從「荒誕性」析論元代文士劇－－以「破衫兒」雜劇為論述

An Analysis of “Absurdity” in Scholar’s Plays of the Yuan Dynasty –A Focus on the Theme of “Poshaner”

本文討論元代文士劇中的「破衫兒」雜劇，因其具有諸多不合常情常理的情節而歸屬「無理」之作，進而探索其「荒誕性」的主題意蘊。「荒誕」一詞，目前所知較早見於李白（701-762）〈大獵賦〉：「哂穆王之荒誕，歌白雲之西母。」這兩句所指為《穆天子傳》。此書描述周穆王駕八駿巡遊，西登崑崙與西王母舉觴歌詩的神異故事。李白哂其「荒誕」，係取「極言虛妄、不足憑信」之義。神話具有不合邏輯常理的特質，故不足憑信。因此「荒誕」已蘊含「無理」的意義；然相較之下，「荒誕」一詞實有更深層的指涉與涵義。《莊子．天下篇》云：「謬悠之說，荒唐之言，無端崖之辭。」所謂「謬悠、荒唐」近似「荒誕」語境，莊子運用三種語言文字的策略，是要表述不落言筌的哲學思惟。破衫兒雜劇的「無理」，雖無關哲學思惟，然以「無理」演繹虛無、絕望的主題，故而形成劇作的「荒誕性」。元雜劇演唱形式獨特，一本四折只能由正旦或正末主唱，分別稱曰「旦本」或「末本」。由正末扮演的文人，元代夏伯和〈青樓集誌〉謂之「破衫兒」雜劇。破衫指扮演貧苦人物的服飾，現存元雜劇提示作「薄藍」或「藍扮」，符合正末扮演落魄文士的穿關。所謂「破衫兒」雜劇，指扮演主腳的正末，從貧困落魄、功名不第，終而發跡騰達或封賞團圓的故事。本文以四本現存曲白、科介完整的破衫兒雜劇為論述文本，包括無名氏《漁樵記》、高文秀《遇上皇》、馬致遠《薦福碑》、鄭光祖《王粲登樓》。從四方面進行析論：（1）情節推展的荒誕性（2）堆疊巧合與逆轉關目的荒誕性（3）錯置歷史人物、悖離史實的荒誕性（4）運用意象烘托主題的荒誕性。破衫兒雜劇多以封賞團圓為喜劇結局，其深層底蘊是在揭示元代文士的功名幻夢，凸顯假想性、虛擬性的生命樂園。因此劇作鋪排諸多「無理」的面向，只是一種表層的敘事策略。其以各種意象與暗喻為樞紐，寄寓落空、幻滅的主題，而指向「荒誕性」的意蘊。「荒誕性」概念是破衫兒雜劇從「無理」變為「無理之妙」的轉捩點，這正是荒誕性文士劇的弔詭。

This article studies how “absurdity” (huangdan xing) was represented in scholars’ plays (wenshi ju) of the Yuan Dynasty. In the Chinese context, the term absurdity was used as far back as the Tang poet Li Bo’s (701-762) ‘Da lie fu’ to narrate the myth in which King Mu of Zhou (976-922 BC?) chanted and drank with the Chinese goddess Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu). Following Li’s usage of absurdity, this article analyzes four extant plays of “Poshaner” (in shabby clothes) in traditional drama, including the anonymous Yuqiao ji, Gao Wenxiu’s Yu shanghuang, Ma Zhiyuan’s (ca.1250-1321) Jianfu bei, and Zheng Guangzu’s Wang Can denglou. The above four plays mainly narrate scholars’ failure in pursuing official positions through the civil service examinations. Scholars’ plays with the theme of “Poshaner” depict main characters, all scholars, who were frustrated in passing the exams. These plays, however, turn out to have happy endings due to some absurd turning points. Absurdity, in this article, is stated in four aspects: plot developments, coincidences and reversals, misemployment of historical figures and digression of historical facts, as well as symbolic imageries. These four plays were written over a time range of eighty years and coincidently accorded with the period when the civil service examinations were suspended from 1238 to 1315. Due to the political environment, Yuan drama was performed in the above four play narratives in the form of absurdity. Therefore, theatre featuring absurdity, in scholars’ plays of the Yuan Dynasty, to some extent can be compared with the western counterpart, the Theatre of the Absurd that occurred in the 1950s-1960s.