「診斷」徐渭：晚明社會對於狂與病的多元理解

“Diagnosing” Xu Wei”: Pluralistic Views of Madness and Illness in Late Ming Society

明人徐渭值得關注的理由很多。眾所皆知，他的才氣縱橫，書、畫、詩、文和戲曲創作皆獨樹一格，備受晚明時人推崇，然其一生卻窮困潦倒、際遇曲折。徐渭曾參與科舉考試八次不利，試圖自殺九次不死；一度因殺妻以死罪下獄，最終卻又僥倖獲赦。在晚明崇尚個性、追求獨特的文化氛圍下，徐渭的「奇」與「畸」自不乏欣賞者，然而他那近乎偏執的自殘和殺妻行為，卻又不免引發「狂（疾）」的臆測與公論。從過去到現在，許多人汲汲於從不同角度「診斷」徐渭，或謂其「佯狂」，或說其「心悸病狂」，亦有論其為「鬼神憑附」；當代則有學者斷定徐渭乃罹患「臆病」或「精神分裂」。不同於前人討論，本文主張歷史研究應儘可能「以其言論之」（on / in their ownterms）。文中試以徐渭的「狂」與「病」（體感）作為理解其特異行徑的兩個主要線索，依序論及徐渭作為山人與幕客之狂、自裁（自殘）之狂、殺妻之狂以及晚年之狂，並透過徐渭的「自我診斷」與時人的「社會診斷」，來探究此「狂」與「病」的真實面與虛構面，藉以作為管窺晚明社會文化的另類取徑。 There are several reasons that Xu Wei deserves scholarly attention. As is well known, he was highly acclaimed in the late Ming as a singular figure with various talents in calligraphy, painting, poem, prose and drama composition. However, he had a life of poverty and misery, with convoluted ups and downs. Xu Wei took the civil service examinations eight times without passing, and he attempted suicide nine times without success. He was sentenced to death and jailed for the murder of his wife, but by a fluke he was granted amnesty. In the late Ming world of venerating of individuality and seeking cultural distinctiveness, Xu Wei’s “novelty” and “eccentricity” had no shortage of admirers, but his disturbing acts of self-mutilation and spousal murder could not help but evoke public charges of madness. From the past down to the present, numerous people have vigorously put forth various “diagnoses” of Xu Wei, arguing for “feigned madness,” or “madness brought on by an affliction of heart palpitations,” or even “spirit possession.” Some contemporary scholars have decided that Xu Wei suffered from “hysteria” or “schizophrenia.” In a departure from these preceding views, this article argues that the historical researcher ought to rely on the subjects’ own terms as much as possible. This article attempts to draw on Xu Wei’s own perceptions of “madness” and “illness” to examine the two important threads of his distinctive experience. Following Xu Wei’s own narratives of his mountain-man and military secretary madness, his self-cutting (self-mutilation) madness, spousal murder madness, and old-age madness, and exploring Xu Wei’s “self-diagnosis” and the “diagnosis by society” of his contemporaries, this article examines the realities and constructions of “madness” and “illness” in order to provide an alternative perspective on late Ming social culture.

There are several reasons that Xu Wei deserves scholarly attention. As is well known, he was highly acclaimed in the late Ming as a singular figure with various talents in calligraphy, painting, poem, prose and drama composition. However, he had a life of poverty and misery, with convoluted ups and downs. Xu Wei took the civil service examinations eight times without passing, and he attempted suicide nine times without success. He was sentenced to death and jailed for the murder of his wife, but by a fluke he was granted amnesty. In the late Ming world of venerating of individuality and seeking cultural distinctiveness, Xu Wei’s “novelty” and “eccentricity” had no shortage of admirers, but his disturbing acts of self-mutilation and spousal murder could not help but evoke public charges of madness. From the past down to the present, numerous people have vigorously put forth various “diagnoses” of Xu Wei, arguing for “feigned madness,” or “madness brought on by an affliction of heart palpitations,” or even “spirit possession.” Some contemporary scholars have decided that Xu Wei suffered from “hysteria” or “schizophrenia.” In a departure from these preceding views, this article argues that the historical researcher ought to rely on the subjects’ own terms as much as possible. This article attempts to draw on Xu Wei’s own perceptions of “madness” and “illness” to examine the two important threads of his distinctive experience. Following Xu Wei’s own narratives of his mountain-man and military secretary madness, his self-cutting (self-mutilation) madness, spousal murder madness, and old-age madness, and exploring Xu Wei’s “self-diagnosis” and the “diagnosis by society” of his contemporaries, this article examines the realities and constructions of “madness” and “illness” in order to provide an alternative perspective on late Ming social culture.