorical function of the genre, as Mikhail Bakhtin says, is central to discourse. Language intends discourse, and a recognizable discourse, with a steady form and structure, coveys emotional attitudes and evaluation. Indeed, Mao's use of thepoetic zan achieves a high level of unity of discourse, as other editions do not. The rhetorical features in Mao's edition deserve serious investigation.Mao's use of the poetic zan, as this article finds out, steps away from the story-telling tradition to intone with the poetic sub-genre of “chanting history.” It bears a strong lyrical quality that ultimately fuses into the novel's total thematic vision. This study reveals Mao's unique way of genre-rhetoric handling from two perspectives: “lyrical consciousness and theme” and “lyrical object ad evaluation.” Mao's innovative maneuver evinces the poetic zan's effectiveness in novel writing. It also proves that Mao stands out from other compilers not because he follows a story line of different origin but because of his poetics of novel implied by his artistic representation. We therefore believe that the study of genre and its rhetorical effect is the best way to approach the compilation of the novel. |