论《儒林外史》对王冕形象的重塑及其文本意义

Adaptation of WANG Mian's Image in The Scholars and its Textual Significance

《儒林外史》中的王冕形象,是吴敬梓根据元人王冕的真实事迹加工改编而成。具体表现在“父”与“母”的删改、“梅”到“荷”的改写、“隐”和“仕”的矛盾三个方面。吴敬梓通过对王冕形象的重塑,旨在揭橥“反功名富贵说”“文行出处说”“一代文人有厄说”等小说主题。重塑后的王冕又是连接故事情节、串联小说结构以及映衬“有心艳功名富贵而媚人下人者”“有倚仗功名富贵而骄人傲人者”“有假托无意功名富贵自以为高,被人看破耻笑者”等三类儒林群像的关键性人物。概言之,重塑后的王冕形象对于彰显小说主题、串联小说结构以及展示小说中的儒林群像等,皆有重要的文本意义。

The image of Wang Mian in The Scholars was processed and adapted by Wu Jingzi according to the real deeds of Wang Mian in Yuan Dynasty.It was embodied in three aspects:the deletion of"father"and"mother",the rewriting from"plum"to"lotus",and the contradiction between"being a hermit"and"being an official".By adapting the image of Wang Mian,Wu Jingzi aimed to expose the novel's themes such as"anti-fame-and-wealth theory","literary origin theory"and"theory of a generation of literati in face of adversity".At the same time,the adapted image of Wang Mian was a key figure in connecting the storyline,connecting the novel structure and setting off three kinds of Confucian scholars,such as"those who were interested in fame and wealth to flatter others","those who relied on fame and wealth to be haughty to others",and"those who pretended to having no intention of pursuing fame and wealth and thought highly of themselves but finally seen through and ridiculed by others".In a word,the adapted image of Wang Mian is of great textual significance for highlighting the theme of the novel,connecting the novel structure and displaying the images of Confucian scholars in the novel.