龍濟禪寺開山祖傳奇──〈聽經猿記〉的文本策略

The Legend of Founder of Longji Ch'an Temple: The Literary Strategies of ＂The Story of an Ape Listening to Sutra＂

〈聽經猿記〉是《剪燈餘話》第一卷第二篇文言小說，一個李昌祺（1376－1452）用家鄉廬陵龍濟禪寺為敘述中心的傳奇。小說主要講述龍濟禪寺於南唐創建時期和南宋末年復修時發生的神異故事，用跨越二百年的開山和重開山因緣兼構一個老猿聽經悟道的傳說。小說雖然用老猿聽經為名，但內在意涵實超過名字所表達的。〈聽經猿記〉中紹修禪師和宗鍪禪師真有其人，分別是龍濟禪寺的開山祖師和重開山祖師，他們的證道因緣皆寫入僧傳。〈聽經猿記〉虛實並茂、真幻相呼、旁涉豐富，文本的敘事策略和祖師形象之建構值得研究。本文第一部分將〈聽經猿記〉文本分為十二段落，用敘事結構方法探討每一段構件的題材來源、互涉意義以及跟整篇小說主題的關係。第二部分以苦修、神通和學問三種修道者理想類型的特質為基要，試論李昌祺在〈聽經猿記〉如何建構「開山祖師」形象。

＂The Story of An Ape Listening to Sutra＂ in the Jian Deng Yu Hua 剪燈餘話written by Li Changqi 李昌祺 (1376-1452) is a story about the legend of Longji Ch'an Temple 龍濟禪寺 which was located in Li's hometown Luling. The story tells a fantastic tale developed during the creation of the temple in Southern Tang Dynasty and the restoration of the temple in late Southern Song Dynasty. The cause and effect of the construction and reconstruction spanning two hundred years is linked by the legend of an ape listening to sutra and attaining enlightenment. Although the narrative puts the story of an ape in the title, its content is much more than the metamorphosis of an enlightened ape. Besides the enlightened ape, the other two characters in the text -Master Shaosho 紹修禪師 and Master Zongxuan 宗鍪禪師-are historical monks. The first part of this paper will examine the story in terms of narrative structure so as to figure out the sources of subject-matter and the inter-textual relationship between the original sources and themes. The second part of this paper will analyze the construction of the image of ＂founder-master＂ 開山祖師.