陸機の傳記とその文學(下)

Abstract

The literary accomplishments of Lu Chi were epoch-making in a number of respects. He took the lien-chu 連珠 or "strungpearl" form, which had developed in the Han dynasty as a series of political aphorisms put together in parallelistic style, and raised it to the level of pure literature, using almost every conceivable type of metaphorical device in his fifty poems in the lien-chu style. In the field of fu writing he combined the Han style of descriptive fu with the emotional and introspective sty le of fu which had begun to develop during the Wei dynasty, creating a new form in which the world of nature and that of the human spirit were brought into a beautiful and striking harmony. In the formal development of the fu he was also responsible for creating the parallelistic and rhythmical style which became characteristic of the so-called p'ai-fu 排賦 of later periods. The parallelism of his fu in particular, based upon a pairing of images from the natural and human worlds, is not simply a superficial, decorative device of rhetoric, but a vehicle for philosophical expression. This method of expression, in which the natural and human worlds are placed in correspondence, has had an incalculable influence upon later literature. Among the other innovations of his fu is the extended work of literary criticism, the Wen fu 文賦 or "Art of Letters". This work discusses in abstract terms the psychological process of literary creation, but by considering the literary trends of Lu Chi's own time, we may discover concrete examples of the type of works upon which his theories are based and toward which his criticisms are directed. Thus not only in the political world but in the literary world as well, Lu Chi was engaged in a conscious struggle against the conditions of his time. This desire to remake the reality which he faced led to tragic consequences in political life, but in the field of literary endeavor it produced results which were outstanding in their time and which have not lost their value and interest even today.