政治與抒情－從黃燮清到唐滌生的《帝女花》

Politics and Lyricism -From Huang Xieqing to Tang Disheng's Princess Chang Ping

陳國球(Chan, Kwok Kou Leonard)

《中國文學學報》 7期 (2016/12) Pp. 131-151

https://doi.org/10.6903/JCL.201612_(7).0007

摘要

粵劇史上見於記載的劇目，成千上萬，但只有少量可以經得起時間的考驗，搬演流傳到今天；唐滌生的幾部經典作品，就在其中之列。尤其《帝女花》一劇，不單是粵劇的瑰寶，其文化浸潤能力，已經大大溢出於演藝娛樂的範圍。《帝女花》本事源於正史所記：明朝崇禎末年流寇李自成攻陷皇城，后妃被明思宗賜死，長平公主則被帝斫斷手臂而不死，後來更因清帝詔令，與前朝駙馬完婚，後鬱鬱而終。道光年間戲曲家黃燮清據此撰寫《帝女花》傳奇，為《倚晴樓七種曲》之一。到1957年唐滌生改編為粵劇，成為香港文學文化史上一個重要作品。戲中的家國政治與倫理人情交錯糾纏，唐滌生更以生花妙筆，改動史實，讓公主與駙馬既殉情又殉國，由是觀眾與讀者對其中政治與人情之輕重權衡，有更多思考空間。再者，劇中語言之用，更惹人注目。唐滌生一方面設計出不同的場口，提醒觀眾語言可以發揮極大之力量；另一方面本劇的曲文說白，文字亦極優美；《帝女花》之能夠傳誦不綴，辭采是其中重要因素之一。本文參詳黃燮清之作，比較這案頭崑曲與唐滌生粵劇有何異同，體察文本之間如何傳承與變奏；進而探討唐滌生《帝女花》所顯現的政治與抒情之間的糾葛與互動，及其生發的藝術魅力。

關鍵字

帝女花 ； 唐滌生 ； 黃燮清 ； 政治 ； 抒情

並列摘要

The list of Cantonese operas created in the past is a long one, including thousands of titles. But only a handful of them stand the test of time. Amongst these gems are Tang Disheng's plays. His Princess Chang Ping (Di Nü Hua) is a particularly successful one. The work is far more than entertainment, with its cultural influence growing rather than waning over time. The story has its origin in historical record: In the Ming dynasty during the reign of the Emperor Chong Zhen, a bandit named Li Zicheng captured the palace. The imperial wives and concubines committed suicide on the order of the Emperor. Princess Chang Ping lost one arm, but escaped. Later, she was ordered by the new Qing Emperor to marry her past fiancée. The Princess lived in grief until she passed away. Inspired by the story, dramatist Huang Xieqing of the Dao Guang period (1821-1850) wrote Princess Chang Ping, as one of the works in his Seven Types of Songs in Yiqing Lou (Yiqing lou qizhong qu). In 1957, Tang Disheng adapted Huang's work into a Cantonese opera, which would later become an important work in Hong Kong literary and cultural history. Tang created a world where politics and ethics, patriotism and romantic love intertwine. Mixing facts with imagination, he let the Princess and her fiancée commit suicide for love and for the country in the opera. This has an effect of provoking readers and audience to ponder the relationship between politics and human feelings. Tang's use of language is another attraction. The well-developed and tight script highlights the power of language, and the lyrics and dialogues are beautifully written. The beauty and elegance in the language is an important reason of the opera's unceasing popularity. This article compares Huang's Kunqu and Tang's Cantonese opera. It first examines the links and variations between the two texts. The discussion moves on to politics and lyricism in Tang's Princess Chang Ping, showing how the entanglement and interaction of the two creates artistic attraction in the work.

並列關鍵字

Princess Chang Ping ； Tang Disheng ； Huang Xieqing ； politics ； lyricism