土地何在－論《西遊記》中的土地公

《西遊記》歷來研究成果豐碩，尤其前人對《西遊記》人物形象的相關研究甚多，主要以「取經團隊」為核心，兼及其他人物的相關討論，但是甚少人注意到「位卑任重」的土地公。我們很容易可以發現，《西遊記》中的土地公幾乎無所不在，但在讀者眼中往往被忽略，土地公參與了取經團隊的許多劫難，尤其孫悟空與土地從五行山開始就有著千絲萬縷的關係，土地公成為行者在取經路上不可或缺的存在。本文首先梳理《西遊記》中土地公對民間信仰的擷取與轉化，並與《西遊記》中的土地神形象相對應，就此見出《西遊記》作者的特殊安排；接著，在前述基礎上，深入分析土地公在《西遊記》中的群體形象，及與民間信仰脈絡的相對應之處，並進一步探討《西遊記》的敘事話語，聚焦「空間」中土地、大聖與妖魔三者的關係，分析土地的「當境」意義如何隱含在《西遊記》的小結構與大結構中，突出土地公的角色價值，進而解釋土地公如何具有串連整部《西遊記》的重要功能。

關鍵字

《西遊記》；土地公；人物形象；敘事結構

並列摘要

There are many types of research on Journey to the West (Xi You Ji), and they generally focus on the main characters, namely, Tang Monk (Xuanzang) and his disciples; however, researchers have so far largely ignored a character, the Earth God (Tu Di Gong), even though they appear in every part of the novel. The Monkey King (Wu Kong) and the Earth God are inextricably linked, because the Monkey King may find out the identity of the demon(s) from the Earth God before each battle. Even so, the Earth God have drawn little attention, simply because they are among many low ranking deities who serve only as a foil to the main characters. Despite his lowly stature, the Earth God's existence are indispensable for the plot. Therefore, this paper analyze the role of the Earth God in Journey to the West, and through studying the image of the Earth God, explores the narrative discourse of Journey to the West. Furthermore, we can see how Journey to the West transforms the Earth God into a more insignificant role, and then projects the meaning how they are omniscient within their jurisdiction. Next, we can see that the Earth God are the important role to Journey to the West in every part of its narrative structure. And last but not least, we can see how the Earth God support the main characters in their manifestation of the meaning of cultivating the heart in Journey to the West.