徐國能散文研究（2003－2023）

Abstract

白話散文向來是最能顯現作家氣韻的文學載體，在此前提下，若作家為當代人物，因仍處於活動與變動之中，其散文創作亦然，故評論往往難以周延或一語中的，是以，如何懇切且準確地品評當代散文作家，遂成為一道艱鉅的難題。而隨著108課綱運作，越來越多白話散文走入眾人的生活視野，且選文亦不乏相對年輕、1970年後出生的作家散文，其中，筆者認為以徐國能的散文最具討論價值，卻最缺乏適當的論述。徐國能於2003年出版首本散文集《第九味》即獲得高度關注與評論，當中多以懷舊傷逝、古雅蒼老作為其標誌，然而，自2011年起，徐國能開始創作《文字魔法師》等適合兒童、少年的讀物，又以2022年出版的《怪咖老師的神祕時間》對照，其題材內容與敘述筆觸與《第九味》大相逕庭，且此類作品總數共佔據其散文集的一半，顯然，過往的評論標誌與風格側寫，已無法全面涵蓋其變化。時至今日，〈第九味〉不但被選入高中教科書，還成了香港入學考試的選文，關注仍在，同時也代表既有的標誌與評論亦在。為了發展更適切的評析，筆者以徐國能二十年來的散文為依據，梳理其創作趨向，並藉此由小見大，作為評介一當代散文作家的試探與演練。在方法上，先參照相關評論與學術研究的成果，於此基礎展開對話，並指出當中的闕漏；再取用徐國能創作開啟討論，除了已出版的十二本文集，亦檢視改版後的自序、少年時期的詩作稿件，乃至現今於副刊登載而未集結的散文創作，純然經由作品還原作者面貌，經由細讀作品論及徐國能的寫作動機、期望與之中的變化。而後進一步對照際遇、寫作歷程與其文學評論者的身分，探究並標誌杜甫帶來的影響，遂以懷舊散文、詩人散文與童書創作作為三種角度切入並劃分為三個章節探究，辨析其創作特性，終得出結論：適俗逃禪兩未能，寫作乃涉世的行為。即徐國能藉由寫作帶來對現世的反思、傳達悲憫之志並構築文學上的庇護，以期引領自己與讀者重返真純境地。最後，據此回應「懇切且準確地品評當代散文作家」的挑戰。Prose can always reflect a writer’s thoughts and style. It will be hard to accurately comment on some contemporary prose writers because their thoughts and ideas may continuously change, and so do their works. With the implementation of 108 Curriculum Guidelines, more and more prose works are adopted in textbooks and some of them are created by younger authors who were born after 1970. It seems to me that Hsu, Kuo-Neng’s prose is the most worthy issue to discuss.Hsu, Kuo-Neng gained attention when his first prose collection, The Ninth Flavor was published in 2003. It is marked with the themes of nostalgia, melancholy and ancient, weathered elegance. Now, it is not only included in high school textbooks but employed in Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, which marks his influence at this time. However, his style changed after his work, The Word Magician was published in 2011. The content of this book is more suitable for kids and teenagers. As for the narrative style of The Mysterious Time of the Eccentric Teacher published in 2022, it is very different from that of The Ninth Flavor. The amount of these later prose works whose content is more lively and relaxing is nearly half of his all works. Accordingly, the comment and critique that focused on his early works should be revised with the release of his later works. Thus, in this thesis I will try to analyze Hsu’s all prose works, show how his ideas and style evolve, and set an example to appropriately comment a contemporary author.Methodologically, I’ll first organize the related academic study about Hsu’s prose and see if there is any omission among it. Then, I’ll research all of Hsu’s works, including 12 prose collections, the preface of the revision, the letters or drafts from his teenage years, and some prose works that were adopted in the supplement of newspaper. By studying them, we can see Hsu’s writing motivation and his expectation. Moreover, we can compare his writing with his life stage to see if there is any relation. Also, it is important to examine his texts that if he is influenced by Du Fu. This thesis will be sorted into three parts according to Hsu’s different style: nostalgic prose, poet’s prose and children’s book. Then we’ll have a conclusion: Hsu presents his reflection about the world, conveys his compassion about the worldliness and aims to bring himself and readers back to a state of innocence. Finally, respond to the challenge of"sincerely and accurately evaluating contemporary prose writers."