Purposely Lost in the Labyr inth: The Postmodern Condition of Hongloumeng

本計劃將以當代理論對紅樓夢做全面 的「重讀」。本計劃共分七章：１）兩種 起源論：前緣與偶然；２）故入迷宮：溯 源與迷離；３）失樂園／詩樂園：藝術與 人生；４）致命的吸引力：陷阱與逃逸； ５）黛玉或寶釵？：選擇與推延；６）肉 淫／意淫：執著與嬉遊；７）結論：曹雪 芹v.s.曹雪芹。第一章建立整個重讀的基 礎。主要採用「自傳」與「後設小說」的 理論，把紅樓夢視為「小說中的小說」之 結構— — 在外的《紅樓夢》為框，裹著在 內的《石頭記》則為「石頭」的「自傳」。 此章的探討將使我們注意到本書其實有一 個不曾為人注意的層面，其中蘊涵了對藝 術與人生關係的精妙見地。第二章採用巴 達業的「迷宮理論」，剖析薛蟠／香菱／ 夏桂與寶玉／黛玉／寶釵這個令人不解的 平行關係。而得出本書朝向「流失」（傳 統意義）的基本取向。第三章承繼前二章 所發展出的架構，以後結構與後現代文化 理論，更深入探討本書中對藝術與人生關 係的複雜態度。換言之，即探討書中如何 看待「詩樂園」與「失樂園」的關係。第 四章以波希亞的「誘惑理論」與拉崗的「觀 視理論」，解析本書中太虛幻境、石頭、 寶玉三者的拉鋸關係。即太虛幻境與石頭 如何各自以其「寶玉之起源論」誘惑寶玉。 經此我們也可以把太虛的真正本質— — 儒 家體制的共犯— — 和盤托出。第五章以心 理分析與後結構的理論透視寶玉在黛玉與 寶釵之間須作選擇的象徵意義。指出此乃 「人類基本處境」的體現。第六章繼續以 心理分析與後結構的理論解讀「肉淫」與 「意淫」之間似是而非的親密關係，導出 本書中「執著」與「嬉遊」的衝突。第七 章為結論，將以當代關於現代性與後現代 性的理論，針對貫穿全書的兩種不同、但 又似為作者同時接受的人生態度，剖析其 對照與糾結之關係。This project purports to present in book form a re-reading of The Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong-lou-meng) in light of contemporary literary and cultural theories. It is divided into seven chapters: 1) Two Accounts of Origin:Predestination and Chance; 2) Paradise Lost / Paradise Poetic: Art and Life; 3) Purposely Lost in the Labyrinth: Tracing Origin and Obliquing Origin (or semination and dis-semination); 4) Fatal Seduction: Trap and Flight; 5) Daiyu or Baochai?: Decision and Deferral; 6) Yin: Attachment and Differance; 7) Conclusion: Cao Xueqin v.s. Cao Xueqin. The first chapter establishes the basis for the whole reading. I will mainly employ the theories of autobiography and metafiction to posit the thesis that Hongloumeng is to a surprising extent a metafiction. The outer layer of Hongloumeng frames the inner core of Shitou- ji . The novel therefore has a never suspected agenda that develops a rather sophisticated comment on the relationship between art and life. The second chapter utilizes Bataille’s theories of general economy and labyrinth to examine the confounding parallel between two triangle relationships: Xue Pan/ Xiang-Ling/ Xia Jin-result will bring to light the novel’s basic tendency toward loss (of conventional “meaning”). On the basis of the insights provided by the first two chapters, the third chapter further delves into the rebus of the relationship between art and life as bodied forth in the novel. In other words, what concerns us here can also be understood as how this novel negotiates between “paradise lost” and “paradise poetic.” Chapter four makes a combined use of Baudrillard’s theory of seduction Lacan’s theory of gaze and look to examine how Baoyu is caught in a tug-of-war between the Gread Void and the stone, both of which claim to be the place where he has originated. This examination will reveal the true nature of the Great Void as an accomplice of the Confucian thinking, a phenomenon which has never been satisfactorily accounted for. Chapter five explores in the light of poststructuralist theories and psychoanalysis the significance of Baoyu’s having to choose between Daiyu and Baochai, a significance that actually underlies the human condition. Chapter six uses similar theories to analyze the entangled relationship between rou-yin and yi-yin, one which eventually will appear to poise uneasily on a tension between attachment and differance. In Chapter seven we come to a tentative conclusion of this re-reading. It will enlist the theories concerning modernity and (of) postmodernity to shed light on the two intertwining and yet often conflicting attitudes toward life that underlie this novel