《金瓶梅词话》火葬习俗考论

On the Convention of Cremation Described in Jinpingmei Cihua

火葬习俗在明代已趋衰落,朝廷也有具体禁令,但一些身份低微的亡者仍有人以火葬之法处置。《金瓶梅词话》所描述的火葬,其烧化对象是地位卑贱的屈死者。西门庆用火葬方式处理武大、宋惠莲,一方面源于当时不太流行然而社会上依然存在的葬俗,另一方面企图掩盖其不可告人的杀人罪证及对弱势者的漠视。通过对火葬习俗的演变考辨,更能认清明代社会现实的一个侧面,有助于对《金瓶梅词话》的理解。

Though the convention of cremation had declined in Ming Dynasty and from the court there＇s a detailed ban on it, some humble dead still had been cremated. Of the cremation described in Jinpingraei Cihua, the cremated one is the one who was persecuted to death. The reason why Simen Qing adopted this measure to cremate Wuda and Song Huilian are ： I. the eonvention of cremation declined but didn＇ t perish, Ⅱ. he attempted to mask the evidence of the sinister murdering and the indifferenee to the humble. Through the probing into the evolution of the eonvention of cremation, it is helpful for us to understand better one of the aspects of the social reality in Ming Dynasty and to apprebend the fiction Jinpingmei Cihua much better..