說故事．創新生：析論湯亭亭的《第五和平書》

Life, Writing, and Peace-Reading Maxine Hong Kingston's ＂The Fifth Book of Peace＂

10.7015/JEAS.200809.0377

單德興(Te-Hsing Shan)

湯亭亭 ； 《第五和平書》 ； 和平 ； 創傷 ； 生命書寫 ； Maxine Hong Kingston ； The Fifth Book of Peace ； peace ； trauma ； life writing

歐美研究

38卷3期（2008 / 09 / 01）

377 - 413

繁體中文

湯亭亭的《第五和平書》出版至今反應頗為冷淡，原因之一是評者不知如何處理這部龐雜、怪異的作品，以及作者期望透過書寫促使讀者面對美國的集體創傷（尤其是越戰），並探尋解決之道。本文試圖解讀這篇龐雜、怪異、費解的文本，分為五節：（一）鋪陳此書被冷落的原因，針對誤解提出反駁，並拈出「生命書寫」的詮釋進路；（二）將此書置於作者的寫作脈絡及生命軌跡中，予以整體觀照，指出「和平」是她生命與創作的主軸；（三）探討大火使她屋燬稿亡，體驗摧殘，但也激發她深切的同理心，協助他人走出傷慟；（四）著眼於創傷敘事，指出湯亭亭如何結合寫作專長與一行禪師的正念禪，引領退伍軍人寫作坊的成員透過書寫走出昔日創傷，獲得當下安詳，並致力於未來和平；（五）強調湯亭亭及退伍軍人如何將生命、書寫、和平合而為一，藉由說故事創造個人與集體的新生。

Unlike her former works, Maxine Hong Kingston's The Fifth Book of Peace received little attention. This is unthinkable for a writer who has been hailed as the most often taught writer living in the US. One of the main reasons is that critics do not know how to cope with this ＂weird＂ text. Nor do they know how to respond to the author's urging her fellow countrymen to face the US collective traumas, especially the Vietnam War. This paper tries to approach this intriguing text from the perspective of life writing. Part I points out the negligence of this book, refutes some serious misunderstandings, and offers ＂life writing＂ as a critical approach. Part II places this book in the context of Kingston's writing career and life's trajectory and highlights that ＂peace＂ has always been her major concern. Part III argues that whereas the 1991 Berkeley-Oakland fire destroyed the manuscript of her Fourth Book of Peace along with her house, this ＂baptism of fire＂ generated an empathy which enabled her to better understand the fellow sufferers of the world, especially veterans. Part IV deals with the subjects of trauma narrative and indicates how Kingston combines her writing expertise with the Buddhist mindfulness expounded by Thich Nhat Hanh to lead the Veterans Writing Workshop. And Part V stresses how Kingston and her writing community, by combining life, writing, and peace, create new lives both personally and collectively.

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