1950年代美援⽂藝體制刊物及電影研究：以《戀之⽕》（1955）為例

1950s US-Aid Cultural Publications and Films: A Study of The Flames of Love（1955）

「美國新聞總署（United States Information Agency）」在1953年成立後，其於全球設立的分支機構「美國新聞處（USIS: United States Information Services）」一度積極透過資助各地的文藝出版來達至政治目的。從1955年開始在香港發行的三毫子報章小說《小說報》由右派政治家梁寒操（1899-1975）之妻黎劍虹主理，歷來都備受學界關注，而且視之為必須被置於文化冷戰下的美援文藝體制來研究。歷史學家科大衛（David Faure，1947-）曾指出「冷戰」有大小之分，「大冷戰」固然指向美蘇兩國之爭，亦即涉及資本主義與共產主義兩個相互對峙之意識形態。香港出現的是國共兩黨競爭的「小冷戰」，乃「冷戰的邊緣，或邊緣的邊緣」。事實上，港英政府在戰後最關注殖民政權能否在香港有效維持及延續，在港採取的文化管治措施於亞洲地區而言相對寬鬆，令香港在冷戰時期成為專門編輯及出版美援刊物的重要區域。本文以中國作家易文（原名楊彥岐，1920-1978）在1955年於香港《小說報》第四期發表的《戀之火》及「新華影業公司」出品的同名電影為研究文本，先從文化史的角度爬梳生成此作品的冷戰政治脈絡，再從作家研究的方向點明易文的取材源頭和作品特色。總括而言，本文務求以《戀之火》為例，揭示作品在冷戰格局之下歷經的跨地域文化交流網絡。

After the establishment of the United States Information Agency (USIA) in 1953, its global branches, the United States Information Services (USIS), actively funded various cultural publications around the world to achieve political objectives. Story Paper, a serialized fiction publication launched in Hong Kong in 1955, was overseen by Lai Kam-hung, the wife of right-wing politician Leung Hon-chiu (1899–1975), and has long been a subject of scholarly interest. Scholars generally agree that this publication must be studied within the context of the US-Aid cultural system under the Cold War. Historian David Faure (1947–) has pointed out that the“Cold War”can be divided into“big”and“small”scales. The“Big Cold War”refers to the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, representing the confrontation of capitalism and communism. Meanwhile, Hong Kong experienced a“Small Cold War”, a localized rivalry between the Chinese Nationalist (Kuomintang) and Communist parties. Faure describes this as“the margin of the Cold War, or even the margin of the margin.”The British colonial government in post-war Hong Kong was primarily concerned with maintaining and extending its colonial rule. Compared to other parts of Asia, Hong Kong implemented relatively lenient cultural governance measures, turning it into a key hub for editing and publishing US-sponsored cultural materials during the Cold War. This paper focuses on The Flames of Love, a novella written by Chinese writer Evan Yang (1920–1978) for the fourth issue of Story Paper in 1955, and its film adaptation by the Hsin Hwa Motion Picture Company. First, from a cultural history perspective, the study explores the Cold War political context in which the work was created. Secondly, through an author-focused lens, it examines Evan Yang’s sources of inspiration and the distinctive features of his work. Overall, by using The Flames of Love as an example, this paper aims to reveal the transregional cultural exchange networks that the work experienced under the Cold War framework.