为《近代侠义英雄传》中霍元甲之事追根

On the Sources of the Huo Yuanjia Materials in Righteous Heroes of Modern Times

中国武侠小说鼻祖平江不肖生(向恺然)的《近代侠义英雄传》以霍元甲、大刀王五两人的传记为经纬,勾画出了这两位近代侠义英雄的基本文学形象,后来流行的以大刀王五、霍元甲为题材的小说、电影及电视剧,大多数都是从平江不肖生这部书中派生而来的。除了《近代侠义英雄传》之外,平江不肖生还撰编了两篇"霍元甲传";而除了平江不肖生的作品之外,当年还流行着几种以霍元甲故事为题材的文章。进一步研究这些早期的有关霍元甲的文章,有助于我们了解霍元甲文学形象在民国初期的发展,也有助于我们正确地评价平江不肖生的文学造诣。

Xiang Kairan＇s seminal martial arts novel Righteous Heroes of Modern Times structures its complex narrative around two figures： Huo Yuanjia and ＂Broadsworder＂ Wang Wu. The novel＇s representation of the late Qing martial artist Huo Yuanjia has served as an inspiration for subsequent representations in fiction, film, and television up to the present day. In addition to the novel＇s version, however, Xiang Kairan penned two other biographies of Huo Yuanjia, and Xiang Kairan＇s biographies took their place alongside several other accounts in circulation in the early years of the Republic. A comparative investigation of these early accounts throws light on the formation of the Huo Yuanjia legend, Xiang Kairan＇s sources, and the exchanges between classical biji fiction and the vernacular novel in the early twentieth century.