文集的史料意義問題舉說：並論明儒陳白沙文集的文本差異問題

Problems in the Use of Literary Collections as Historical Source: Examples from the Published Writings of Chen Xianzhang (1428-1500)

本文以綜論和說例方式，討論利用文集作歷史研究時，一些應予注意之處。綜論部份，從文集的整體角度，討論了解文集刊行目的和用途、文集完整性和篇章關係、篇章分類和次序等資訊問題。從文集所載的單篇角度，討論決定文章的可靠性和可用度的問題。討論項目包括作文原因、作者地位和處境、作者立場和學養、作者所擁知識和資訊、文章所見載體與文字別異等問題。說例部份，討論明儒陳白沙文集不同版本所見篇章上和文字上的差異情形和原因，從而反映出編者立場、刊行目的、時代學風等，是影響版本內容的重要因素，而作者個人的知識和學養，則是決定文章所載資訊可靠與否的重要因素。最後提出，先行釐清文字是反映思維看法或是反映事物情狀的性質之別，以及文集資料應與其他文字及實物資料並用和互據的重要性。

This paper offers a comprehensive discussion of the use of literary collections (wenji) as source material for the research of traditional Chinese history illustrated by the case of the literary works of the mid-Ming Confucian master, Chen Xianzhang (1428-1500). The first section discusses the need and the merit of treating the published form of a literary collection as a file of writings and as a sample of print medium, viewing them separately as well as collectively, for inquiry of different natures, such as the value of the writings and the history of the book. The second section discusses literary collections as individual entities as well as the individual pieces they include. Problems are first discussed which inform the intention and use of a literary collection, the relationship between the integrity of a literary collection and its component pieces, the classification and ordering of such pieces. The problem of determining the reliability and usability of the individual pieces follows. Topics discussed include the reason and intention of a piece of writing, the writer's status and his situation while doing the writing, his personal moral cultivation and intellectual position, the knowledge and information he had for his writing, and textual differences between the text included in the collection and in versions published elsewhere. The case of Chen Xianzhang's collections of literary writings is examined in the next two sections. Section Three traces the history of two major versions of Chen's works to show the raison d'être of their textual difference. Thus analyzed, the textual difference reveals that the determining factors were the compilers' intellectual positions, their aims in compilation and publication, the intellectual climate of their times. It was the publisher's admiration for the learning and personality of Chen Xianzhang and his aspiration to be remembered as a local official who cared about the promotion of culture which prompted the appearance of the first complete edition of Chen's essays and poems. It was the intention of a later publisher, a disciple of Chen Xianzhang's most eminent disciple, Zhan Ruoshui (1466-1560), to highlight Chen as the founder of an original school of thought which resulted in an edition containing differences, both obvious and subtle, of consequence in the understanding and assessment of Chen's thought. Section Four, for the most part, discusses the appended pieces in the literary collection of Chen Xianzhang, in particular the reliability and the implications of Chen's record of career and conduct -- the ''Baisha xiansheng xingzhuan'' -- composed by his disciple, Zhang Xu (1455-1514). A number of controversies derived from this text, which had intrigued and were debated by famous Ming and Qing historians, are analyzed to show a writer's knowledge and belief and moral cultivation are crucial factors for determining the reliability of the information to be found in his writing. In conclusion, a few caveats are noted for the use of literary collections as source material for historical research. First, distinguishing the nature of a piece of writing, whether descriptive in nature or merely prescriptive, must be decided before it can be used as evidence of an event or state of mind. The second caveat is that individual pieces, when cited as evidence, must first be understood in the context of the collection itself. Some understanding of the background of the piece in needed -- the date of the writing and the circumstances of its author. Attention must be paid to unusual or extraordinary features. Thirdly, it is necessary to recognize that materials drawn from literary collections alone, however rich and interesting, may not be enough for a study to be exhaustive. Depending on the subject of inquiry, other kinds of material must be considered.