报恩与殉节:明清义猫传说的形象塑造与情节建构

Gratitude and Martyrdom:The Image Shaping and Construction of the Righteous Cat Legend in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

明清时期文献中出现一大批义兽、义禽形象,其中义猫形象独具特色。明清饲猫、爱猫的社会风尚以及时人对猫的神秘化认识等构成了明清义猫传说发展与传播的社会基础与文化土壤。义猫传说多个母题中,以“报恩型”与“殉主型”最为突出,广泛分布在版本不一的诸多文献中,塑造了知恩图报、忠贞守节的义猫形象。梳理义猫传说相关文献,发现其形象塑造出现模式化、类型化的倾向,这反映出明清之时人们将道德价值观寄托于动物之上,试图通过利用义猫传说进行社会教化,即所谓“求忠孝于动物”的意图。

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties,a large number of righteous animals and birds appeared in literary works,of which the image of the righteous cat is unique.The development and spread of the legend of the righteous cat in Ming and Qing dynasties was based on the social customs of cat-loving and the mysterious understanding of cats.In the Ming and Qing dynasties,the legend of the righteous cat has many themes,of which the two most prominent one are the“Gratitude type”and“Martyrdom type”,which were widely circulated in various versions of literature.Through the literature of the legend of the righteous cat,we can find that its image shaping is stereotyped and typed,which shows that some literati endowed animals with moral values in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and tried to moralize the legend of the righteous cat,“seeking loyalty and filial piety from animals”.