论《醒世姻缘传》的道德诉求与因果叙事——世情小说雅俗系列研究之二十二

On the Moral Claim and Karma Narration in The Marriage Stories to Awaken Men——The 22th Study on the Elegance and Popularity of Fictions about Human Relationship

《醒世姻缘传》带有明显的明人口吻与实录风格,其完成不应迟于明末,而流传则可能始自清初。《醒世姻缘传》是继《金瓶梅》之后,明清齐鲁世情小说的又一硕果,胡适、徐志摩、张爱玲等现代名家都曾对其推崇有加,其广博而逼真的世情抒写中,跃动着作者那颗炽热的匡时济世之心,而成为明清世情小说雅俗整合的又一次成功尝试,促进了明清世情小说的健康发展,影响深远。《醒世姻缘传》是一曲沉重的道德挽歌,祭起的却是佛教果报论大旗。有着浓厚的道德情结与儒家本位思想的西周生,面对着人心不古、世风浇漓的社会现实,只能以浓烈的因果叙事来挽救世道人心,希冀西周古风重临世间。

There are clear tone of Ming Dynasty and style of memoir in The Marriage Stories to Awaken Men which was finished before the end of Ming Dynasty and might spread since the early time of Qing Dy- nasty. The Marriage Stories to Awaken Men is another great achievement of Social Novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties after Golden Lotus, which Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo, Eileen Chang and other modern masters have canonized. For its extensive and realistic life narration and author＇s heart to help the people,it is an- other successful attempt of integration with elegance and popularity in the fictions about human relation- ship in Ming and Qing Dynasties,which promotes the healthy development of the fictions about human re- lationship in Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a heavy moral elegy,but its magic weapon is Buddhist karma. Facing such society actuality of moral degradation, Xi Zhou Sheng redeems social morality by drastic karma narration which has strong moral complex and Confucianism standard, and expects a recurrence of the beautiful moral society of the Western Zhou Dynasty.