The Destructed City: Urban Writing and Destruction Narratives in Fu Poems of the Southern Dynasties

Abstract

《文心雕龍•詮賦》說「京殿苑獵，述行序志，并體國經野，義尙光 大」，都邑主題自漢代爲辭賦的重要體裁，城市的雄偉恢宏與賦的鋪衍侈麗相 得益彰。近年的城市空間論述認爲，城市不僅是地理的概念，其間的場所地 景，更與符號、象徵與權力有密切關聯。故筆者從南朝辭賦的城市書寫出發， 探索其敘事策略，且發現以下兩點：其一，南朝出現幾篇特殊的都邑賦，它們 不若兩漢的富麗恢弘，反而轉向描寫了城市的華麗與毀滅；其二，在經歷眞實 的建康城毀滅的浩劫後，作家的城市書寫無不受到都城毀滅的影響，而敘述毀 滅的不同面向。總括來看，無論作家的眞實經驗有無，南朝辭賦的城市書寫與 毀滅敘事有著密切關聯。而這樣的毀滅敘事，成了南朝作家對身處時代的寓 言，也成了後代敘述南朝的重要意象。Since the Han Dynasty, cities have been a very important theme of fu poems, where the majesty of cities and the magnificence of they" genre add additional splendor to each other. This is exemplified by the statement in the “#U on Explaining the fu Genre，，，The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons: “Capitals， palaces, royal hunting gardens，and hunting journeys not only function as records of one’s deeds and ambitions but also help to rule the country，so it is very important that they carry great meanings." Urban space discourses in recent years further argue that cities are not only a geographical concept; their locations and landscapes are in fact closely connected with symbols，emblems，and power. Therefore，I explore the writing strategies of fu poems in the Southern Dynasties that take cities as their themes，and discover the following two pieces of information. First，despite the importance of richness and grandness in Han fu writing，a few special urban fu poems of the Southern Dynasties put emphasis on the rising and falling of cities. Second，after the suffering of Jiankang’s destruction, all urban writers are influenced to write about it in different aspects. In conclusion, urban writings in this period often include destruction narratives, whether their writers have experienced the destruction in person or not. This kind of destruction narratives become Southern Dynasties writers" comments on their era and a significant image for later generations to write about the Southern Dynasties