传记与文学插图互补下的历史风云——《聊斋图说》中的一幅插图印证的《我在慈禧身边的两年》

Historical Reality behind Biography and Literature Illustration:Two Years in the Forbidden City Confirmed by an Illustration from Liao Zhai Tu Shuo

裕德龄的《我在慈禧身边的两年》记载慈禧喜欢把自己装扮成观音,也多次写到慈禧对基督教的态度。而面向清宫高层的《聊斋图说》里有一幅插图,描绘了耶稣在中国地狱里,已成为有罪的鬼魂,披枷戴锁,跪求观音菩萨的救赎。插图里的耶稣不仅代表基督教,观音也不仅仅是观音。传记与插图相互生发,不仅可见慈禧的爱憎与心路历程,更可追溯晚清在西方列强的进逼下,当时动荡的历史风云。

In accordance with Two Years in the Forbidden City by Princess Derling,one of Empress Dowager Cixi’s hobbies was to dress up as Kuan Yin(Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara),and at the same time,it touched on her attitude to Christianity.One illustration in Liao Zhai Tu Shuo,of which the main audience then were senior figures in the palace of the Qing Dynasty,portrays Jesus as a convicted ghost in hell,carrying a cangue and kneeling down for salvation from Kuan Yin.In the context of the complementation,not only Empress Dowager Cixi’s hatred can be spotted,but also the historical turbulence be traced back when the late Qing Government had been pushed to the wall by Western powers.