乾隆盛世與小說創作：紀昀與袁枚小說研究

紀昀與袁枚是乾隆時代學術界和文學界的佼佼者，學者紀昀和文人袁枚代表著兩種不同的士人類型；官場際遇亨通身為朝廷高官的紀昀和官場際遇坎坷不受朝廷重視的袁枚，也顯示出兩種不同的仕途經歷；「曾到過邊疆」的北才子紀昀和「生活在江南」的南才子袁枚是兩種截然不同的生活經歷。二人創作了文言小說《閱微草堂筆記》和《子不語》，並且受到當代社會的推崇，《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》可視為乾隆時期主流審美觀的代表。歷來研究《閱微草堂筆記》、《子不語》偏重二書個別著作專題、細化研究，或取二書與《聊齋誌異》進行比較而頗有負面的微詞，未受公平之對待。故本論文反思以往的研究方向，採取將《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》放在乾隆盛世，從歷史環境切入，分別涵攝當時的小說觀、乾隆政情、學術思潮、宗教思想四個部分，以宏觀的角度對《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》二書進行綜合整體的研究。全文共分為六章：第一章為緒論。闡明研究動機與目的、研究概況、研究範圍與方法。第二章則乾隆皇帝下詔編纂的《四庫全書總目》，是多位學者集體心血的結晶，反映了乾隆時代學術潮流。故首先了解《四庫全書總目》對小說的看法，才能掌握乾隆時期主流的小說觀念。文中先以《四庫全書總目》子部小說家類為研究對象，嘗試探述《四庫全書總目》之小說觀，了解乾隆時期文人士大夫如何看待小說。再者探討紀昀與袁枚的小說創作動機與其小說觀。透過紀昀與袁枚二人之詩文著作和小說，探討二人的小說創作動機，進而釐清乾隆時期知識份子對主流的小說觀念與其二人的小說觀之間的認識，追索二人小說觀的異同。第三章則先探析乾隆帝施行的政治政策，透過《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》所呈現的有關科舉故事，擬從考官、考生、八股文三方面來探討他們如何面對與自己息息相關的科舉，並了解其對於科舉制度所產生的科舉弊端之觀點與主張。進而考察紀昀與袁枚如何感受當時的吏治情形，並透過《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》中的官吏形象，認識二人的吏治觀點。第四章則以乾嘉學術為背景，乾嘉時期為清朝學術風氣最盛的時代，是宋學與漢學相爭的時代。乾嘉時期的學者為了補苴宋學末流之空談心性、不務實際的空疏學風之弊，重視漢學彌補宋學不足的功能，因而使得漢學相對性的興盛。紀昀與袁枚生活在學術繁榮的時代，自覺或不自覺地受其風氣所熏染，其思想必然受到時代的薰陶，必然帶上時代的印記。此章透過《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》的故事來探討紀昀與袁枚如何體現他們的學術傾向。第五章則以宗教的果報概念為論述主軸，清代統治者由於政治上的需求，在以儒學為主導、佛道相輔助的基本格局下，三者持續融合。通過紀昀與袁枚在《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》作品中涉及宗教有關的故事，討論二人對宗教思想的態度。第六章為結論。綜合之前各章節所論述，將《閱微草堂筆記》與《子不語》裡所表現的內涵再作整理與闡述，並說明研究的展望。

關鍵字

乾隆盛世；文言小說；紀昀；袁枚；閱微草堂筆記；子不語；四庫全書總目

並列摘要

Ji Yun and Yuan Mei were the flagships of the scholars and the literati during Qianlong’s reign. Nonetheless, they represented two different types of officialdom. Ji forged a successful career as an official honored with a grand title in the imperial court, while Yuan experienced a number of frustrations throughout his career and was treated as an insignificant official by the imperial court. Besides, the northern gifted scholar Ji Yun had ever traveled to the border area, while the southern gifted scholar Yuan Mei spent his lifetime living in the Jiangnan area. Accordingly, they demonstrated two completely different trajectories of life experiences. Notes from Yuewei Studio (Yuewei Caotang Biji) written by Ji and What the Master Would Not Discuss (Zibuyu) written by Yuan were two literary sketches highly praised by the society. They embodied the mainstream aesthetic point of view during Qianlong’s reign. A large number of studies on the two works either focused simply on specific topics that led to narrow horizons, or unfairly criticized the two works by comparing them with Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi). This dissertation instead places the two works in the historical context of the flourishing age under the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, which is an approach rarely employed in related studies. On a more specific basis, this dissertation conducts a systematic and synthetic analysis of the two works in terms of the perspective on “xiaoshuo” at that time as well as the political situation, academic thinking, and religious thought during Qianlong’s reign. This dissertation proceeds in six chapters. Chapter one provides a literature review and an overview on the motive, purpose, scope and methods of this study. Chapter two discusses the Catalog of the Complete Imperial Library (Siku Quanshu Zongmu) compiled under Qianlong’s commission. It reflected not only the painstaking effort of many brilliant scholars but also the academic mainstream during Qianlong’s reign. Recognizing the status of “xiaoshuo” in Siku Quanshu Zongmu is therefore a prerequisite to the understanding of the perspective on “xiaoshuo” at that time. This chapter firstly treats the category of “xiaoshuojia” in Zibu of Siku Quanshu Zongmu as the object of research, thereby explicating the opinions of the coeval literati and scholar-officials on this type of Chinese literature. It then investigates Ji’s and Yuan’s creative motives and perspectives on “xiaoshuo.” Finally, it clarifies the coeval intellectuals’ understanding of the differences between the mainstream perspective during Qianlong’s reign and those of the two scholars, and thereby reveals the differences and similarities between the two scholars’ perspectives on “xiaoshuo.” Chapter three analyzes the stories regarding the Imperial Examination contained in Yuewei Caotang Biji and Zibuyu, thereby expounding Qianlong’s policy on this political institution. In aspects of examiner, candidate and the eight-legged essay, this chapter elaborates not only on how these actors dealt with this institutional constraint that was closely linked to their lives, but also on how they observed the defects in this examination system. Based on the images of government officials depicted in the two works, this chapter further explores how Ji and Yuan evaluated the quality of governance in their times and what counted as good governance for them. Chapter four outlines the background to the academic development during the reigns of the Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors, a period bursting with the greatest academic vitality in comparison with the other periods of the Qing Dynasty. It was also a period in which the paradigmatic contention between Neo-Confucianism and Sinology escalated. In view of the gradual loss of Neo-Confucianism’s vitality and practicability, some scholars appropriated the merits of Sinology to remedy the deficiencies of Neo-Confucianism, which unintentionally caused a new boom of Sinology. Living in an era of vigorous academic atmosphere, Ji and Yuan might be consciously or unconsciously influenced by the milieu. Their thoughts were definitely uplifted by the Zeitgeist, and their deeds inevitably bore the signature of their times. Analyzing the stories in Yuewei Caotang Biji and Zibuyu, this chapter explicates how Ji and Yuan fulfilled their respective academic aspirations. Chapter five revolves around the religious concept of “karma.” Based on real political demands, the Qing Emperors maintained a fundamental arrangement, effectively integrating Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in a way that the first played the dominant role while the last two served as auxiliary forces. Analyzing the religion-related stories in Yuewei Caotang Biji and Zibuyu, this chapter illustrates Ji’s and Yuan’s attitudes about religious thoughts. Chapter six concludes with a synthetic analysis of the findings derived from the previous chapters of this dissertation. It also collates and summarizes the general connotations of Yuewei Caotang Biji and Zibuyu, and finally puts forward some suggestions for further research.