依旧窥人有燕来——章回体小说回目的诗句化变革

Swallows Will Always Come Back——Verse-like Changes of Chapter Headings in Chinese Chapter-styled Classical Novels

传统章回体小说的回目自明代中后期成熟定型以来,在自身的发展中经历了多次变革,每次变革的背后都显示出雅文学影响的持续加深。近代小说作家梁羽生、金庸等人在继承前人的基础上将传统七言回目的句式节奏由前三后四改为前四后三,并且有意疏离直白叙事,使回目从内容到形式均变得诗句化,这是章回体小说回目发展过程中的又一次重要变革,这不仅对后来的创作者产生了重大影响,也对其他各种文体中借用诗句为题目的做法有潜移默化的促进作用。

The chapter heading in chapter-styled classical Chinese novels has experienced many changes after its maturity since the middle and later Ming dynasty. Every change has reflected the deepening of the influence of elegant literature. The contemporary writers, Liang Yu-sheng and Jin Yong and others have changed the seven-word sentence format of the chapter heading from 3-word-before-4-word-after pattern to 4-word-before-3- word-after pattern so much so that the chapter heading has now become a verse-like sentence. It is another change in the development of classical chapter heading, Furthermore, it has exerted a subtle effect on the use of a variety of other literature formats. which has made a great influence on the later writers. verse-like sentence as a heading or chapter heading in