扮裝鄉土──《扮裝畫眉》、《竹雞與阿秋》的性別展演與家／鄉想像

Cross-Dressing the Native Soil:The Gender Performance and Imagination of Homeland/Native Soil inThe Cross-Dressed Thrush and Chu-Chi and A-Chiu

本文認為凌煙近期的兩本小說《扮裝畫眉》、《竹雞與阿秋》以戲臺上和生活中的扮裝介入鄉土敘事，不僅在鄉土文學中獨樹一格，亦迥異於以都會場景所開展的酷兒小說，提供了不同的南部觀點與底層觀照。小說以扮裝來展演從性別到情欲的流動，並演繹出另類的「男性啟蒙」。此外，經由戲班演出的生活形態、及異鄉人對家／鄉的追憶和現下生活的互動與省思，小說置疑了「戲班／旅館／家／鄉」相互間的定義，也打破了城／鄉、海／陸、進步／落後等空間上和時間上的二元對立，時空界線的突破和性別情欲的流動相互呼應，開展鄉土想像更多元豐富的可能性。而在肯定扮裝鄉土的異質空間時，凌煙小說並未浪漫化底層人物的越界行動，而是正視他們在現實條件與物質基礎上的差異和困境，其對扮裝鄉土的深層挖掘，拓展了鄉土小說與酷兒文學的新視野。

It is argued that the cross-dressing narrative of the Taiwanese opera (koa-a-hi)troupe in Ling Yen’s recent works, The Cross-Dressed Thrush and Chu-Chi And A-Chiu,is not only unique in native soil literature, but also quite different from the queerliterature in an urban landscape. The two works offer an alternative viewpoint fromSouthern Taiwan and perspectives of the proletariat. In both novels, cross-dressing isperformed across the gender/sexuality and acts out an alternative “male enlightenment”.In addition, through the delineation of life in the troupe as well as the strangers’recollection of the hometown, the reflection on and interaction with their lives, thenovels question the definition of troupe/hotel/home/hometown, breaking down thebinary opposition of urban/rural, sea/land, progressive/retrogressive in space andtime. The blurring of the temporal and spatial distinction, echoing the flowing of thegender/sexuality, gives rise to a diverse and rich native imagination. While affirming theheterotopia in the cross-dressed native soil, Ling does not romanticize the transgressingacts of the proletariat. Instead, she recognizes the poor material base and harsh situationthey confront with. By uncovering and digging into the depth of the cross-dressednative soil, Ling’s works broaden the horizon and widen the perspective of both nativesoil literature and queer literature.