潘岳「悼亡詩」論

Abstract

Tao-wang-shih, which mourns the death of his wife, is the most famous poem of the Hsi-Chin 西晉 poet P'an Yue. Critics has interpreted the poem as a manifestation of the poet's eternal sorrows when he laments the passing away of his wife. However, if we approach the poem without considering such extrinsic factors as the author's life, we are left with the impression that the poem is in fact a result of composing according to an exemplary model. This poem which is anthologized in Wen-hsüan 文選 consists of three stanzas, I shall begin with an analysis of the structure among these three stanzas. First, we notice that every stanza consists of three parts, all composed in different manners though. The first stanza, in which the metre proceeds consistently, can be divided into three parts by two changes of locales. On the other hand, the second and third stanzas are divided into three parts by changing its metre twice. While the backdrop to the second stanza is fixed in the interior of his deceased wife's chamber, that of the third stanza moves from indoor to outdoor, that is, from her chamber to her tomb. The whole poem sees alternative contrast in terms of its metric scheme and plot arrangement. Secondly, I shall illustrate how the chief motifs are connected structurally. The image of seasons, for example, appears in each stanza, but the ways of expression vary from the general to the detailed. While general descriptions appearing in the third stanza and the first part of the first stanza are followed by an overflow of sorrows over the irreversibility of his wife's death, concrete and elaborate descriptions appearing in the second stanza and the third part of the first stanza are accompanied by the expression of griefs over her absence. The motif of trying to drive away his grief may also be classified into two modes: the actual and the mental. In other words, the widower had decided on the one hand to resume his duty and on the other hand to adopt the philosophies of Chuang-tzu 莊子. As can be expected, the former appears in the third stanza and the first part of the first stanza, whereas the later in the second stanza and the third part of the first stanza. Obviously, these motifs do not recur at random, and we can recognise that the second stanza is actually a variation of the third (and second) part of the first stanza, and that the third stanza as a variation of the first part of the first stanza. P'an Yüeh has also composed other works which mourn his wife's death: Tao-wang-fu 悼亡賦 and Ai-yung-shih-wen 哀永逝文. These two works represent his grief upon the funeral ceremony realistically, while Tao-wang-shih depicts his grief after the funeral in a much more abstract literary mode. This distinction corresponds to the difference in the style employed: Fu 賦, Wen 文, or Shih 詩. This proves to be important when we examine the relation between these three works and Kua-fu-fu 寡婦賦 written by the same writer on the death of his friend on behalf of the widow. The composition of Kua-fu-fu is similar to that of Tao-wang-fu and Ai-yung-shih-wen but different from that of Tao-wang-shih in that the description centres on the process of the funeral ceremony. Many of the expressions and motifs are common in these three works, the chief motifs of Tao-wang-shih, for example, are found in Kua-fu-fu. We may say that Kua-fu-fu serves as an exemplary for these three works. No doubt there are differences between the feelings of a widower and a widow, and between poems written for oneself and for the others, but the striking similarities show that such difference are not essential for these works. The act of composing according to a prior model easily crosses the border of the 'real' and the 'unreal'. In addition, as the author himself remarks, Kua-fu-fu can be traced to works written in the Chien-An 建安 period. Thus the model itself is also a work written in imitation. To conclude, we can see how a work which is supposed to be a spontaneous overflow of the writer's personal griefs has been written as a result of the influence from a work written for the others according to an exemplary model.