學界關注宋祁之層面多側重於有關《新唐書》之書寫,或將其視為西崑餘緒,疏忽其文學成就。本文梳理宋祁較具特色之碑誌文詳加分析,陳明宋祁衝越文體陳規,開創新格之表現。要者,如碑誌文題目極少臚列墓主最終最顯官爵,亦不以標示彼此關係為重,反以傳達撰作者論斷墓主功業,表露個人情感為主。序文則多改易傳統結構,重視時間遞承流轉,雜以議論、對話、以言代敘、小說筆法,順敘、倒敘、插敘併用,已非客觀敘事之作,而為富含作者情思創意之文學作品。銘辭或循傳統四言典重韻語,或三言,或四言、騷體合璧,或四、五言各句式錯綜,一以適切符應作者觀看墓主情誼為要,諸般筆法皆具新變意識。
Most academic research on Song Qi focuses on his New History of the Tang Dynasty, or his Xikun Style instead of his literary achievements. This paper reviews and analyzes the unique epitaphs of Song, with an emphasis on Song's breakthroughs in stereotypical writing styles and the innovation of a new style. As important examples that show these features, the titles of his epitaphs rarely list the last most eminent official position of the tomb owner. Song does not mark the relationship between him and the tomb owner. On the contrary, his epitaphs mainly convey his review of the tomb owner's exploits, revealing his personal feelings. The preface of the epitaphs differs from traditional structures, emphasizing the traces of time, mixed with argumentations, dialogues, dialogues used as narrations, novelistic writing style, narration, flashback, and interleaving. Song's writings are not objective narrative works, but literary creations that contain the writer's emotions and creativity. The verse part of the epitaphs may follow the traditional four-character form, the three-character form, the combination of the four-character form with the Lisao style or a mixed form of four or five-character in each line. The forms of the verse are made to properly respond to the writer's friendly sentiment toward the tomb owner. All these writing styles have shown his awareness of innovation and change.