三面瑪利亞--論高一志《聖母行實》裏的聖母奇蹟故事的跨國流變及其意義
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Date
2009-03-01
Authors
李奭學
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中央研究院中國文哲研究所
Abstract
本文旨在探討明末耶穌會士高一志的《聖母行實》，尤重此書第三卷所收之一百則瑪利亞的奇蹟故事。在中文的書寫史上，《聖母行實》應該是第一部的瑪利亞傳，高一志可能綜理歐洲各家之說而成其「譯述」，在中國可稱「偉構」。本文雖然難以指出高一志「譯述」時的底本，但歐洲中古以還盛行大量的瑪利亞奇蹟故事集，本文仍擇其優者比較之，果然發現從浮士德博士的原型到各種歐洲文學的母題，我們都可見諸《聖母行實》中的瑪利亞傳奇。本文特別處理瑪利亞在華的三種形象︰首先，她是人神的中保，體恤下民﹔其次，她是位愛疾妒的新娘，尤其不許有人比她更美﹔第三種是「送子觀音」，對明代的基督徒或甚而是對教外人士而言，聖母懷抱聖嬰的立像像極了「送子觀音」，所以高一志在書中特闢欄目表彰之。瑪利亞的這三種形象和歐洲神學與社會變遷有關，明代的基督徒則從自己的文化出發，反視之爲理所當然。就奇蹟故事的本質而言，《聖母行實》應該是文學想像而不僅僅是神學論述的結果。
This paper discusses the Ming Jesuit Alfonso Vagnoni's Shengmu xingshi or Vita of the Virgin Mary (1631), a work that places special emphasis on the Mariale or miracles of Mary, and which is generally considered the first biography of Mary in Chinese. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact sources of Vagnoni's depiction of the Mariale, this paper identifies several popular collections of Mary's miracles dating from the European Middle Ages which may have influenced the author. Surprisingly, the first model of the Faustian stories, together with other literary motifs in the history of European literature, can be found in this three-juan life of Mary, which was put into Chinese in 1631. In addition to Mary's role as Jesus' mother, three other aspects of the Virgin receive prominent attention in Vagnoni's work: First, Mary assumes the role of the Intercessor between her followers and Jesus or God; second, she plays the role of the jealous bride who refuses any comparison of her beauty to that of other women, and finally, Mary appears as a Western counterpart to Guanyin, the son-giver, a role often overlooked in the European Mariale tradition. This paper argues that the three roles Mary assumes in Vagnoni's Chinese rendition were shaped by changing theological and social circumstances from the first century through the Ming. Shengmu xingshi, the first biography of Mary in the history of China, thus takes on pivotal significance both from a theological and from a literary standpoint.
This paper discusses the Ming Jesuit Alfonso Vagnoni's Shengmu xingshi or Vita of the Virgin Mary (1631), a work that places special emphasis on the Mariale or miracles of Mary, and which is generally considered the first biography of Mary in Chinese. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact sources of Vagnoni's depiction of the Mariale, this paper identifies several popular collections of Mary's miracles dating from the European Middle Ages which may have influenced the author. Surprisingly, the first model of the Faustian stories, together with other literary motifs in the history of European literature, can be found in this three-juan life of Mary, which was put into Chinese in 1631. In addition to Mary's role as Jesus' mother, three other aspects of the Virgin receive prominent attention in Vagnoni's work: First, Mary assumes the role of the Intercessor between her followers and Jesus or God; second, she plays the role of the jealous bride who refuses any comparison of her beauty to that of other women, and finally, Mary appears as a Western counterpart to Guanyin, the son-giver, a role often overlooked in the European Mariale tradition. This paper argues that the three roles Mary assumes in Vagnoni's Chinese rendition were shaped by changing theological and social circumstances from the first century through the Ming. Shengmu xingshi, the first biography of Mary in the history of China, thus takes on pivotal significance both from a theological and from a literary standpoint.