叶宪祖的人生际遇与《北邙说法》的创作

On the Vicissitudes of Ye Xianzu's Life and the Creation of Bei Mang Shuo Fa( 北邙说法)

叶宪祖是晚明著名戏曲家,他的仕进之路坎坷不平,曾九赴春闱以求功名,在五十四岁时才考中进士,又因得罪阉党魏忠贤而被贬回乡,这样的人生际遇促使他晚年皈依佛门。他结合自己的人生经验和对生活的深切感悟,以及对佛法的精深独到的理解,创作了反映他处世态度的佛教剧《北邙说法》,剧作采用问答式妙解人生真谛、阐发佛门宗旨,阐释了人生中生死荣辱、恩怨得失的矛盾。

Ye Xianzu is a well-known playwright in the late Ming Dynasty, whose political career was full of ups and downs. Ye had partook in imperial exams for nine times before finally becoming a Jin Shi （进士） , the highest scholarly degree obtained through official examinations. However, due to his offence against the clique of Wei Zhongxian, the most powerful eunuch then, Ye was banished home. Such bitter experiences had contributed to his conversion to Buddhism in his late years. Combining his own life experiences and his feelings about life, coupled with his acute understanding of Buddhist doctrines, Ye created Bei Mang Shuo Fa （北邙说法） reflecting his attitudes towards the society. Through the form of question-and-answer, the writer gave vent to his ideas on the essenee of life, the tenets of Buddhism and the contradiction between life and death, honor and disgrace, kindness and enmity, gain and loss, et cetera.