才女暮年：丁善儀《雙桂軒尺牘》中的隨宦日常與戰前述聞

The Twiligant of Talented Women: Reading from Ding Shanyi's Letters prior to the Taiping Rebellion

本文從丁善儀書信集《雙桂軒尺牘》出發，探討她與女性友人的書信如何展現隨宦主母的生活面貌和太平軍進佔杭州前的戰前記事。丁善儀在信件裡安排家務、應對親友、主持搬遷和逃難，顯示出明清大家族結構下婦女因隨夫從宦而有了主掌家務的契機，以及書信如何用作建構社會關係的社交體裁。這展現了書信研究的新向度。 通過對書信社交性的考掘，重新省思丁善儀信中屢屢以「老」和「病」自況的現象，就不只是老年婦女的生活實況。她的老病具有婉拒、致歉、解釋的社交功能，更能以此凸顯操持家務外丁善儀個人的身形輪廓。強調社交性而非文學性的這一批書信，因此也能讓讀者窺見才女文化中少見的年齡感。遲暮的才女是什麼樣子？她的面目正顯示在她操持家務、主持避難的精明才幹之中。 《雙桂軒尺牘》收錄杭州大難前一年往返的書信，是少數並非事後追憶的太平天國史料。信中呈現的是尚未蒙上死難陰影，仍有餘裕互贈土產、卜喪問吉、赴宴聚會的戰前述聞。在戰爭視野下，主母職能也因著丈夫必須固守任上得到最大程度地發揮。當家主母的眼界歷練使她們得以靠著關係網路互通消息、暫寄資財、選定逃難的時機和地點，盡力保全小家庭。在男性仕紳以募款、題記、創作來發出自己聲音同時，《雙桂軒尺牘》展現女子如何應對此一時代變局，並展露才幹、挑起家庭的責任，這值得被關注、被歌詠和銘記。 通過丁善儀《雙桂軒尺牘》，可以看見書信如何參與才女文化和太平天國的研究，也提供了書信研究的新視角。

This article examines the life of a talented woman Ding Shanyi, who followed her husband in his official travels. Trough the letters she sent to female friends, compiled in Letters from the Double-Cassia Studio, we can see how Ding arranged family affairs in unfamiliar places in the period before the Taiping armies attacked and occupied Jiang-nan region. Ding's thinking and action shows what a married woman was capable of, which was far beyond what is usually imagined of a talented woman living in a hierarchical family during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Letters from the Double-Cassia Studio not only demonstrates the unique image of a hostess, but also displays the social effects of letter-writing. As a result, we should reexamine the terms ''old'' and ''sick'' in Ding's letters. Those words were actually euphemisms of refusal, apology, and explanation. Moreover, Ding's rhetoric sheds light on the aging of talented women, which previous studies has neglected. When Ding fled from the Taiping armies, ''old'' and ''sick'' became the excuses or her belated farewells to friends. Her letters also represent antebellum Jiang-nan before the tragedy of Hangzhou in 1861. While most historical writings show what men did during the war, Ding's letters preserve women's contributions in taking care of all the family members. The contributions of women should be remembered.