- 期刊
前世與今生：《西遊記》白骨夫人情節探析
From Here to There: The Study on Lady White Bone Plots in The Journey to the West
摘要
本文以《西遊記》第二十七回為核心，探討該回在《西遊記》結構與寓意兩層面的關鍵性。此回之妖魔白骨夫人前有所本，然而過往較少就其來源探究相關內容演變的意義，《大唐三藏取經詩話》「過長坑大蛇嶺處第六」不但提供了《西遊記》第二十七回的妖魔本相以及法術等要素，《西遊記》還透過接續的情節深化了寓意。第二十七回這一取經隊伍成形後的第一場考驗，揭示了五聖各有缺陷、有賴西遊修行的重要主題。又，此回的結構意義在於帶出唐僧「十世轉生」的奇效，開創全書此後妖魔主動來襲的新模式。過往諸家視妖魔出於「心」，多認為取經路為行者的修行過程，清代張書紳雖承襲對妖魔的看法，卻主張妖魔為唐僧此一凡人之慾望投射，因此妖魔自第二十七回開始對唐僧的明確渴求，被張書紳視為全書重要關節，以發明《西遊記》儒學闡釋的價值，呈現其評點特色。西遊故事不只在中國持續演變，日本也衍生出《玄奘三藏渡天由來緣起》此一日文手抄本。該書具有一定的宗教與通俗性，在與《西遊記》第二十七回相應的第二十八段中，為強調萬物具有生命的觀念，將妖魔本相改為白狐；人物的塑造聚焦於各角色的單一面向；在段末則將此回之意義引導向佛教淨土一系之教義，不見貫穿全書的寓意鋪陳。這些面向大眾的講道性質，反映西遊故事在日本不同傳播媒介、時代背景與受眾下，有其獨特的旨趣。
並列摘要
This article focuses on the importance of chapter twenty-seven in The Journey to the West in terms of two aspects, meaning and structure. Previous studies neglect to note that chapter twenty-seven is based on The Story with Poems of How Tripitaka of the Great Tang Fetched the Sutras (大唐三藏取經詩話). Lady White Bone traces back to this earlier text, which is shown to be the precursor for this demon and its magic. The moral of the chapter is then developed in the later plots. As Lady White Bone is the first obstacle faced after the team is completed, the relevant plots imply all the members need to improve upon their individual weaknesses. Additionally, this chapter brings out the miraculous effect of the Tang Monk's flesh; in subsequent chapters, demons who crave after the Tang Monk's immortality-bestowing flesh present a variety of obstacles. Most of the scholars see these demons as reflections of desire and believe that the overarching journey symbolizes the process of Sun Wukong's cultivation practice. However, Zhang Shu-shen of the Qing Dynasty claimed this demon was resulted from the only mortal in the novel, the Tang Monk. As a Confucian, Zhang Shu-shen believed the chapter twenty-seven was the key of The Journey to the West, because it showed how the novel was inspired by Confucianism. A noteworthy Japanese manuscript that also originated from Xuanzang's travel accounts, entitled The origin of Xuanzang Sanzang's Pilgrimage (玄奘三藏渡天由來緣起), is both popular and religious in nature. In its portions with plot elements similar to the story of Lady White Bone, the Japanese text differs in three ways: 1) In order to emphasize the value of lives, Lady White Bone is depicted as a white fox, instead of as a cadaver. 2) Each character is relatively flat. 3)This adaption clearly uses the plots to convey a Pure Land Buddhist message, and thus is not thematically united with the other stories. These three elements indicate that the Japanese version of the story evolved in its own way, due to the specific factors such as media, era, and audience.