奇觀中國：論蔣彝的兒童文學

本文著重討論1930年代起，以英語在英國述作的中國作家蔣彝的英語兒童文學作品。本文主要部份為二到四章，第二章欲透過1935年「倫敦中國國際藝術展覽會」所揭示的，當時英國社會對中國藝術品的收藏嗜趣，檢視此一時期蔣彝幾部書中極富裝飾性的插畫，亦旁及蔣彝畫記中書法的裝飾性。此外，透過蔣彝在童書和回憶錄中繪製的許多相似的「中國兒童的臉孔」，突顯蔣彝在《兒時瑣憶》中所畫的精細兒時自畫像所透露的蔣彝對兒時自身，及對中國兒童的想像。第三章主要談論的，是1938年被美國獵人運到英國而大受民眾歡迎的大熊貓，蔣彝因應此一熱潮，創作了三本情節連貫的童書。本章首先將試著檢視蔣彝曾在畫記中提及的一些英國兒童文學著作，並參考當時英國新聞報刊中塑造的熊貓形象，以瞭解英國大眾對熊貓的想像，藉此討論蔣彝創作這些熊貓故事時，可能借鑑了英國兒童文學的哪些元素、受到哪些觀點的影響，以解釋蔣彝為何不厭其煩的在書中複製這些熊貓在動物園中的展演。第四章將循蔣彝為頑皮男孩羅成規畫的和平愉悅的中國旅程，討論《羅成》這本在戰時的英國與眾不同的童書。此外，亦參考1920到1930年代居住或訪問北京的外國人所作的書籍中談論的北京城，將之與蔣彝在《羅成》當中呈現的近乎概念性的北京城相比對，討論蔣彝在此部分以「正陽門」與「紫禁城」兩座建築群來構築心目中的北京城的意義，及蔣彝如何呈現一個合乎西方想像的北京城。

關鍵字

蔣彝；兒童文學；圖畫書；熊貓；北京

並列摘要

Chiang-Yee, a special Chinese artist (on his own definition, both writer and painter), who started creating series of English picture books in the United Kingdom and the United State since the mid-1930s. He’s best known for his travelogues “The Silent Traveller Series” in the West. This series of books helped him to establish his own writing style, and all these books were decorated with his own paintings ,illustrations and calligraphy works which were painted with Chinese brush and ink. Chiang Yee also published six English picture books for children between 1939 and 1947, during the Second World War period. Like The Silent Traveller Series, These Picture books for children are also containing plenty of fine illustrations and delightful words. This thesis focuses on Chiang Yee’s children’s picture books, especially the three of ”Giant Panda” series, and another book which is entitled Lo Cheng. In these books, Chiang Yee exhibited his own “China” in many ways to the Westerners. In Chapter Two, the author attempts to show the faces of Chinese children in Chiang’s children’s picture books and in his early autobiography A Chinese Childhood. Chiang drew hundreds of faces of Chinese children, included his own childhood self-portrait, and these faces all look alike. Through these faces, Chiang made a form of an ideal Chinese child’s face. The face shows his imagination toward children and his own childhood. Chapter Three focuses on the Giant Pandas’ performances in Chiang Yee’s picture books. Chiang showed Pandas on his art works quite frequently, and he also used panda as a subject of children’s picture books. Chapter four discusses Chiang Yee’s another picture book Lo Cheng, which is telling a story about a Chinese boy’s China adventure. In this book, Chiang Yee used two exquisite illustrations of the “Ch'ien-Meng(前門)” and the “Forbidden City(紫禁城)” to represent Peking, by this means, he exhibited a conceptual Peking, and also a conceptual China to the Westerners. This thesis shows how Chiang Yee made a Spectacle of China for the Westerners through his picture books.