论《水浒传》的“忠义”冲突及其近代意义

The Modern Significance of the Conflict between Righteousness and Loyalty in Shuihuzhuan

《水浒传》的"忠义"主题是阐释宋明以来文化历史的一条线索。在《水浒传》这样的俗文学中,"忠"与"义"本质上是两个相背离的道德维度,代表了宋明以来社会所特有的两种伦理道德的冲突。民间社会的"义",不同于史传中的国家伦理,也不只是"侠义",而是重视个人价值的新的平民社会伦理。在英雄的个人传奇以及好汉"聚义"过程中,这种新的价值观与伦理道德,主宰了作品最有生机与活力的部分,呼应了宋明以来平民社会的兴起与道德的要求,因而得到明清进步文人和民间社会的普遍喜爱。《水浒传》"忠义"悲剧的本质是平民伦理的"义"与国家伦理的"忠"之间冲突与对抗,因而具有超越文本主题的深广的价值和意义。

The theme of “loyalty” and “justice” in Shuihuzhuan (Water Margin) is a clue to expound on the cultural history since the Song and Ming dynasties. In such vulgar literature as Shuihuzhuan, loyalty and righteousness are essentially two moral dimensions that deviate from each other, representing the conflict of two moralities peculiar to the society since the Song and Ming dynasties. The “justice” of civil society is different from the national ethics in historical biography, nor is it just “chivalrousness”, but rather a new civil society ethic which values individual value. In the process of the heroes' personal legend and their “gathering justice”, this new value and ethic dominated the most vital and vigorous part of the work, echoing the rise of the civil society and the requirements of morality since the Song and Ming dynasties. As a result, Ming and Qing progressive literati and civil society were popular. The essence of the tragedy of loyalty in Shuihuzhuan is the conflict and confrontation between the “righteousness” of the common people's ethics and the “loyalty” of the national ethics, so it has the profound value and significance beyond the theme of the text.