学界对“黄粱梦”故事系统已有专门研究,但从“梦境叙事”角度的考察仍有所不足。对历代“黄粱梦”主题叙事作品梦境叙事艺术的探究,有助于发掘不同时代下的文艺趣尚与文人心曲。魏晋志怪《焦湖庙巫》是“黄粱梦”故事的本事。这一故事本质并非梦境,而是巫术操纵下的“类梦幻境”,反映了魏晋时期的时空幻化思想。《焦湖庙巫》的“非梦”定位受到六朝志怪强调真实性的梦观念之影响。随着唐人小说观念的革新,“梦”摆脱了魏晋志怪的严肃性而更加多样化,柏枕幻游演进为“黄粱一梦”。《枕中记》中“枕”功能的淡化及现实性、心理性描写的增加,反映出唐传奇中人的主体性相对上升。“黄粱梦”模式在唐代的流行,丰富了梦境的内涵,也映照出唐代文人的仕途人生幻灭之感。从元代起,“黄粱梦”分化为“吕度卢”与“钟度吕”两大系统。这一变化与宋以来吕洞宾传说的流行、元初全真道的兴起有密切关联。元代“黄粱梦”进入“度脱剧”的队列,度脱者对梦境的控制增加,梦境中的“恶境头”被放大,带有深刻的时代烙印。明代汤显祖《邯郸记》在梦境中寄托讽世精神,消解了梦境原本的理想色彩。他在批判贪婪虚伪的“矫情”的同时肯定美好合理的“真情”,反映了其贯彻一生的主“情”思想。《邯郸记》全本演出在明清文人中的流行,体现出梦境叙事对失意文人的心理代偿作用。随着其以折子戏形态登上吉庆宴会,“黄粱梦”的思想内核也发生着流失。明代另一部“黄粱梦”主题传奇是苏元俊《吕真人黄粱梦境记》,其梦境叙事呈现出诸多新特点。被度者吕洞宾从被动受道变为主动求道;梦境叙事的视角由朝廷官僚队伍向下层民生下沉,讽刺范围扩大;象征手法与超现实符号的使用,加强了戏剧的“间离”效果,促进了作品理念的传播。虽然理念性过强对作品的艺术性有所削弱,但诸多创新仍显示出作者用艺术反映现实的积极努力。上述考察具有如下意义:第一,对“黄粱梦”故事的源流作了系统梳理与辨析;第二,解读了梦境叙事演变背后的艺术性和思想性;第三,以小见大,展现了不同时代的社会背景、文艺趣尚与文人心态。
Although scholars have studied the story system of the “Huangliang Dream”, the research from the perspective of “dream narrative” is still insufficient. The exploration of the art of dream narrative in the works on theme of the “Huangliang Dream” will help to discover the literary tastes and the literati’s sentiments in different eras. The Sorcerer of Jiao Lake Temple (焦湖庙巫), one of the ghost novels in the Wei and Jin dynasties, is the origin of the “Huangliang Dream”. In essence, this story is not a dream, but a dream-like fantasy controlled by sorcery, reflecting the ideas of time and space transformation during the Wei and Jin dynasties. Its “non-dream” orientation was influenced by the concept of dream in the Six Dynasties, which put a lot of emphasis on authenticity of dream. With the innovation of the concept of fiction in Tang Dynasty, “dream” broke away from the seriousness of ghost novels in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and became more diversified, turning the “dream-like fantasy in pillow” into a real dream. In The Story of the Pillow (枕中记), the function of “pillow” was diluted, while descriptions of reality and psychology were increased, reflecting the rise of human subjectivity. The popularity of the “Huangliang Dream” pattern in the Tang Dynasty not only enriched the connotation of the dream, but also mirrored the sense of disillusionment experienced by Tang literati in their official careers. From the Yuan Dynasty onward, the “Huangliang Dream” bifurcated into two systems: “Lu Dongbin Redeems Lu Sheng” and “Zhong Liquan Redeems Lu Dongbin”. This change is closely related to the popularity of the Lu Dongbin legend since the Song Dynasty and the rise of Quanzhen Taoism in the early Yuan. In the Yuan Dynasty, the “Huangliang Dream” entered the rank of “Redemption Drama” (度脱剧). In these dramas, the redeemer exerted greater control over the dream, and the role of the “horrible circumstances” (恶境头) was magnified, leaving a deep contemporary imprint on the works. In The Handan Dream (邯郸记), Tang Xianzu couched his satire of society within the world of dream, dissolving the ideal color that the world once had. While criticizing the greedy and hypocritical “false emotions”, he also affirmed the beautiful and reasonable “true emotions”, reflecting the main idea of “qing” (情) that he carried out throughout his life. The full-length performance of The Handan Dream was popular among the literati of the Ming and Qing dynasties, showing the dream had provided psychological compensation for the disillusioned literati. As The Handan Dream performed at banquets in the form of “Zhezixi” (折子戏), the core idea of the “Huangliang Dream” had also dissipated. Su Yuanjun’s The Story of Lu Zhenren’s Huangliang Dream (吕真人黄粱梦境记), another legend of the Ming Dynasty, showed several new features on dream narrative: Lu Dongbin changed from a passive recipient of the Tao to an active pursuer of the Tao; the perspective of the dream narrative sank from the bureaucratic group to the lower classes, expanding the scope of satire; the use of symbols strengthened the alienation effect of the drama, and facilitated the expression of the author’s ideas. Despite of the artistic compromise resulted from the overemphasis on ideas, these innovations showed the author’s efforts to reflect reality through art. The implications of this study are as follows. First, it systematically analyzes the origin and evolution of the “Huangliang Dream” story. Second, it explains the art and thoughts behind the evolution of the dream narrative. Last but not least, through a particular perspective, it reveals the different social background, different literary and artistic interests, and different mentality of the literati in different eras.