序跋对古代小说的价值辩护和地位标榜

The Way for Preface and Postscript to Defend the Value and Emphasize the Status of Ancient Novels

作为古代小说批评的主要形式之一,序跋常被用来论说小说的价值和功用,以提高其所评论小说乃至小说文体整体的地位。为此,各类序跋常通过“依经傍史”的方式,强调小说羽翼经史的正统性和裨补经史的优越性,或将所评小说与其他经典小说比肩,或将所评小说与低俗乏味的小说划清界限,或称所评小说乃立言之作,或称所评小说创作为发愤著书,或称所评小说为济世文章。各类序跋多注重对小说的价值辩护与地位标榜,具有较为独到的理论价值。但由于功能所限,各类序跋均无法做到完全客观,部分序跋还会有夸张或失实的成分,因而读者不可全盘采信。

As one of the main forms of the criticisms of ancient novel,preface and postscript was employed to discuss the value and function of novels so as to improve the status of the novels being criticized and even the whole novel style.Therefore,the prefaces and postscripts,in the way of basing on Confucian classics and history,highlighted the superiority of novels in supplementing Confucian classics and history through comparison;or juxtaposing the novels being criticized with the canonic works,or drawing a clear line between the novel being discussed and those vulgar and boring novels;or claiming the novel as a work of founding a theory,or a work written in rich emotions,or a work created with the purpose of serving the society.The diverse prefaces and postscripts mainly put emphasis on the novel’s value defense and status labeling.Due to the limitation of their functions,the prefaces and postscripts can’t be completely objective,and some of them even contained the exaggerated and unreal factors,so readers should not fully accepted them.