「青年」與僧詩體式的轉型

“New Youth” and the Transformation of Buddhist Priest’s Poetry

本文旨在探討「青年」元素如何介入僧詩的書寫傳統，進而主導佛教白話新詩的美學模式。在廟產興學刺激下，民國佛教僧人以「僧青年」自期，力圖進行佛教的現代改革。他們借鑑五四新文人的精神，認為佛教必須突破傳統的僧伽制度、逆轉權威，自叢林與經懺制度出走，方能與新中國產生聯繫。以國族救亡及佛教改革而論，「僧青年」乃做為解放的新希望；在佛教文學革新上，則以「僧青年」為創造動力。「青年」與「老年」在佛教界，既發生價值逆轉，也成為美感變更的力量，推使傳統僧詩向現代轉型。惟在美學模式的建構上，僧詩的轉型自成一格，未必步趨五四新文人之後。本文將以「青年」論述為視角，考察白話新詩在現代佛教刊物上的建構歷程及可能的美學表述模式，以此管窺傳統僧詩的現代轉型。

"The thesis analyzes how the style of “new youth” influences the writing traditions of Buddhist priest’s poetry and becomes the leading aesthetic in Buddhist new poetry. Encouraged by the movement of establishing schools with temple property, post-1911 Buddhist priests attempted to reform Buddhism in the hope of becoming Buddhist new youth themselves. Influenced by the spirit of new intellectuals of the May Fourth Movement, Buddhist new youth thought only by reforming Sangha system, reversing authority and refraining from the monastery system and sutra chanting system could they keep up with modern China. Buddhist new youth considered saving the nation and the Buddhist reform the new hope of liberation. On the reform of Buddhist literature, they intended to fuse writings with their new identity. The value shifting of the Buddhist new youth and the seniors also nurtured the aesthetic transformation, further modernizing the Buddhist priest’s poetry. Yet the aesthetic construction and the transformation of the Buddhist priest’s poetry were so unique that it did not exactly meet with the style of the new intellectuals of the May Fourth Movement. The thesis analyzes how the new poetry was constructed and expressed aesthetically in modern Buddhist publications based on the new youth discourse, to have a comprehensive understanding of the modern transformation of the traditional Buddhist priest’s poetry."