“屏风”与中国古代小说的内闱叙事

The Screen and the Inner Narrative of Ancient Chinese Novels

在中国古代传统文化语境中,内闱妇女对家庭及社会公共生活的体察和参与,往往要依赖遮掩物。历史悠久而应用广泛的屏风,便是一个重要道具。中国古代小说(尤其世情小说)在书写内闱妇女时,常捕捉、提炼“妇隐屏后”的生活场景,借助小说文体优势,既可全景式地呈现共时状态下双重空间内两性角色的交流、互动,构造冲突,强化戏剧性,甚至渲染闹剧色彩,以表达讽刺、批判,又可以“屏窥”为视角,描述女性角色对外部世界的感知活动。“屏风”可作为借日常物象以书写内闱妇女的一个典型。

In the context of ancient Chinese traditional culture,the perception and participation of women on the inner side in family and social public life often relied on covering.The screen,which has a long history and is widely used,is an important prop.Ancient Chinese novels(especially novels about human relationship)often capture and extract the life scenes of"women hiding behind the screen"in writing women on the inner side.With the literary advantages,the novels can present a panoramic view of the communication and interaction between male and female characters in the dual space of synchronicity,construct conflicts,strengthen drama,and even render farce colors in order to express satire and criticism.In addition,from the perspective of"screen observation",the novels describe the perception activities of female characters towards the external world.The"screen"can serve as a typical example of using everyday objects to write about women on the inner side.