德福相生与情移理化 —— “ 三言 ” 的劝世特色

Abstract

It is a universal belief that, after the literati have got control of the genre of storytellers’ scripts, the aspect of the exhortative function of the vernacular fiction is stressed. Though many scholars have noted this phenomenon, most papers discuss it from the perspective of themes and the writer’s thoughts, but rarely from the perspective of narrative discourse. Citing “San Yan” the first literati’s storytelling work as an instance, this essay intends to illuminate the problem by the approach of narrative discourse. Comparing “San Yan”, “Er Pai” and Xing Shi Yan, it tries to expose the characteristics manifested in the realization of the exhortation. This essay proposes that, different from “Er Pai” which emphasizes on novelty, or “Yi Xing” which tends to set up models, “San Yan” specifically stresses the use of warning, enlightening and awaking the common people. In contrast to the other two works, “San Yan” does better in keeping the target readers in mind and strives more to inculcate the concept of virtues rewarded for the commoners. Unlike “ErPai” and “Yi Xing”, “San Yan” does not try to manipulate the interpretation of the reader while the exhortation is accomplished. It tends to move the reader with constant plot, and to elicit out understanding on the reader’s part with idioms and proverbs. All in all, appealing to emotion and ration are the major characteristics of San Yan’s exhortation.