自己を語る賦 : 班固「幽通賦」を中心に

Abstract

From Later Han dynasty onwards, the number of fu describing about the author himself has increased. There are several possible reasons for this, but the most important reason is probably that there was no other genre through which one could express oneself except for fu in this period. For instance, the fiveword poetry was still in the middle way of establishing its own style at that moment. Moreover, in Former Han, there were few opportunities for authors to talk about themselves in detail in fu, because the main readers were emperors and kings of countries. In Later Han, the readers had become more diverse. That is probably the reason why more fu began to mention about the authors themselves in this period. Ban Gu (32-92), who is a representative scholar of Later Han and also a man of letters, expressed his aim by writing "You tong fu". Its main content is that though one's encounter with a disaster or felicity is not always derived from our behavior, we have to have a strong will and take action to overcome disasters. This idea is supported by Ban Gu's experiences of not attaining his aim. Such experiences are common in Chinese authors. One of the earliest examples is Chu Ci. Also, Chu Ci is the one of the origins of fu. It is surprising that authors expressed things about themselves mostly in fu describing journeys. It may be easier to understand this tendency if we think they substituted the heaven wander in Chu Ci with a ground journey. Chu Ci was a model for authors to express their aim which could not come true, even if the journey on the ground and the wander in heaven are different.