明代通俗小说中慕色徽商形象的文化解读

The Cultural Study of Lecherous Huizhou Merchants in the Fictions of Ming Dynasty

明代通俗小说中涉及徽商贪慕女色的篇目较多,多类型慕色徽商形象的出现,有复杂的原因。首先是徽州重商、早婚习俗的影响。过早的娶亲外出经商使青年男子对女色难以抗拒。其次是晚明纵欲之风的影响。在时代享乐风气的影响下,缺少文化修养的暴富徽商大多重金狎妓。再次是小说家的渲染与再创作。明代一些小说作者已经具有高度自觉的独立创造意识。明代小说中刻画的这些慕色徽商形象,已经明显淡化了过去小说对商人慕色行为的惩戒色彩,代之以宽容和羡慕,成为透视徽州文化和明代社会的重要窗口。

There seemed to have been multifold causes for the numerous characters of lecherous Huizhou merchants in the fictions of Ming Dynasty： Firstly, Huizhou people had the tradition of doing business and marrying young in Ming Dynasty. After getting married at a very young age, the young men usually left home to do business in places far away from their families, thus easily falling to sexual temptations. Secondly, lechery had become a social mark in late Ming Dynasty and moral standard was generally lower. Even the Huizhou merchants with sound education background could not resist the temptations, let alone those less educated who would seek sexual pleasure at any expense. Thirdly, the contemporary fictionist had developed an independent consciousness of literary creation. While most characters in fictions were derived from real life, the authors seemed to show more tolerance and admiration toward the lecherous Huizhou merchants rather than criticism and punishment, as the earlier fictionists had done. The literary representation of the lecherous Huizhou merchants has become an important channel for the reader to understand Huizhou culture and the Ming dynasty as a whole.