“今昔物语集”及日本中世的孔子故事--礼赞与讽刺之间

The Stories of Confucius in The Tale of Konjyaku and in Medieval Japan:Balancing between Admiration and Sarcasm

本文以『今昔物语集』和日本中世典籍中的孔子说话为研究对象。指出『今昔物语集』中的孔子像有着礼赞与讽刺的二元冲突,一方面对孔子所坚持的理念进行了讽刺,而另一方面则对孔子处处使用敬语表示尊重。而其后日本中世纪典籍中的孔子像则大多以垂迹的方式被划入了佛教的怀抱,成为了佛教菩萨的化身,从而化解了日本孔子说话中自身的矛盾与冲突。笔者认为,这一文学现象是佛教作为外来文化与儒家、道教的中国本土文化,乃至神道教日本的本土文化从对立、并存到融合的一个文化发展轨迹的反映。『今昔物语集』则是这一现象的分水岭。

Through the study of various Confucian stories in The Tale of Konjyaku and other classic works from Medieval Japan, this article shows that, in the Konjyaku, there is a distinct conflict in the attitudes towards Confucius： On the one hand,it was sarcastic to Confucian ideas; on the other hand,it also displays admiration toward Confucius in the use of using honorifics. However, in the ensuing classic works, the image of Confucius had generally been included in Buddhism, turned to the incarnation of Buddhist Bodhisattva, thus somehow resolving the contradiction and conflict in the previous stories. The author believes that this literary phenomenon reflects the traces of cultural development from conflicts and co-existence to final fusion, of Buddhism as Indian culture, Confucianism and Taoism as Chinese culture, and Shintoism as the local culture. Konjyaku Story Collection could be regarded as the dividing line in this change