《儒林外史》中“出家人”与明清佛徒的纷异

The “Monk” in The Scholars and the Divergences of the Buddhists in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

明朝佛教的发展趋于极盛,1644年明朝灭亡时仅北京地区的佛教寺院就达一千多所。清王朝对佛教的方针几乎完全继承了明朝的制度,康乾时期国力强盛,文化繁荣,这为佛教兴盛创造了牢固的基础。《儒林外史》以明朝为背景,在揭露科举制度流弊的同时,也反映了明清时期的世俗信仰与社会风貌,其中对佛教信众的描写特别引人注目。从这些佛教信众的行止中,既有人性善良的一面,对淡泊名利、清雅脱俗的恬逸生活充满向往,又不乏对鄙俗龌龊、庸碌之流的唾弃。从对各色"出家人"的梳理中,明清佛教信众的纷异和多元性得到充分的彰显,这与当时江南地区社会经济与文化发展是相辅相成的。

The development of Buddhism in the Ming Dynasty tends to be extremely prosperous. With the demise of the Ming dynasty in 1644, the Buddhist monasteries in Beijing alone reached more than 1,000. The policy of the Qing Dynasty on Buddhism is almost completely inherited from the Ming Dynasty system. In Kangxi and Qianlong period, the strong national strength and cultural prosperity make a solid foundation for the flourishing of Buddhism. The Scholars, taking the Ming Dynasty as the background, exposes abuses in the imperial examination system and reflects the secular beliefs and social outlook of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Among them, the description of Buddhist believers is particularly striking. From the behavior of these Buddhist believers we can see not only goodness of humanity which includes indifference to fame and fortune as well as longing for elegant refined life, but also the spurning to vulgarity and mediocrity. From various sorts of'monk',the divergence and diversity of the Buddhist believers in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were fully demonstrated,which was complementary to the social-economic and cultural development of the Jiangnan area at that time.