虞通之《妒妇记》新考

A study of Yu Tong’s Jealous Woman

宋明帝敕虞通之撰《妒妇记》《为江敩让尚公主表》,时在泰始五年至七年间,这是刘宋王朝走向衰亡的关键时期。为争夺皇位,巩固统治,尤其为幼子继位计,明帝剪落皇枝,导致王室衰弱,遂不得不倚重士族——尤其是诸尚主士族;然宋世诸主严妒,尚主士族婚姻生活并不如意,这显然不利于统治。因而,明帝敕虞通之撰《妒妇记》《为江敩让尚公主表》,意在警诫诸主,安抚诸尚主士族,以获得诸尚主士族支持,从而为其幼子继位作准备。论者称《妒妇记》"大约是我国古代第一部以夫妇关系为题材的小说集",足见其在小说史上的地位。

In the five to seven years of the first year of Tai Dynasty, the song Ming emperor ordered Yu Tong wrote " Jealous Women’s tale" and " table of Princess qiangshang" by Yu Tong, which was the key period of the decline of the Liu Song Dynasty. In order to fight for the throne, consolidate the rule, especially for the younger son’s succession, the Ming emperor cut off the Royal branches, which led to the decline of the royal family. Therefore, they had to rely on the aristocratic families, especially the noble families, because these " Shi Zhou" were the backbone of the Liu Song regime. However, the feudal lords in the Song Dynasty were envious, and the marriage life of the nobles was not as good as expected, especially in the case of the former Emperor’s disobedience, which led to the separation of the nobles from the royal family of the Liu and Song Dynasties, which was obviously not conducive to the rule. Therefore, the Ming emperor Chi Yu Tong’s jealousy of women and the list of Princesses for Jiangjia were written by Yu Tong in order to warn and pacify the nobles, so as to obtain their support and prepare for his young son’s succession to the throne. There are seven lost articles in the story of jealous women, which aims to admonish jealous women from jealousy. Critics call it " the first collection of novels about the relationship between husband and wife" in ancient China, which shows its position in the history of ancient Chinese novels.