人瑞堂刊行於明崇禎四年(1631)的《隋煬帝豔史》,是晚明小說插圖中深具開創性的作品。除敘事圖像外,並以詩詞題詠與錦欄圖飾結合,作為故事的評論,亦即編者精心設計了敘事與評論雙重的插圖單元,來和故事文本相對應,凡例中也以此為傲特意標舉。本文以此書的插圖設計為中心,透過對各單元圖文對應關係的分析,希望探究創作者如何運用詩詞文句和圖飾紋樣來回應或評論小說文本。此種詮釋方式應是受到晚明的文學評點風氣所影響,也突顯出書籍中的視覺性因素越來越受重視的普遍現象,雖然此刊本有其特殊性,卻不只是版畫自身發展的傾向,而與當時的出版文化息息相關。文中亦將追溯其圖像淵源,尤其與隻紙傳統的關連。透過比較其他承繼此模式的小說插圖,也將探討此模式出現的意義。
This paper mainly deals with the illustrations to the historical novel Sui Yangdi yanshi隋煬帝豔史printed in 163 1. Adding verses and decorative frames to the illustration units, the pictorial accompaniments adopt an innovative dual mode, serving as both narrative and comment on the text, further emphasized by the publisher in his own statement. I start with an analysis of the formation of individual illustration units in order to explore the re1ation between image and text. I then trace the sources of the decorative motifs on the verso side, which is the most creative component, to the design of stationary paper and other collections of printed images. The function of the verses and decorative motifs on the verso pages parallels the commentary in the main text, and was probably influenced by the late-Ming practice of literary comment. Interest in the visual aspect of reading materials may also have enhanced the rise of this new phenomenon. Other examples of illustrated novels that inherited this new mode of illustration are also examined to investigate the significance of its emergence.