论《儒林外史》中的兄弟组合

On the Brotherhood Combination in The Scholars

《儒林外史》写了兄弟33组共83人,其数量之众令人注目。兄弟组合的命名已成为一种富有文化意味的褒贬人物的手段;兄弟间的性格往往构成互比映衬关系;兄弟组合形象的塑造兼有一种勾联前后人物、故事的结构功能,同时还寄寓了吴敬梓对兄弟关系的思考。

It is remarkable that eighty-three people in thirty-three groups are described in the novel The Scholars. The brotherhood combination has become a cultural approach to appraise or depreciate the characters. The temperament of the brothers tends to constitute a contrast; while the portrayal of the image of the brotherhood combination has the structural function in the plot with different characters occurring in a consecutive chain relationship. As a matter of fact, such combination also reveals the author's contemplations on brotherhood relationship.