“奇”与明清小说批评

Peculiarity and critical analyses of the novels in Ming and Qing

"奇"是明清小说批评中的一个重要范畴,凝聚着古人对于小说文体特征及功能的认识。明清小说批评家在"传信者贵真"与"传奇者贵幻"的对比中,确立了小说叙事的虚构特点;并将小说尚奇的作用概括为借奇劝惩、借奇破闷、借奇广闻,为小说的存在价值提供了依据;认为小说之奇从平中出,小说尚奇有助于读者接受和小说传播;反驳了主流意识形态对小说尚奇的诬蔑,为小说尚奇争得了一席之地。

Peculiarity is an important clue in the critical analyses of the novels of Ming and Qing. The contemporary critics compare with fictional truth and imagination to express the fictional functions of ad- vices, pastime, and communications, so as to found the values of novels. Peculiarity springs from univer- sality, which is against the viewpoint that the mainstreams decide the novels.