胡梓穎博士

The Eight-legged Essay and the Development of Structure of Chuanqi Drama in the Late Ming Dynasty 八股制藝與明末傳奇結構的發展 [RGC Ref. No. 18603824]

The structure of the Ming chuanqi drama carries significant importance in its composition. During the late Ming Dynasty, these dramas often comprised thirty or even sixty acts. The organization and structure of such lengthy chuanqi drama became a concern for literati playwrights of the time. Previous studies have indicated that the structure of the eight-legged essay affected the construction of literati chuanqi dramas. For instance, Jin Shengtan’s drama criticism and Li Yu’s drama theory, which emerged in the early Qing Dynasty, drew inspiration from the structure of the eight-legged essay. Nevertheless, it remains unknown whether this also inspired the composition of chuanqi dramas during the late Ming Dynasty before the emergence of Jin’s criticism and Li’s theory. Furthermore, previous discussions on the relationship between the eight-legged essay and the chuanqi drama structure often highlighted that the latter influenced the four-fold structure, i.e., introduction (qi), elucidation (cheng), transition (zhuan), and conclusion (he), as well as the symmetrical structures presented in chuanqi dramas. However, such structural features can be found in various classical Chinese literary genres, indicating that these observations are one-sided and lack scientific grounding. Since the eight-legged essay originates from the exegesis of Confucian classics, the Principal Investigator of this project believes that the genre’s structure is not solely inherited from the acquired structure of other literary genres but also constrained by the innate structure, tailored for “speaking on behalf of the sages.” Considering the historical and cultural context of the late Ming Dynasty, this project selects masterpieces of chuanqi drama composed by twenty representative playwrights of the time as examples. It examines the innate structure and acquired structure of the eight-legged essay as double filters, aiming to explore whether the intervention of the structure of the eight-legged essay breaks the inherent limitations of the chuanqi drama’s construction. In addition, it seeks to re-examine the cultural significance of the intervention of the eight-legged essay in the development of the chuanqi drama’s structure.

結構是傳奇創作關鍵的一環。晚明文人傳奇動輒三十到六十齣。如何組織、結構長篇傳奇，誠為當時曲家關心的課題。論者指出，文人傳奇的結構深受八股制藝之章法結構影響。諸如清初金聖歎、李漁的戲曲批評論理，均對制藝結構有所借鑑。至於金、李之前的晚明時期，制藝是否同樣影響及傳奇創作？這是目前學界未知的領域。此外，過往有關制藝與傳奇結構交涉的討論往往指出，傳奇所呈現的起承轉合和對稱結構，都是受到制藝的影響。事實上，中國古代多種文學體式都呈現出這些結構特徵，可見此等類比是片面且不科學。申請人認為，八股制藝源自經解，其中結構方式既受經解「代聖人立言」的先天結構約束，又受到文學的後天結構影響。職是之故，本計劃擬回歸晚明的歷史文化語境，選取晚明二十位代表曲家的傳奇為例，以制藝的「先天結構」和「後天結構」為雙重濾鏡，探討制藝結構曾否介入晚明傳奇的創作、打破傳奇結構固有的局限，並重新審視制藝介入傳奇結構發展之文化內涵。

Project Start Year: 2025

Chief Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna

Beginning Research in Literature and Cultural Studies: A Companion to Honours Projects

Project Start Year: 2023

Chief Investigator(s): Dr. AU, Chung To (Dr WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna as Co-Investigator)

On Variation and Dispersion of Its Readership: The Eight-legged Essay and Jin Shengtan’s Xixiang Commentary 讀者群的變異與游離──制藝與金聖歎的《第六才子書西廂記》[RG 24/2022-2023R]

The project aims to study Jin Shengtan’s (金聖歎, 1608-1661) comments on the zaju (雜劇) opera Xixiang Ji (or Romance of the Western Chamber). The structure of zaju operas are often based on the principle of four acts in one part. Wang Shifu (王實甫, 1260-1336), a playwright of the late Yuan dynasty, broke this restriction and completed his Xixiang Ji in twenty-one acts in five parts, which complicated the plots and greatly expanded the length of the play. Jin Shengtan’s Xixiang Commentary is one of the most widely circulated versions of Xixiang Ji since the early Qing dynasty. In this project, the PI considers the theory on the structure of the eight-legged essay as a lens for re-reading Jin Shengtan’s Xixiang Commentary. She will also combine opera aesthetics, stylistics, and commercial publishing of the Qing dynasty, to re-analyse the relationship between the structural theory of the eight-legged essay and the Xixiang Commentary and re-investigate how Jin Shengtan integrated literary theory on the structure of the eight-legged essay, which is cultural assets of the literati, into opera and popular literature.

Project Start Year: 2023

Chief Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna

A Study of the Relationship between Tang Xianzu’s Eight-legged Essays and His Chuanqi Drama

湯顯祖（1550-1616）被現代學者公認為明代最具代表性的戲曲家；而在明清文壇中，他同時被譽為「舉業八大家」之一。他的制義作品甚至被編修入清代的《欽定四書文》。由此可知，他的八股文不但備受明清文人推崇，而且得到官方認同。可是，八股文在「五四」以來一直備受批評和壓抑，影響所及，湯顯祖的制義作品亦未得到應有的關注。過往有關湯顯祖作品的研究，大都注意到他的戲曲、詩詞和散文作品，而對於他的制義作品則鮮有論述。職是之故，本研究選取湯顯祖研究者鮮有觸及的制義為研究對象，以填補目前湯顯祖研究的空白領域；並透過他的制義作品，重新審視湯顯祖戲曲作品中的思想和文學傾向。

Project Start Year: 2018

Chief Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna

Reconsidering “Peony Fever”: The Peony Pavilion and the Changes on Ideology during the Late Ming and Early Qing Dynasties 《牡丹》熱的重新審視：《牡丹亭》與明末清初意識形態的轉變 [RG 34/2016-2017R]

自《牡丹亭》於萬曆二十六年（1598）脫稿至明代覆亡（1644）的短短四十多年間，該劇已有數十種刻本、改本、仿作面世。及至清代，《牡丹亭》的影響不斷拓大，並持續超過兩個世紀，成為中國歷史上鮮有的文化現象。本研究嘗試從消費文化角度，勘察「《牡丹》熱」與明清兩代商業出版及劇場的關係，並重新審視明清時期社會意識形態的嬗變過程。

Project Start Year: 2016

Chief Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna

From Xuetang Meng to Lu Nanzi: The Self-Reflection of Zeng Pu and the Autobiographical Writings of the Late Qing and Early Republication China從《雪曇夢》到《魯男子》──論曾樸的自我觀照與清末民初自傳文學 [Ref. No. 04145]

1924年，魯迅在《中國小說史略》中把《孽海花》列為「晚清四大譴責小說」，自始其作者曾樸一直被論者標籤為晚清「新小說家」。然而，曾樸的文學創作生涯實跨越了清末和民初兩個時期。他的文學生涯，正是清末民初文學發展史的最佳寫照，此亦突顯了曾樸研究的特殊價值與地位。本研究將以曾樸文學生涯的起點和終點──《雪曇夢》和《魯男子》──作比較研究。透過這兩部自傳性質濃厚的文學作品，勾勒出清末民初作家意識形態的過度及轉變過程。

Project Start Year: 2016

Chief Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna

A Dialogue between Opera and History: Peony Pavilion and the Spread of School of Mind during the Late Ming China 戲曲與歷史的對話──《牡丹亭》與晚明心學之流變播 [RG 79/2014-2015R]

This research aims to re-interpret the cultural and historical background of the late Ming dynasty before and after the published of Peony Pavilion. By re-reading the opera, this research tries to re-elaborate the relationship between Peony Pavilion and the spread of School of Mind during the late Ming China, in order to have a better understanding of the Ming society.

Project Start Year: 2015

Chief Investigator(s): WU, Tsz Wing Giovanna