香港抒情傳統論述的形態：以〈客途秋恨〉在《胭脂扣》及〈永盛街興衰史〉的轉化為例

「中國抒情傳統」立項的原因很大程度上和比較文學這個學科的發展有關。1959年學者韋勒克（René Wellek）發表文章闡述比較文學面對的危機。韋勒克的文章掀起了對比較文學這個學科的討論。其中有學者提出比較詩學和東西文學比較的方向。陳世驤在這種比較文學發展的氛圍下於1971年指出，相對於歐洲的史詩傳統，「中國的抒情傳統卓然顯現」。自此之後，抒情傳統論述在歐美及中港臺的學術界引起了關注和爭論。香港的抒情傳統論述與中國、臺灣及海外抒情傳統論述明顯不同，並沒有以雅文學及古典文學為主導的面向，反而較多集中在通俗文化（包括小說和電影）或現當代文學方面。陳國球在討論香港的抒情傳統時曾點出南音〈客途秋恨〉對香港文學及文化的影響，當中包括李碧華的小說和電影《胭脂扣》及董啟章的〈永盛街興衰史〉；然而，限於文章的關注點不同，論者並未對這些作品展開討論。這篇短文以南音為線索，透過分析《胭脂扣》及〈永盛街興衰史〉對〈客途秋恨〉的轉化，說明香港抒情傳統論述的特色，不單把陳世驤的抒情傳統論述中較少受到關注的一面，即通俗文化在抒情傳統論述中所扮演的重要角色呈現出來，而且亦有助我們思考由比較詩學衍生出來的中國抒情傳統論述的複雜性。
The concept of the Chinese lyrical tradition is a research topic in the field of comparative literature. Following René Wellek's identification of the crisis of Comparative Literature in 1959, the discipline has received an increasing amount of attention. In response to this crisis, various solutions have been proposed by critics, with comparative poetics being one such solution. Chen Shih-hsiang's 陳世驤 announcement that the "Chinese literary tradition as a whole is a lyrical tradition" was actually an outgrowth of comparative poetics. His provocative pronouncement initiated discussion and debate on the Chinese lyrical tradition within research communities in the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China. The present article focuses on the uniqueness of Hong Kong lyrical discourse. As far as the study of conceptions of the Chinese lyrical tradition is concerned, critics often focus on the relationship between elite culture, classical Chinese literature, and the Chinese lyrical tradition while the close relationship between popular culture, modern Chinese literature, and the Chinese lyrical tradition is mostly neglected. I believe that, to a great extent, the key features of the Hong Kong lyrical tradition correspond to those forgotten traits of the Chinese lyrical tradition delineated by Chen. In "A Literary Study on 'Sorrow on an Autumn Trip' 〈客途秋恨〉," Leonard K. K. Chan 陳國球 examines the uniqueness of Hong Kong lyrical discourse, pointing out that the Naamyam 南音 lyric "Sorrow on an Autumn Trip" has had a great influence on Lillian Lee Pik-wah's 李碧華 Rouge 《胭脂扣》 (the novel as well as the film adaptation) and on Dung Kai-cheung's 董啟章 "The Rise and Fall of Wing Shing Street"〈永盛街興衰史〉. Since the relationship between these works is not the major concern of Chan's article, I believe a study of the connection between the Naamyam lyric and both popular and elite culture not only helps fill a gap in existing scholarship-while delineating the essential aspects of a Hong Kong lyrical tradition in particular-but also provides a fuller picture of the Chinese lyrical tradition in general. Copyright © 2021 國立清華大學中國文學系.