論一九七零年代香港城市詩的特色：以舒巷城、羈魂及梁秉鈞為例

Hong Kong Urban Poetry in the 1970s: Shu Xiangcheng, Ji Hun, and Leung Ping-kwan as Prime Examples

1970年代香港經濟蓬勃發展，殖民地政府先後推出多項重大的基建與改革項目，70年代初的社會運動及學生運動亦促進了改革的步伐。不少香港詩人以熟悉的本土事物作為創作題材，當中包括對城市急速現代化的親身體驗。粗略來說，當時詩壇的發展大致上有三個不同的取向，左派刊物的詩人特別關注低下層民生疾苦，對現代化抱持批判的態度，風格上傾向於樸素的寫實主義。《詩風》同仁重視鍊字修辭，借鑑中外名篇，亦受到余光中「新古典主義」所影響。而梁秉鈞等人所編輯的刊物所維繫的詩人，則同時反對直截的社會批評及過於雕琢的技巧，愛用較淺白的語言來書寫具體的生活經驗。本文探討1970年代香港城市詩的特色，選取舒巷城（1921－1999）、羈魂（1946－）和梁秉鈞（1949－2013）這三位最重要的詩人為例，勾勒出70年代香港城市詩的不同風貌。舒巷城是最多產的寫實主義詩人，擅於以短詩揭示社會問題及作出有力的諷刺。羈魂的城市詩亦有寫實的意味，但卻非常注重修辭用典，曾借用古典語言戲劇性地描述城市發展中混雜、不協調的現象，他的詩中往往蘊含深沉的歷史意識。梁秉鈞則提倡以冷靜細心的城市觀察為基礎的「生活化」詩學，從平凡事物中發掘詩意。三人的相關作品亦分別代表著上述三個詩人群體所寫的城市詩之最高水平。 Hong Kong witnessed economical bloom in the 1970s, when the colonial government launched a series of major infrastructural and political reforms. The rise of social movements and student movements in the early 70s hastened the speed of changes. During this period, many Hong Kong poets made use of local matters as subjects for poetical creation, including their intimate experience of the rapid modernization of the city. At that time there were three major orientations in Hong Kong poetry. Those who wrote for leftist newspapers and magazines cared especially about sufferings of the lower classes, and their poetical style can be considered “raw realism.” Those affiliated with the journal Poetry, on the other hand, paid great attention to artistic skills, drew inspirations from renowned Chinese and Western poems, and were much influenced by Yu Kwang Chung's “neo-classicism.” However, those associated with the literary supplements and journals edited by Leung Ping-kwan (1949-2013) and like-minded editors objected to both direct social criticism and ornate poetical language, opting to adopt simple Chinese to write about their concrete life experiences and subtle personal feelings. This article examines the peculiar features of Hong Kong urban poetry in the 1970s, using the works of three major poets, namely, Shu Xiangcheng (1921-1999), Ji Hun (1946- ) and Leung Ping-kwan as prime examples with a view to introducing the different facets of this kind of poetry. Shu was one of the most prolific realist poets, famous for his use of short poems to expose various social problems and for his powerful satirical effects. Ji Hun's poems on urban modernity were largely realist contentwise but showed meticulous attention to the use of figures and allusions; he was notable for his experiment in appropriating the classical Chinese poetical language to dramatically depict hybrid and uneven city developments, and for the profound historical consciousness in his works. Finally, Leung Ping-kwan promoted a kind of “daily life” poetry based on calm and patient observations, trying to discover aesthetic qualities in mundane objects and happenings. The works of these three poets represent respectively the highest achievements of the three loose groups of poets mentioned above so far as Hong Kong urban poetry in the 1970s is concerned.