小说界域下的“虞初”语义建构

The Semantic Evolution of“Yu Chu”in the Field of Novel

“虞初”是小说界域内的重要词语。从汉代至明清,它的词义内涵不断调整、衍化,与中国小说观念形成了复杂的呼应互动和辩证关联。汉代,“虞初”是人名,也是某部书籍的题名。《虞初周说》是《诸子略》“小说家”下最具代表性的范例。宋代,“虞初”一词用来指称特定的知识类型,它和小说之间由从属关系转而为平行的关系。随着宋代小说观念的转型,这个词与奇闻逸事的关联由潜在的、隐匿的转而为直接的、显性的关系。明清时期,“虞初”一词在保持既有义涵和用法的基础上,还用来命名小说选本。《莺莺传》等记叙现实世界中人遭遇的奇闻逸事,成为虞初类选本的核心类例。这些选本强化并固化了“虞初”一词与奇异荒怪之事的关联,改造了汉唐、宋元以来的小说观念。近现代文学学科建构之时,学界将唐传奇视为文言小说的典范文体,这正延续了虞初系列小说选本的编纂理念。回溯“虞初”一词历时性的衍化、变迁,我们可以从特定的视角厘定中国小说观念延续、转型的内在逻辑理路。

“Yu Chu”is an important word in the field of novel.From the Han Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties,its lexical connotation was constantly adjusted and evolved,forming a complex echo interaction and dialectical correlation with the Chinese novel idea.In the Han Dynasty,“Yu Chu”was a person’s name and was also the title of a book.Yu Chu Zhou Shuo is regarded as the most representative example from the perspective of Zhu Zi Lue and novelists.In the Song Dynasty,the word“Yu Chu”was used to refer to a specific type of knowledge,with the transformation of the concept of novels in the Song Dynasty,the relation between the word and the strange things changed from the latent and hidden to the direct and explicit.In the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the word“Yu Chu”was also used to name selected novels on the basis of its connotation and usage.Such anecdotes which described what happens to people in the real world as Tales of The Nightingale,etc.,have become the core examples in the anthology of“Yu Chu”.This anthology strengthened and solidified the association between the word“Yu Chu”and strange things,and reformed the concept of novels since the Han,Tang,Song and Yuan Dynasties.When the discipline of modern literature was constructed,the academic circle regarded Tang legend as a model style of classical Chinese novels,which continued the compilation idea of selected works of“Yu Chu”series.Recalling the diachronic evolution and change of“Yu Chu”,we can define the internal logic way of the continuation and transformation of the concept of Chinese novels from a specific perspective.