「客難」をめぐって

Abstract

Ke Nan (Da Ke Nan 答客難) or Response to a Guest's Objection, attributed to Dong-fang Shuo 東方朔, is the first piece of a Han-Wei 漢魏 period literary genre, She-lun 設論 or Hypothetical Discourse. This article attempts to give a suggestion on the origin of She-lun by analysis of Ke Nan. I. Relation between Ke Nan and the skill of Warring States persuasion: It is said that Song Yu's 宋玉 Dui Chu-wang Wen 對楚王問 or Response to the Questions of the King of Chu and some pieces of Qu Yuan 屈原 are the predecessors of Ke Nan. But I suppose that the skill of Warring States persuasion, especially that of Mencius, has close relation to Ke Nan. The hero, Master Dong-fang 東方先生, not only explains his historical position as Mencius did, but also uses some words quoted from Mencius and other Warring States philosophers. The content, however, says he who is living a peaceful era cannot behave like Warring States persuaders. He also claims the necessity of self-culture by many quotations of old books, which method is an important technique of the Warring States speech. In this case, however, too many quotations result in revealing uselessness of old books. We can safely say Ke Nan is an utter parody of Warring States speech. II. The historical background of Ke Nan: Since the establishment of Han Dynasty, traveling persuaders transferred their attention from Warring States to Han Kingdoms, for example Wu 呉, Liang 梁, and Huainan 淮南 etc. They were admired by common people and Emperor Wu 武帝 also patronized them at the beginning of his reign. But he oppressed these persuaders after his conquest of the Kingdoms. Though there are important questions about the author and the text of Ke Nan, these questions are not essential. The essential matter is that Ke Nan reflects the atmosphere of Emperor Wu's reign in which the skill of Warring States persuasion becomes useless. III. Relation between Ke Nan and folktales: There are some pieces in the form of response to a person's objection besides Ke Nan, for example Shi Ji biography of fortune-tellers 史記日者列傳 and Chapter Thief Zhi 盜跖篇 in Zhuang-zi 莊子. In these pieces, a humble hero talks down high officials or highbrow in a humorous way, not a logic and persuasive one like Warring States persuaders. Moreover, these pieces have a theatrical style, in which the scene of their dialogue and personages' expression are vividly described. I suppose that these pieces developed from folktales or farces, which Ban Gu 班固 called "speaking in the street, telling on the road 街談巷語." Ke Nan, especially in its hero's humbleness, is equal to these pieces. The only difference is that Master Dong-fang cannot defeat his opponent. Ke Nan is the story that a humble man try to defeat his opponent and to reverse their position in vain. It is essential that the hero of Ke Nan is Dong-fang Shuo, a notorious fool. IV. Ke Nan and the portrait of Dong-fang Shuo in fables: In Shi Ji biography of Dong-fang Shuo, written by Zhu Shao-sun 褚少孫, his indiscreet and foolish behaviors described seems to be released from readers' unconscious desire. Afterwards, he is objected by Doctors in the Court 宮下博士諸先生 who act as a representative of readers, especially the gentry, who adores Warring States persuaders but cannot behave like them. After this "Passion, " he foretells a happy event of the Empire and advises the Emperor as if he were "the God." In this biography, it is natural that Dong-fang Shuo's response to doctors' objection is not a fictional literary piece but an factual incident. On the other hand, in Han Shu 漢書 biography, written by Ban Gu, his foolness works a chance for Emperor Wu to take a liking to him. He gave loyal councel to Emperor Wu in vain, and wrote Ke Nan for disappointment. He suffers all alone in this biography. It is suitable that Ban Gu described Ke Nan as a literary piece written by Dong-fang Shuo. The story of Ke Nan was told in various ways according to the portrait of Dong-fang Shuo that each story-tellers had in mind. It is meaningless to ask who wrote Ke Nan. Which is rather a caricature than a literary piece. It bases on the skill of Warring States persuasion and the frame of folktales. These two elements combined against a background of the end of persuaders' period, by the medium of Dong-fang Shuo, who represented people's sentiment.