《左传》的口头叙事研究——以重耳故事为例

The Oral Narrative Research of Zuo Zhuan:The Story of Chong Er as An Example

《左传》中的重耳故事是一个完整的、独立的、自足的叙事圆环,可以作为一个独立的叙事整体进行研究,也是《左传》采录口头文本的痕迹的最佳例证。以口头诗学理论三个层面的结构性单元(程式、主题、故事范式)逐层分析《左传》中的重耳故事可以发现:《左传》对重耳的叙事多次运用了口头叙事所特有的主题与重复叙事,《左传》中的重耳故事与西方的英雄传说在故事范式方面有着惊人的一致性。这些分析基本确定《左传》中有关重耳的记载源于当时口耳相传的故事文本,而并非史实的直录或作者的构思创作。

The record about Chong Er in Zuo Zhuan is a complete,independent,self-sufficient narrative circle,which can be researched as an independent narrative.And it is also the best example of the imprinted Zuo Zhuan adopting oral text.With the structural units in three levels(formula,theme and story-pattern)of oral-formulaic theory,this article analyzes the story of Chong Er in Zuo Zhuan layer by layer,and finds that the narration about Chong Er in Zuo Zhuan repeatedly applies themes and repetitive narration which are originally exclusive characteristics of oral narrative.Compared with the story of Western traditional hero,the story of Chong Er has amazing consistency in terms of story pattern with it.Based on the analysis,this article argues that the story of Chong Er in Zuo Zhuan originated from the oral narrative at that time,and not the direct record of historical facts or the author’s original ideas.