唐傳奇女子復讎故事研究：從時空體及生命型態的角度

Tang Dynasty Short Stories on Women's Revenge from the Perspectives of Lifestyle and Chronotope

唐代發生不少復讎事件，復讎者為男性。相較於此，唐傳奇女子復讎敘述甚為特別。本文參照正史，論述其時空體結構。根據分析，這類敘述以民間軼事為基礎，呈現兩種結構，分別是：身份變形、心理抒情時空的展現，與遠離日常生活的不動情敘述。前者以〈謝小娥〉等篇為例，後者以〈賈人妻〉等篇為例。我們認為這類敘述顯現出奇、反與隱特質，和現實復讎事件進行對話。死亡、殺戮、棄世，不僅是時空結構，而是生存隱喻。人生是戰場，復讎之路更是人生唯一實踐。復讎是一種突圍，充滿奮起精神；但此戰並未帶來重生，卻是棄世。生命秩序未恢復，歸家之路更是遙望無期。這是一種關於存在的敘述，當生命秩序無法重建，家是永遠的失落，自己將站成一座孤島。這敘述不只是修辭而已，更表達了時代的價值觀與氛圍。中晚唐時局複雜，盛唐的浪漫自由已經消逝。這敘述語境透露著，中唐時人無法從外界尋找支援時，只能憑恃己力，返回自身。

Amongst the many Tang dynasty short stories describing incidents of revenge, those taking revenge are almost always men. Yet in the official histories there are found a few narratives in which a woman enacts revenge. In this paper I examine the chronotopic structure of several such incidents. Mainly in the form of popular anecdotes, these narratives can be divided into two types: a chronotopic description of the emotional response to a change of status; and a dispassionate description of a major departure from ordinary life. The former type is exemplified by 'Xie Xiao 'e,' while 'Guren qi' is typical of the latter type. In comparing such fantastic stories with those that are more realistic, it can be seen that they all utilize the themes of death, murder, and renouncing the world as metaphors and to form a chronotopic structure. They all convey the view that life is a battlefield in which revenge is the only viable option for overcoming loss and grief, yet which ultimately fails to bring regeneration, inevitably leading to renunciation of the world. In these stories of survival and separation, the disruption of the previous order of the individual 's life results in a situation in which 'returning home' proves impossible, leaving the person alone and adrift. Such narratives vividly express the ethos and values of the middle and late Tang dynasty, when the romantic optimism of the early Tang had already faded away. In particular, such a narrative context demonstrates that by the middle of the Tang dynasty many had begun to lose faith in social institutions, leading to increasing importance being given to self-reliance.