「舊編的唐家貞觀，新演的昭代昇平」：論乾隆宮廷大戲《昇平寶筏》中之唐太宗與皇權

清代宮廷大戲的製作，與時代及政治現實關係密切；通過劇作「展現皇權」的政治教化考量，絕不下於藝術與娛樂的目的。以初創於康熙、後在乾隆年間數度改編的宮廷大戲《昇平寶筏》為例，此劇情節雖源自《西遊記》小說、戲曲，編者卻有意地擴寫、重塑其中的唐太宗角色，以歷史上的「貞觀之治」，作為展示當今聖人御世，「昭代昇平」的重要渠道，藉此向乾隆皇帝及其文治武功致敬。此部宮廷承應大戲，常於上元前後演出，今存眾多鈔本，其中以《古本戲曲叢刊九集》影印的乾隆內府鈔本（「九集本」）所載唐太宗事最為豐富。所涉及的內容，既包括《西遊記》小說原有的涇河龍王向太宗求救事，亦包括太宗分封功臣、繪二十四功臣圖像於凌煙閣、親征突厥頡利可汗等脫離《西遊》小說的歷史事件。乾隆年間，《昇平寶筏》在內廷的演出經歷了從單層到三層大戲臺的轉變。比起乾隆初年的版本，「九集本」出現了更宏大的排場、更多的神佛人物，也以更令人驚奇的視聽效果，意圖強化此劇所著力表現的頌聖內容。而全劇最後一卷，利用「太宗征頡利」戰事與眾仙護駕、地獄大赦、天界祝頌等盛大場面，將玄奘師徒西天取經事之焦點，一半轉移至唐太宗故事上。如此脫離《西遊》本意的設計，將皇權具象化，體現出乾隆一代宮廷大戲之政治寓意，與其「逾度的美學」不僅相輔相成，且關係日益緊密。

關鍵字

乾隆宮廷大戲；《昇平寶筏》；唐太宗；皇權；《西遊記》

並列摘要

The ＂grand plays＂ (daxi) of the Qing court were produced in accordance with political realities of the time. To promote sovereignty and educate the masses were more important objectives than artistic or entertaining considerations. To take Shengping baofa as an example, in the most commonly seen version of the play, it follows the storyline of Xiyou ji while adding religious, political, and military scenes revolving around Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, whose triumph in the battle against Illig Qaghan shares the spotlight with Tripitaka and his disciples in the final episodes of this lengthy drama. Evidently, Emperor Taizong and his conquest were meant to allude to Emperor Qianlong and his campaign victories over the Dzungars and the Gurkhas. As the stage design for performance was changed from one-tiered to three-tiered stage and the figure Taizong gains more weight in the playscript written in the later years of the Qianlong reign, one can conclude that politics and the ＂aesthetics of excess＂ were closely related and increasingly so in the making of daxi at the Qianlong court.