论八股文的代言

On Daiyan of the Eight-legged Essays

代言是八股文文体的一个重要特征,它一个基本要求就是要肖题。代言需要充分了解语境、人物身份和思想,加以想像、揣摩人物的语气口吻,所以代言也是一种对经书文本的再创造。不同作者的代言,一定程度上也能体现出不同的个性和风格。代言在文体上的弊端是容易出现文章结构上的前后不一致,只须“顺口气”而不必作者论断的形式及对史实引用的僵化规定致使女子流于空疏不学。

Daiyan is an important feature of the Eight-legged Essays. One prerequisite for Daiyan is the resemblance in theme. As the essayist has to imitate the persona' tones in line with the context, their status and thoughts, Daiyan is actually a kind of recreation of the classics. The personalities and styles vary with the eassayists who speak on behalf of the saints and sages. The stylistic shortcoming of Daiyan is that it is subject to discordance in structure, and its format that requires no proofs from the essayist but speaking in the tone of the sages cited & its rigid stipulation of historical facts tend to make scholars ignore facts and be content with ignorance.