Shen Congwen's The Husband - Miao Marriage and Christian Marriage Law in the Early Republic

從沈從文〈丈夫〉論民國初年之苗族婚姻與基督教婚姻法

胡龍隆(Lung-Lung HU)

Shen Congwen ； The Husband ； Miao Culture ； Marriage Law ； Christianity ； Monogamy ； The Garden of Eden ； 沈從文 ； 丈夫 ； 苗文化 ； 婚姻法 ； 基督教文化 ； 一夫一妻 ； 伊甸園

哲學與文化

49卷6期（2022 / 06 / 01）

95 - 114

英文

This paper aims to use Shen Congwen's (沈從文, 1902-1988) short story The Husband (丈夫, published in 1930) to examine ideas of monogamy and marriage in Miao culture. Shen was a Chinese Miao who wrote about the Miao people (苗族), an ethnic group in China that contains within it several racial and cultural divisions. Shen's story The Husband aims to show that Miao couples have a bond which corresponds in strength and validity to the Western idea of monogamy as enshrined in Christian marriage law. Marriage law in the West has a long history. Marriage itself has its roots in early Christianity. The act of marriage is considered a sacrament, alongside baptism and communion. This holy act was soon protected by a large legal edifice which became the basis for Western marriage law. When Western marriage laws were introduced into China from the West and, at the end of the Qing dynasty in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, traditional Chinese laws were reformed, the principle of monogamy in Chinese marriage was also established. Since monogamy did not exist as a concept in Chinese society and contradicted traditional Chinese ideas about marriage, many Han people in the early Chinese Republic continued their practice of concubinage and ended up violating the idea of monogamy of new marriage laws. On the other hand, the Miao people, although their culture was more tolerant of informal romantic relationships, tended to display a greater degree of monogamy within them. Therefore, by considering marriage from a legal and religious point of view, the author aims to analyse The Husband to show that Shen not only criticised the dark side of society in the early Republic from his perspective as a Miao, but also used a story that resembles the account of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis as a way to praise the Miao concept of marriage and love. Since The Husband has been adapted for the screen as Mainland Prostitute (村妓, Cunji, 1994), the film will also be used to accentuate the author's idea.

本文擬從沈從文的短篇小說〈丈夫〉（發表於1930年）來檢視苗文化中的婚姻與一夫一妻觀念。沈從文作為具有苗血統的作家，寫了很多關於苗族（中國少數民族之一，具有多個文化與族群分支）的故事。沈從文的〈丈夫〉旨在描寫，近似於基督教婚姻法中神聖的一夫一妻觀念，苗人夫妻間堅定的羈絆。婚姻法在西方有很久遠的歷史，其根源可追溯於早期的基督教文明。婚姻，與受洗和聖餐一樣，被視為一種神聖的結合。這種神聖性隨後被法律所確保，再進一步成為西方的婚姻法。當西方婚姻法在清末，傳進是時傳統法律也處於革新時期的中國，確立了中國現代婚姻法中一夫一妻制。一夫一妻原本並不存在傳統中國社會，而與中國傳統婚姻一夫一妻多妾的概念相衝突。民國早期，很多人在法律中一夫一妻原則確立後，仍然違背法律進行納妾。相對於漢文化，苗文化儘管對婚姻此觀念比較開放包容，苗族配偶仍很大程度地實踐一夫一妻原則。因此，筆者擬從法律與宗教的角度分析〈丈夫〉以闡明，除了揭發民國早期社會黑暗面此一視角之外，沈從文其實是以一個類似創世紀伊甸園裡亞當夏娃的故事來讚美苗族夫妻間的婚姻與愛情。因為這篇小說亦曾於1994年改編成電影《村妓》，所以筆者亦會援引電影中的內容來支持文中之論點。

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