A Reinterpretation of the Significance of the Prefaces to Jin ciyuan by Chen Weisong and Others

Abstract

《今詞苑》三卷，清康熙十年（1671）由徐喈鳳刊行，陳維崧（1626–1682）、吳逢原、吳本嵩、潘眉四人合編，各有序文，闡明理念。1在順治、康熙這段時間，除了《今詞苑》之外，尚有眾多以「今」為書名的選本問世，詩類如順治年間魏畊、錢价人所輯《今詩粹》，魏裔介《今詩溯洄集》（又名《溯洄集》）；文類如陳維崧、冒禾書、冒丹書合編《今文選》，魏裔介《今文溯洄集》，諸匡鼎《今文短篇》、《今文大篇》；詞類如陳維崧等人合編《今詞苑》，顧貞觀、納蘭性德所輯《今詞初集》等。此外，與這類選本題名為「今」相近者，尚有王晫所編《今世說》等。雖然，歷來不乏當代文學的編選；不過，如此時文人紛紛指名「今」選，卻較為少見，因而成為特殊的文學現象，值得關注。此一現象背後，呈現清初文人對於「今」所表徵的價值認知與重造。本文即據此對《今詞苑》的意義，重新解讀。

In the early Qing dynasty, compiling contemporary ci was a fashion. Jin ciyuan or Jin cixuan edited by Chen Weisong (1626-1682) and others was one of the representative works. Four editors expressed their ideals in their respective prologues. On the surface, the goal of editing Jin ciyuan was to diminish the leading role of the ci community. However, profoundly speaking, the editors, through compiling jinci, intended to reflect upon the concept of domination, and reconstruct it as a cultural value. Such awareness of theirs was much stronger compared with other contemporary jinci editors. Therefore, the essay focuses on this matter. The significance of the compilation of Jin ciyuan is not limited to its historical meaning in the history of ci but also includes its indication of the new cultural perspectives of the people involved with ci in the early Qing dynasty. The so-called "new" does not refer to the unprecedented innovation but rather a counterbalance with the previous fashion as well as its viewpoint, and furthermore, the reconstruction of its predecessors. Based on this, the significance of the compilation of jinci is not simply replacing the "old ci" with the jinci. It remodels the example of ci and presents the conflicts and restoration of the two "heretic" and "orthodox" ultimate values. However, because the viewpoints of the editors are not quite the same, when it comes to interpretation, reading through the four prologues should serve as a means to comprehend the significance of the compilation. The academic field today rarely reads other prologues but mainly reads the prologue by Chen Weisong to understand the work. The interpretation usually concentrates on its historical meaning with respect to the literary history of ci but rarely touches its cultural ideal of reforming the people involved with ci in the early Qing dynasty. This study attempts to reinterpret the significance of the compilation of Jin ciyuan.