明清之际章回小说时空艺术漫谈

Analysis on Time-space Art of Chapter Novels in Ming and Qing Dynasty

时间和空间,是小说中不可或缺的两个重要因素。在章回小说发展初期,多数作品的故事时间较长,偏向于情节的纵向延伸。这种时空模式适于表现历史题材和传奇故事,却无法全面展示丰富多彩的现实生活。明清之际的章回小说,继承了《金瓶梅》的写实艺术,对现实生活的时空模拟有了进一步发展。故事时间的收缩和艺术空间的拓展,成为这一时期小说创作的普遍倾向。这一变化,对清代章回小说的创作产生了较为深远的影响。

Time and space are two indispensable and important factors in novels.At the early stage of chapter novels’development,majority of works had long stories,which preferred prolonging plots vertically.This time-space mode was suitable to represent history themes and romantic stories,but it couldn’t reflect the real life which was rich and colorful.Chapter novels during Ming and Qing Dynasty inherited the realism in The Golden Lotus,and further developed the time-space simulation of real life.Reducing story time and expanding art space became a trend of chapter novels during the era.This change also significantly influenced chapter novel creations in Qing Dynasty.