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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response back to Student Zhang in person, then further preparing following steps. Crimson acts not only as a gobetween messenger for the obligation of a maid, but also as an intelligent individual who actively and cautiously propels the romantic relation between her lady and Student Zhang.
Although the 1498 Hongzhi Edition depicts Crimson‟s noticeable initiative and cleverness, Jin Shengtan‟s 1644 Edition excises the entire beginning paragraph of Crimson. It might be true that Crimson‟s active role in the 1498 Hongzhi Edition still presents author‟s indirect exposition of Oriole through the technique which Jin characterizes as “painting the clouds to bring into relief the moon”2(烘云托月). However, Crimson‟s active part violates Jin‟s principle to put Oriole as the unquestionably central figure in the entire play.3 According to Jin‟s commentary, he regards Crimson‟s initiative as an overstepping gesture of her obligation as a maid and an improper expression of her individual dignity (意则徒以双文之体尊严,身为下婢 必不可以得言4). Since a maid must not acquire the right to speak too much, Jin directly excises Crimson‟s lines and performance at the beginning of the same scene. Furthermore, from the gender perspective, there is a competing relation between the two leading female roles Crimson and Oriole. Jin‟s reduction of Crimson‟s performance workload indirectly shifts more attention to Oriole from one female role to the other, consolidating Oriole‟s central position in the play.
Besides cutting off Crimson‟s spoken part, Jin also revises Student Zhang‟s opening words. While in the 1498 Hongzhi Edition Student Zhang follows Crimson‟s departure by stating that “There‟s a lot to what Crimson says. It‟s getting late. Can‟t you come out more quickly, moon?”, Jin Shengtan‟s Edition begins directly with Student Zhang‟s monologue:
(张生上云)红娘教我今夜花园中待小姐烧香时
Due to a deletion of Crimson‟s opening words in Jin‟s Edition, Student Zhang first briefly summarizes Crimson‟s attempt to advise him (教) to play the zither to convey his affection for Oriole through the tune of zither. The following line “寻思此言, 深有至理” 6 shifts from Crimson‟s suggestion to Student Zhang‟s own reflection on the plan. His firm agreement and his immediate action transfer the initiative from Crimson to himself. Student Zhang‟s following complaint about the moon‟s lateness expresses his anxiety about his plan. The evocation of the moon also clearly signifies that the act commences at night time. On the contrary, it is difficult to determine when Act 5 begins in the 1498 Hongzhi Edition because there is a pause between Crimson‟s going offstage and Student Zhang‟s taking to the stage. The pause blurs the progression of time in dramatic performance. Furthermore, Jin‟s more concise opening shifts more workload to Student Zhang as a narrative device for both Oriole and Crimson. Due to his desire to have a romantic relation with Oriole, Student Zhang‟s retelling of Crimson‟s plan not only emits a sense of spontaneity, but also embodies his keen concern and genuine intention. As the only leading male character in the play, Student Zhang offers a balance between Crimson and Oriole to ensure Oriole‟s central position for the sake of Jin‟s fundamental principle. StudentZhang‟s indirect reference to Oriole not only enhances the technique of “painting the clouds to bring into relief the moon,” but also satisfies Chin‟s desire to portray Oriole as more typically a traditional Chinese lady from a good family. 7 Oriole‟s well-bred characteristic requires readers to learn about her through the lens of Student Zhang or Oriole.
A comparison between Jin Shengtan‟s 1644 Edition and the 1498 Hongzhi Edition embodies Jin‟s bold deletion of Crimson‟s spoken part and revision of Student Zhang‟s opening words. His textual changes for The Story of the Western Wing effectively ensure Oriole as the unquestionable central figure in the play and utilize Student Zhang to neutralize a potential competing relation between Oriole and Crimson. The depiction of the romantic relation between Oriole and Student Zhang through the voice of Student Zhang emphasizes the technique “painting the clouds to bring into relief the moon” and conservative and well-bred nature of Oriole. Jin‟s more concise opening also complies with author‟s technique “one stroke of the brush serving the purpose
2 John C.Y. Wang, Chin Sheng-t’an: His Life and Literary Criticism (Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 2004), pp. 315.
3 Wang, Chin Sheng-t’an, pp. 317.
4 Wang Shifu, Jin Shengtan Pi Ben Xi Xiang Ji, pp. 135.
5 Wang Shifu, Jin Shengtan Pi Ben Xi Xiang Ji.(Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 1986), pp. 136.
6 Wang Shifu, Jin Shengtan Pi Ben Xi Xiang Ji.(Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 1986), pp. 136.
7 John C.Y. Wang, Chin Sheng-t’an: His Life and Literary Criticism (Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 2004), pp. 321.
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Besides the validity of the Jin Shengtan‟s textual changes at the beginning of “琴心,” his annotated commentary of the same act is also noticeable. Jin‟s comment at the beginning of the scene “ 字字写景，字 字是人” 9 reveals his tendency to interpret each line in the play as an evidence of the evocation of scenery and the shaping of characters. Jin‟s statement “夫双文精于琴理，故能于无文字中听出文字”10suggests his inclination to read the play also as amusicology of the zither and his desire to appreciate the melody by examining literary texts. Following the lyrics which describe the sound of the zither, Jin cites one poem by Han Yu; he then he cites Ouyang Xiu‟s criticism of Han Yu, but disagrees with Ouyang Xiu:
韩昌黎听琴诗云：“昵昵儿女语，恩怨相尔汝；划然变轩昂，勇士赴敌场。 ”正与此一样文 字也。欧阳文忠强作解事云：“此事虽甚奇丽，然只是听琵琶诗，不是听琴诗。误也。” 11
Jin‟s comment 誤也 here suggests that The Story of the Western Wing achieves the same thing as Han Yu‟s great poem, but Ouyang Xiu fails to understand the greatness of Han Yu‟s great piece.12However, as far as I am concerned, Jin Shengtan‟s excessive concentration on the shaping of characters, scenic evocations and theoretical interpretation of music embodies his treatment of The Story of the Western Wing as a reading text rather than a play to perform. His theoretical commentary restricts himself to a narrow perspective as a reader rather than an audience. Just as Li Yu comments on Jin Shengtan, “Hsi-hsiangji is fitting only for the perusal and amusement of literary man, but not for enactment by actors.” 13 Also John Wang explains that “by „enactment‟ or „enacting,‟ Li Yu here referring to the technical aspects of singing and performing a play of this type.” 14 Jin‟s perusal of The Story of the Western Wing not only restricts the play to the literary class, but also inevitably neglects the performative quality of a drama.
In Chapter 54 of the Story of the Stone, in contrast to Jin Shengtan‟s commentary, Grandma Jia offers a comment on The Story of the Western Wing from the perspective of the audience and particularly focuses on the instrument in the performance:
也有，只是像方才《西楼 楚江晴》一支，多有小生吹箫合的，这大套的实在少……我像他 这么大的时节，他爷爷有一班小戏，偏有一个弹琴的凑了来，即如《西厢记》的《听琴》 《玉簪记》的《琴挑》，《续琵琶》的《胡笳十八拍》，竟成了真的了。15
Grandma Jia points out that it is unusual to play a whole sequence with only string accompaniment, because normally there are only the woodwind parts in the orchestral accompaniment on stage. Since her grandfather happens to have a qin-player in the troupe, Grandma Jia has the chance to watch the performance of The Story of the Western Wing with qin or zither accompaniment. The juxtaposition of three famous acts concerning qin also highlights the relationship between The Story of the Western Wing and musical performance. The rare opportunity to hear the sound of zither in an actual performance leads me to question the validity of Jin Shengtan‟s commentary, because his comments mislead readers to believe the sound of zither is common in a play. Even if there is no sound when we read, we can imagine the sound of the music through the connotations of lyrics and association to other literary texts. The rare existence of actual tune of the zither gives rise to the contradiction between reading a script and watching a performance. Even for the same scene, reading the script and watching the performance are definitely two distinctive experiences, but Grandma Jia‟s comment
8 John C.Y. Wang, Chin Sheng-t’an: His Life and Literary Criticism (Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 2004), pp. 312.
9 Wang Shifu, Jin Shengtan Pi Ben Xi Xiang Ji.(Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 1986), pp. 137.
10 Wang Shifu, Jin Shengtan Pi Ben Xi Xiang Ji.(Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 1986), pp. 141.
11 Wang Shifu, Jin Shengtan Pi Ben Xi Xiang Ji.(Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 1986), pp. 139.
12I gratefully acknowledge the critical feedback I received from Professor Ling Hon Lam.
13 John C.Y. Wang, Chin Sheng-t’an: His Life and Literary Criticism (Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 2004), pp. 312.
14 John C.Y. Wang, Chin Sheng-t’an: His Life and Literary Criticism (Shanghai: Shanghai gujichubanshe, 2004), pp. 312.
15 Cao Xueqin, Guofanlou Chongjiao Pingzhu Hongloumeng (Middle Volume) (Liaoning: Liaoning Renmin chubanshe, 2005), pp. 910.
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www.ijlrhss.com of ten to a hundred strokes.” 8 The evocation of the moon without a pause between Crimson and Student Zhang also clarifies the timeline inside the play and compacts the plot.
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reminds us of another possible appreciation perspective with regard to the performative quality as well as dramatic techniques, which are excluded in Jin Shengtan‟s commentary.
By making textual changes such as cutting off Crimson‟s spoken parts and revising Student Zhang‟s opening words, Jin Shengtan effectively shapes Oriole‟s central role as a traditional lady and enhances Wang Shifu‟s literary techniques such as “painting the clouds to bring into relief the moon” and “one stroke of the brush serving the purpose of ten to a hundred strokes.” However, Jin‟s literary and theoretical commentary show his narrow perspective as a meticulous and imaginative reader rather than a viewer in the theater who looks for performative quality in the play. Reference to Grandma Jia‟s comment on the same scene reminds us readers not to be lost only in the literary interpretation, but to take a more comprehensive stance to evaluate one play as both a reader and an audience.