宋代轶事小说的文本形态与文体风范

Textual Form and Literary Style of Anecdote Novels in Song Dynasty

宋代轶事小说的文本形态,主要包括七种类型:杂录类,如欧阳修《归田录》、王辟之《渑水燕谈录》、陆游《老学庵笔记》;丛谈类,如沈括《梦溪笔谈》、庄绰《鸡肋编》;小品类,如苏轼《东坡志林》;“笑林”类,如高怿《群居解颐》、吕居仁《轩渠录》;“世说”类,如王谠《唐语林》;风土类,如孟元老《东京梦华录》、周密《武林旧事》;恩怨类,如魏泰《东轩笔录》。虽种类繁多,却有大体一致的文体风范:在题材上广泛涉及百姓日用、民俗淳浇、风土人情,在趣味上偏于掌故、谈资或秘闻,在表达上平易亲切,技巧和藻饰的痕迹趋于消泯。它与现代意义的小说差异甚大,反倒近于掌故类的随笔。

The textual form of anecdote novels in Song dynasty consists of seven main types: miscellany(e.g. Ouyang Xiu’s The Book of the Returned Field, Wang Pizhi’s Shengshui Yantanlu, Lu You’s Jottings from Laoxue An);series of talks(e.g. Shen Kuo’s Dream Pool Essays, Zhuang Chuo’s Jilei Bian);essays(e.g.Su Shi’s Dongpo Zhilin);laughing forest type, namely, some famous collections of popular jokes(e. g. Gao Yi’s Qunju Jieyi and Lv Juren’s Xuanqu Lu);Shi Shuo type,(e. g. Wang Dang’s Tang Yulin);Feng Tu type,namely, novels conercing natural conditions and social customs of a place(e. g. Meng Yuanlao’s Dongjing Menghua Lu and Zhou Mi’s Old Stories of Wulin);and "gratitude and grudges"(e.g. Wei Tai’s Dongxuan Bilu). Despite the many kinds, these novels share a generally consistent style of writing: in terms of subject matter, they cover a wide range of people’s daily use, folk customs, and local conditions;in terms of interest, they favor stories, conversations, or secret stories;in terms of expression, they are easy and reader-friendly, with little trace of skills or ornamentation. Anecdote novels differ greatly from modern novels and are close to informal essays.