论词科选才与南宋四六文的振兴

A Study on the Talent Selection of Cike and the Revitalization of Parallel Prose in the Southern Song Dynasty

南宋四六文能够振兴于道学极盛之时,与博学宏词科的制度保障密切相关。严苛的纳卷和考试制度以及既稀且贵的宦途前程,不仅为词科应试者提出了异乎寻常的"博洽"要求,更激发了天下学人竞为"通儒"的渴望。词科考试排斥"以文体为对属",不允许"出于准绳之外"。它所推重的"四六格"除体制与格式外,还有用事属对、协和声律的严格要求,若一字失律,便会遭到黜落。南宋硕学通儒多为词科出身,用功既深,其文章便自然呈现"以用事亲切为精妙,属对巧的为奇崛"的独特气质。要之,南宋四六组丽瑰美,格律精严,直可与六朝骈文相比肩。

The revitalization of parallel prose in the Southern Song Dynasty at the culmination of Taoism was closely related to the institutional protection of the Boxue hongci ke （Eruditus Literaturus examination）. Under the guidance of the idea that ＂the most important subject in the Southern Song Dynasty was the Cike＂, not only the examinees＇ study style of ＂consulting literary allusions, extensively reading classics and history, and exploring every natural and supernatural thing＂, but also the relevant aesthetic orientation gradually matured, and a large number of famous writers on parallel prose emerged in the world of literature, such as Sun Di, I.ti Zuqian, Zhen Dexiu, Ni Si, Zhou Bida, Hong Shi, Hong Mai, and Wang Yinglin In terms of historical facts, the narrow but promising path to the bright future of being an official set unusual requirements to the candidates such as ＂extensive knowledge＂, which stimulated all scholars＇ desire to be an ＂erudite scholar＂. The internal track of how the Cike on talent selection promoted the revitalization of the parallel prose of the Southern Song Dynasty can be found in the following aspects. First of all, the parallel prose of the Cike emphasized ＂genres＂. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the Cike had twelve styles, such as edict, whose evaluation criteria had strict requirements on the ＂ genre＂ and ＂ degree＂ of articles. The ＂ genre＂ requirements for writers＇ composition can be traced back to ＂Yan Xu＂, a great writer at that time, and celebrities such as Xia Song, Wang Gui, Yuan Jiang, and Wang Anshi in the Northern Song Dynasty also complied strictly with the ＂method＂ and contributed a lot to the improvement of parallel prose. This is how the strict system requirements on the parallel prose of the Cike were formed. Secondly, the parallel prose of the Cike put great emphasis on the use of quotations and couplets. In the opinion of the famous writers such as Sun Di, Zhen Dexiu and Wang Yinglin, the use of historical events in the classics, or the organization of the rhetoric was the key to improving parallel prose writing. The proper use of quotations was not only related to the author＇s erudition, but also determined the elegance and persuasiveness of the parallel prose. Of course, the ultimate purpose of the proper use of quotations was to improve the quality and level of the parallel prose. For this reason, the famous writers often summarized the writing experience of the parallel prose. After years of accumulation, they finally summed up the rules of the genre of parallel prose, such as the parallelism between the ＂Classics, History, Buddhist story and Taoist story＂. All of these played a positive role in improving the parallel prose writing. Thirdly, parallel prose also particularly placed weight on the harmony consonant and the strict rhythm. The Cike in the Southern Song Dynasty attached great importance to the synergy between rhythm and consonance in order to form a tone of grace, pitch, and fluctuations. The ultimate goal was the so called ＂rigorous rhythm and perfect choice of words＂. In the actual examinations, the key to success was to comply with the rhythm requirements of parallel prose; otherwise it would be regarded as a failure. In short, the writings of the best writers with good training in the Cike worked hard would naturally have an exquisite and unique style of perfect quotations and couplets. It is indisputable that the parallel prose of the Southern Song Dynasty benefited from the Cike, so it can be compared with the prose of Six Dynasties.