秩序追求與末世恐懼―由彈詞小說《四雲亭》看晚清上海婦女的時代意識

上海在晚清開埠以後，受到商業與西洋文化的刺激，新的事物固然蜂擁而至，而某些原本屬於舊社會的成份，竟也在歷史的風雲際會中，驟然開始散發特異的光芒。彈詞這種流行已久的曲藝，便於此時在上海得到新生命；而相關的文學創作形式如彈詞小說，也同時發生連動，有了新的關懷方向與表現方式。與彈詞文化關係深遠的婦女，更在此時藉由彈詞的形式，表達了異於以往的觀念與情致。可以說，在晚清時期的上海，無論是作爲彈詞曲藝的演出者與消費者，或彈詞小說的創作者與閱讀者，女性都展現了不同的風姿，也成爲晚清的時代表徵之一。本文擬以上海興起與彈詞文化的關係出發，探查女性在其中扮演的角色，並以女性創作的彈詞小說文本爲分析重心，最後歸結於晚清時期上海婦女的時代意識。筆者選擇以光緒時期上海女性所創作的彈詞小說《四雲亭》爲例，試探女性布彈詞小說的世界中，如何藉由文字與時代的變化發生互動。全文由財富觀念的變遷、戰爭想像與暴力迷戀、末世恐懼與逃遁心理等層面，觀察晚清上海的特殊文化社會環境以及女性的回應態度。變局與繁榮、戰爭與金錢，彼此交織，譜成了《四雲亭》的富貴之圖與神仙之夢。而作者在小說中對政府無能、官員貪劣的指控，以及對民怨、民亂既飽富同情又極度恐懼的心情，在在指向她本人的歷史認知、現實經歷、以及政治態度，也指陳了晚清女性在各種新興潮流影響下，其觀念與視野出現的重大變化。

關鍵字

上海；晚清；彈詞；四雲亭

並列摘要

Since it became an international port in the late Qing, Shanghai was exposed to the influence of Western commercial culture. Things new and novel swarmed to Shanghai, whereas particular traditional elements were transformed and continued to spark. Tanci, or singing narrative, was one of such examples. This century-old type of oral performance enjoyed a revival in Shanghai, and its variation in the written form also developed new concerns and ways of expression. Furthermore, women, who always had the reputation to love tanci, began to demonstrate untraditional ideas by means of it. Women in late Qing Shanghai played the roles of performers, audience, writers and readers of tanci at the same time, creating a different image for themselves that was to become one of the emblems of late Qing culture. This article begins with the rise of Shanghai and its connection to tanci, furthers to explore women's role in it by studying a tanci text by woman, and finally attempts to make some observations about women’s sense of the decline of the dynasty. I use Siyunting, a woman's tanci text written in the Guangxu reign, as an example to explore how a woman reacted to her contemporary social and political turmoil. From her concept of money and commerce, imagination of wars and obsession with violence, fear for the end of the dynasty, and desire to escape to the ideal land, I try to delineate the cultural and social atmosphere of late Qing Shanghai that affected its women residents. Chaos and prosperity, and war and money are all intertwined to make the imaginary picture of Siyunting possible. On the other hand, the woman author attacks the general inability of the government and the corruption of the bureaucracy, and shows mixed feelings toward people's rebellions. These characteristics of her text point to her history consciousness, personal experience, and political attitude. The example of Siyunting demonstrates how late Qing women, under the influence of national crisis and foreign ideas, developed new visions of history, reality, and the world.