International Journal of Latest Research in Humanities and Social Science (IJLRHSS) Volume 08 - Issue 06, 2025 www.ijlrhss.com || PP. 198-201
Eloquence of the Zither: The Validity of Jin Shengtan’s Textual Changes and the Limitation of Jin’s Comments Vivien Jiaqian Zhu Abstract:As a well-known critic in the seventeenth-century China, Jin Shengtan distinguishes himself through his innovative reading strategies as well as on strong attack on previous hermeneutics practices. This paper compares the same openings of the Act 5 of Book II in the 1498 Hongzhi edition of Wang Shifu‟s Xixiang ji (The Story of the Western Wing) and Jin Shengtan‟s edition, examining the textual changes Jin made therein and the limitation of his commentary. Moreover, this paper associates Jin Shengtan‟s annotated commentary with Grandma Jia‟s commentary of the same scene in Chapter 54 of The Story of the Stone. 摘要：金聖歎是十七世紀中國著名的批評家，他以其創新的解讀策略以及對以往詮釋學實踐的有力批判 而著稱。本文通過比較了 1498 年弘治版王實甫《西廂記》第二回第五折與金聖嘆本批《西廂記》本的 的相同開篇，探討了金聖嘆對文本的改動、刪補修正及其註釋的局限性。此外，本文也將金聖嘆的註釋 與賈母對《紅樓夢》第五十四回同一場景的註釋連結起來。 One of the most intriguing moments in The Story of the Western Wing is that Student Zhang plays the Zither 琴 (qin) to express his passion 情 (Qing) for Oriole through the tune of “The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate” in Act 5 of Book II. Besides the romantic interaction through music and lyrics, I am curious about the intention of playing the Zither for love pursuit and hence want to argue for the validity of Jin Shengtan‟s textual revisions and the limitation of his commentary in this paper. Comparing the same beginning of the last act of Book II in the 1498 Hongzhi edition and Jin Shengtan‟s Edition, I will examine the textual changes he made and the effectiveness of textual changes. Moreover, I will further analyze Jin Shengtan‟s annotated commentary at the beginning of “琴心.” Referring to Grandma Jia‟s commentary of the same scene in Chapter 54 of The Story of the Stone, I will point out the limitation of Jin‟s commentary through a comparison between Jin‟s and Grandma Jia‟s commentary. In the 1498 Hongzhi Edition, Act 5 of Book II begins with Crimson‟s monologue to advise Student Zhang to play the zither, which represents Crimson‟s personal quick wit, careful thought and active role as a gobetween: (Crimson speaks) I see you have a bagged zither. You must be skilled at that. My missy is devoted to the zither. Tonight when I go with missy to the flower garden to burn incense, you should start playing when you hear me signal you with a cough. I‟ll see what she has to say when she hears it. I‟ll also tell her what you said. If anything comes of it, I‟ll come back tomorrow to tell you in person.1 Sighting Student Zhang‟s zither, Crimson immediately relates to her lady‟s devotion to zither. Crimson‟s familiarity with Oriole and acute perception of the similarity between Student Zhang and Oriole enable herself to initiate a practical suggestion for Student Zhang. Crimson‟s plan embodies her exceptional intelligence as a maid and meticulous thought of an overall situation. On one hand, she tries to create an opportunity for Student Zhang and Oriole to meet; on the other hand, her signal of coughing eliminates the possibility of others discovering the private meeting between Student Zhang and Oriole. In order to help Student Zhang, she will observe Oriole‟s reaction and report Oriole‟s Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Professor Ling Hon Lam for his encouragement and his many enlightening comments in different stages of the project. I also wish to thank School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Chongqing University 重慶大學・外國語學院 for an invitation to present this paper.本文在 2025 年 6 月 17-20 日重慶大學“春季海內外優秀青年學者論壇外國語學院分論壇”上宣讀，這裏對會議組織者以及其他與會 學者提出的問題和意見表示衷心的感謝。本文是筆者在重慶大學外國語學院的演講，承評議人李玲教授、 李孝英教授、王志松教授、毛亞斌教授、盛荔教授、袁繼鋒教授、毛凌瀅教授、李永毅教授、劉揚教授、龍 藜教授討論指教，特此致謝。寫作過程中，感謝加州大學伯克利分校林凌翰教授詳盡的評論。 1 Wang Shifu, The Story of the Western Wing, trans. Stephen West and Wilt Idema (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995), selections, pp.183.
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