唐宋剑侠小说与佛教关系谫论——以《剑侠传》为例

Relationship between Swordsman Novels in Tang and Song Dynasties and Buddhism:Taking Swordman Biography (剑侠传) as an Example

《剑侠传》收录唐宋时期的33篇剑侠小说多与佛教有关。从佛寺、僧侣、佛教神异等3个方面探析这些小说与佛教的关系可以发现:佛寺在剑侠小说中为故事的发生环境,是庇护穷苦困顿者、剑侠施展神奇本领的场所;僧侣的行为多有侠义色彩,表现为用含有“侠”的词语凸显人物性格、剑侠小说中僧家多行侠义之事推动了情节的发展;佛教神异的奇幻特点如开脑后藏匕首和变为小虫,丰富了故事的内容。这三个方面共同发挥作用,造就了《剑侠传》丰富而曲折的故事。

Most of the 33 swordsman novels in the Tang and Song Dynasties collected in Swordman Biography(剑侠传)are related to Buddhism.From the relationship between these novels and Buddhist temples,monks and Buddhist gods,the author finds that the Buddhist temples are the environment for the story,the shelter for the poor,and the scene for swordsmen to show their magic skills.The monks’behaviors are mostly chivalrous,which is manifested in highlighting the character’s personality by using words containing“chivalry”.The magical characteristics of the Buddhist gods also influenced swordsman novels,such as the plots that daggers were hidden in the brain and the characters become small insects,which enriched the content of the story.