试论文言小说的知识性--以明代文言小说丛书为考察中心

A Discussion of Knowledge of Classical Chinese Novels Focused on Classical Novel Series in Ming Dynasty

学界对古代小说文体知识性的探讨多集中于明清通俗小说方面,而对文言小说文体的知识性问题关注度一直很低。明代人编刊了众多文言小说丛书,其选目范围不仅包括传统的志怪、传奇、杂录、丛谈等小说类型,还收录许多专业著作,这反映出编纂主体将“知识性”纳入小说本体性内涵的观念。小说丛书编纂与目录学传统存有深度的关联,由于知识性、实用性是子部学术的共性,“小说家”又一直栖居于子部,故书目“小说家”著录专业书是一种当然的惯例。小说丛书在展示“小说”本体性方面具有独特的优势,一方面是因为编纂主体对小说本体性有着更深刻的认识,另一方面是因其继承了前代《百川学海》《说郛》的编纂义例。

The discussions of the knowledge of ancient novel style in the academia are primarily centered on the popular novels in the Ming and Qing dynasties,while somewhat ignoring the style of classical Chinese novels.Scholars in the Ming dynasty edited and published many series of books of classical Chinese novels,covering both traditional genres such as supernatural stories,legendary novels,miscellanies and prose,and many professional works.This reflects the editor’s idea of incorporating“knowledge”into the ontological connotation of the novel.The compilation of novel series is deeply related to bibliographic tradition,because knowledge and practicality are the common features of Pre-Qin prose works,to which the“novelist”has always belonged;therefore,it is a natural practice for the bibliography“novelists”to describe professional books.Novel series have unique advantages in displaying the ontology of“novels”,partly because the editors have a deeper understanding of the ontology of the novel,and partly because they have inherited the writing style of the previous generation such as Bai Chuan Xue Hai and Shuo Fu.