《西游记》与《金瓶梅词话》中的货币与物价状况比较研究

Comparison of the Conditions of Currency and Prices in Journey to the West with Jin Ping Mei Cihua

《西游记》与《金瓶梅词话》都是中国古代长篇小说中的佼佼者,且二者成书年代非常接近。尽管题材相去甚远,但两书都具有鲜明的现实主义倾向,包含较为丰富的货币和物价信息。两书中货币流通状况总体相似,都反映出明代后期白银货币化的趋势;同时也存在一些细微差异。《西游记》中的物价状况,与嘉靖晚期的实际情况较为吻合;《金瓶梅词话》中的物价状况,与万历前期的实际情况高度吻合。两书中货币与物价状况比较的结果,基本支持《西游记》成书早于《金瓶梅词话》的观点。

Both Journey to the West and Jin Ping Mei Cihua are best novels of ancient China,and they have similar eras.Despite different subject matter,the two novels have tendency of realism.So,lot of information about currency and prices can be found in them.The conditions of currency circulation in the two novels are similar in the mass,reflecting the monetization of silver in the late Ming dynasty,while they have some slight differences.The conditions of prices in Journey to the West roughly accords with which of the later period of Emperor Jiajing.While the conditions of prices in Jin Ping Mei Cihua accords with which of the early period of Emperor Wanli.In short,comparisons of the conditions of currency and prices in the two novels support the opinion that the era of Journey to the West is earlier than which of Jin Ping Mei Cihua.