摘要
四书讲章是明清时期颇为流行的一种科举读物。在八股文写作“入口气”的规制要求下,讲章关注四书文字中蕴藏的语势口吻,形成一套丰富而细腻的多层次“语气读书法”。此种读法包含三个层次:(一)辨析说话人的身份系圣贤本人抑或记录的弟子,区别直接引语和间接引语;(二)推敲诵读中的顿断方式、语气轻重、声调高低,借以用声音形态呈现出经文语义的微妙不同;(三)想象、体会圣贤气象,由说话人之“神情”通向经书之“神理”。此类读法上承经学中注重白文直解的传统,尤其是宋代以降,理学家熟读涵泳的读书法,在明清两代则由于科举需求的刺激更为蓬勃发展。因应读法中轻重、缓急、高下等二元对立的特征,经书文本也可以作各种二分式的解读,为八股文对仗立柱提供了便利。语气读书法触及了话语层次、章法、语句节奏等文学形式批评基本命题,故亦从四书扩展到其他古籍文本。由字句分析到文本“神理”,再到圣贤“神气”的阅读进路,更是桐城派“文气”说孕育形成的背景,构成了中国传统文论知识体系的重要组成部分。
Jiangzhang(讲章,pedagogical-style annotations)on the Four Books is a popular form of guidebooks for the imperial examinations during the Ming and Qing dynasties.As the eight-legged essay requires imitations of the tone of the sages,analysis of the identity,tones and moods of the speakers becomes an important concern in the reading of Confucian Classics.Jiangzhang annotations delineate the pauses,tones,accents,and voice level in the recitation of Classics in order to examine the intentions of Confucius,Mencius and their disciples,and therefore forming a multilayered art of vocal reading.This approach of"interpretation with intonation"inherits the Song Neo-Confucians'reading method of hammering and tasting the original text,and flourishes even more since the Ming Dynasty due to the stimulation of the imperial examinations.Although a product of the examination demand,it also touches upon several aspects of literary form criticism,such as levels of discourse,methods of chapter organization,rhythmic pacing of utterances,and so on.This reading method of appreciating the deeper meaning of a text through the details of words and phrases,and then exploring the personality of the sages,settles the intellectual background of the theory of Wenqi(文气,literary qi in the guwen prose)by Tongcheng School of the Qing Dynasty.Jiangzhang provides valuable documentary basis for the study of traditional techniques of vocal reading,which form an important part of the theoretical system of Chinese literature.
出处
《清华大学学报(哲学社会科学版)》
北大核心
2025年第4期78-89,255,共13页
Journal of Tsinghua University(Philosophy and Social Sciences)
基金
北京市社会科学基金青年项目“传统古文诵读的现代转型”(22WXC007)。
