詩における比喩の工拙と雅俗 : 蘇東坡の場合

Abstract

In the beginning of his poem, "On the Road to Hsin-ch'eng", written by Su Tung-p'o on his journey to Fuyang, southwest of Hangchow in 1073, we read: "The east wind knows that I am going on a journey; It stopped the sound of raindrops from the eaves. Bright clouds above the peaks don cotton-padded caps, And the rising sun hangs a copper gong atop the trees." According to the opinions of traditional Chinese critics, the metaphors used in the latter two lines are too peculiar and tend to destroy the poetic harmony of the work. Chi Yün 紀昀, a famous 18th century scholar, regarded them as "clumsy" 拙 or "bad" 惡, and much earlier Fang Hui 方回 of the 13th century expressed the same opinion. "Clumsy" and "bad", in their minds, were very near to "vulgar" 俗. The author has tried to discover the reasons for their judgement by examining and comparing the use of these words in Chi's criticisms of Su Tung-p'o's poetical works, and his criticisms of the Ying-kuei-lü-sui 瀛奎律隨, an anthology of T'ang and Sung poetry. In spite of the fact that Chi was opposed to Su Tung-p'o and other Sung poets on grounds of taste, his criticisms give us a valuable insight into the new tendencies which characterized the work of these poets, namely their use of "vulgar" words and metaphors for the sake of freshness.