柳毅传书原发生地洞庭的文化意义

The Cultural Significance of Dongting,the Original Place of Liu Yi’s Letter Delivery

民间传说类非遗项目“柳毅传书”最早以“洞庭灵姻传”之名辑录在唐传奇《异闻集》中。柳毅传书之所以被安排在洞庭,主要是因为《洞庭灵姻传》与唐代道教神仙观念联系密切。而洞庭本就有神仙洞府之意,是中国文学中失意文人抒发困顿不遇情怀的审美意象,适合落第儒生柳毅与其表弟薛嘏求仙访道。同时,洞庭烟波浩渺,也与水怪龙女传说的神秘氛围相契合。此外,安史之乱后,各种社会矛盾需要道德教化予以缓解,洞庭人柳毅以道义为重,能成为德教楷模。柳毅传书正是在洞庭这个虚构的神仙世界中,将唐代士子的心态变化如实展现出来。这既符合儒家对道德修养的不懈追求,也满足了广大士子在困顿中寻求心灵寄托的渴望。

The intangible cultural heritage of folklore“Liu Yi’s Letter Delivery”was first recorded in the Tang tale book of Strange Story Collection under the name of The Biography of Spiritual Marriage in Dongting.The reason why the place of“Liu Yi’s Letter Delivery”was arranged in Dongting was mainly that The Biography of Spiritual Marriage in Dongting was closely related to the Taoist concept of immortals in the Tang Dynasty.Dongting literally meant immortal’s residence and was an aesthetic image in Chinese literature where frustrated literati expressed their feelings of hardship.Therefore,it made sense for Liu Yi,a failed Confucian scholar,and his cousin Xue Jia to visit there for immortals and Taoism.At the same time,the water in Dongting was fierce and misty,which also fitted with the mysterious atmosphere of the legend of the water monsters and dragon maiden.In addition,after the An-Shi Rebellion,various social conflicts needed to be alleviated by moral indoctrination,and Liu Yi,a native of Dongting that valued morality and righteousness,was able to become a model of moral education.It was in the imaginary fairy world of Dongting that“Liu Yi’s Letter Delivery”faithfully showed the changes in the mentality of scholars in the Tang Dynasty.This not only conformed to Confucianists’relentless pursuit of moral cultivation,but also satisfied the desire of most scholars to seek spiritual sustenance in difficulties.