論李碧華小說“神怪敘述模式”的效果與作用

評析李碧華小說的文章，向來多以歷史、社會、文化等方面作為觀察角度，即集中探討其小說與(香港)歷史、社會和文化之間的關係。1 原因大抵是論者認為李碧華小說在上述各方面的意義比她的文字更有論述價值。2 然而，小說作為一件藝術成品(object)，除了從歷史、社會、文化等 外在背景 去研究外，亦應多加注意作品本身的藝術成就，即所謂文本(text)的分析。李碧華的小說，在文字上，或許真是 無足觀處 (事實上，一個作者的遣詞用字，很多時關乎他的閱讀和寫作習慣，有一定的客 觀因素影響)，但在敘述手法上，本文認為確有值得討論的地方。學者王德成指出： 她(李碧華)的想像穿梭於古今生死之間，探勘情慾輪迴，冤孽消長，每每有扣人心弦之處。3 能夠做到 每每有扣人心弦之處 ，本文認為正是由於李碧華慣用了一種敘述方式所致，而我們稱這種敘述方式為 神怪敘述模式 。 神怪 一詞在這種要作為一個專門概念理解，本義即英語中的 Supernatural 。據《英漢大詞典》 (繁體字縮印本)， Supernatural 作為形容詞，解釋是: 超自然的、自然規律所無法解釋的；神奇的、不可思議的、異常的。4 其中 自然規律所無法解釋 一項最值得注意《英漢辭海》關於這點說得更詳細，指出“Supematural 超自然) 指、屬於、關於或來源於超越可觀察的、通過日常段可經驗到的物理宇宙之外存在秩序的：在程度和種類上都超越自然或同超越自然的東西相關的。5 因此其名詞解釋就是 超自然物 即： 存在的超自然的秩序：神聖的作用、影響或干預 ( ......超自然的東西就其終極的本質來說是我們存在水平上所不能理解的)。6 一般來說，我們所謂的超自然物，是指神、仙、魔、鬼、妖、怪等一類統稱 神怪 的東西，亦即孔子所不語的 怪力亂神 。7 而 神怪敘述模式 ，就是以 神怪 作為主要角色發展故事的寫作模式。 香港作家李碧華的小說充滿著鬼怪異人，如《胭脂扣》的女鬼如花、《青蛇》的青白二蛇精、《潘金蓮之前世今生》前生是海金蓮的單玉蓮、《秦俑》的不死人蒙天放等。這些形象角色，全都可以列入 神怪 (Supernatural)一類。由於這樣，其作品自成體系，成功營造了一個鬼氣、神秘、暖昧、異乎尋常的小說世界。 李碧華以 神怪 作為故事主要角色的這種敘述模式，並非偶然出現，而是佔了她所有小說作品一半的比例。我們相信，除了作者個人趣味導致這個現象外，選取這種敘述方式，還有其他作用。本文嘗試就這點進行分析。 在分析之前，有一點必先要說明。本文討論的重點雖然是李碧華的小說作品，但在論證過程中，會多有引用其雜文文章，原因如李焯雄所說： 談李碧華的小說，不能不拿她的專欄文章來並讀一一不是指由此愈發可見李的作品萬變不離其宗，特式不外有二 (或詭異或犬儒)，而是說讀李的專欄往往有助了解她的作品。8 到目前為止 (1997年4月)，李碧華總共出版了十二本小說，分別是你《胭脂扣》、《霸王別姬》(1985年初版，1992年修訂版)、《青蛇》(1986年初版，1993年修訂版) 、9《潘金蓮之前世今生》、《生死橋》、《秦俑》、《滿洲國妖艷――川島芳子》、《誘僧》(長篇)、10《糾纏》、《誘僧》(短篇) 、《天安門舊魂新魄》及《基情十一刀》。除去四部短篇結集 (《糾纏》、《誘僧》(短篇)、《天安門舊魂新魄》和《基情十一刀》)，李碧箏的小說故事，依內容區分，大致可歸為三類：一、再世輪迴的故事 (《胭脂扣》、《秦俑》、《潘金蓮之前世今生》)；二、舊故事重新演繹，(《青蛇》、《潘金蓮之前世今生》)；三、人物傳奇(《誘僧》(長篇)、《滿洲國妖艷――川島芳子》、《霸王別姬》、《秦俑》等)。11 前兩類故事，作者都是採用了 神怪敘述模式 。12 依此敘述模式，很可以發展成為 超現實 或 靈幻 內容的故事，然而李碧華顯然並沒有這個意思；反之，其小說內容都是經過多方考證、資料搜集，背景以及很多細節都有所依據，13 因此有論者評她的作品 有強烈現實主義 。14 故事內容既力求真實、有所參照，卻採用 神怪 這種不現實的敘述模式，作者是如何將兩者有機地結合在一起?或者當我們明白李碧華作品中 神怪敘述模式 所發揮的一些效果和作用，便可幫助了解這問題，而闕於這一點，我們發現最少有四個解答

Entropy Estimation via Uniformization

Entropy estimation is of practical importance in information theory and statistical science. Many existing entropy estimators suffer from fast growing estimation bias with respect to dimensionality, rendering them unsuitable for high-dimensional problems. In this work we propose a transform-based method for high-dimensional entropy estimation, which consists of the following two main ingredients. First by modifying the k-NN based entropy estimator, we propose a new estimator which enjoys small estimation bias for samples that are close to a uniform distribution. Second we design a normalizing flow based mapping that pushes samples toward a uniform distribution, and the relation between the entropy of the original samples and the transformed ones is also derived. As a result the entropy of a given set of samples is estimated by first transforming them toward a uniform distribution and then applying the proposed estimator to the transformed samples. The performance of the proposed method is compared against several existing entropy estimators, with both mathematical examples and real-world applications

On Estimating the Gradient of the Expected Information Gain in Bayesian Experimental Design

Bayesian Experimental Design (BED), which aims to find the optimal experimental conditions for Bayesian inference, is usually posed as to optimize the expected information gain (EIG). The gradient information is often needed for efficient EIG optimization, and as a result the ability to estimate the gradient of EIG is essential for BED problems. The primary goal of this work is to develop methods for estimating the gradient of EIG, which, combined with the stochastic gradient descent algorithms, result in efficient optimization of EIG. Specifically, we first introduce a posterior expected representation of the EIG gradient with respect to the design variables. Based on this, we propose two methods for estimating the EIG gradient, UEEG-MCMC that leverages posterior samples generated through Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to estimate the EIG gradient, and BEEG-AP that focuses on achieving high simulation efficiency by repeatedly using parameter samples. Theoretical analysis and numerical studies illustrate that UEEG-MCMC is robust agains the actual EIG value, while BEEG-AP is more efficient when the EIG value to be optimized is small. Moreover, both methods show superior performance compared to several popular benchmarks in our numerical experiments

Natural Algae-Inspired Microrobots for Emerging Biomedical Applications and Beyond

Algae-inspired microrobots (AIMs) have attracted intense research over the past decade owing to the abundant desired properties of natural microalgae, such as biocompatibility, autofluorescence, and pharmaceutical activity, which make them ideal candidates for biomedical and related applications. With the deepening and widening of applied research, the functions of AIMs have been greatly enriched and enhanced to meet the needs of demanding application scenarios including targeted drug delivery, anticancer/antibacterial therapy, cell stimulation, wound healing, and biomolecule sensing. Notwithstanding, multiple challenges remain to be tackled for transformative advances and clinical translation. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive survey of representative advances in AIMs accompanied by the underlying biological/technological backgrounds. We also highlight existing issues that need to be overcome in AIM developments and suggest future research directions in this field.</p

‘Intelligent furniture’: the potential for heated armchairs to deliver thermal comfort with energy savings in the UK residential context

Personal heating (or cooling) has long been considereda meansfor reducing energy demand and providing thermalcomfort, most commonly in the form ofheated seats. In this paper, findings are reported ofwhat may be thefirstinvestigation of the potential forheatedfurniture to maintain occupantthermalcomfortin the UK residentialcontext. In a thermally-controlledenvironmental room, a thermal manikin was seated in aliving-room armchairequipped with an electrically-heatedblanket. Results suggested thatthemanikintotal heat fluxrecorded forthe PMVrange -0.5 to +0.5 withoutheatedblanketcould be achieved in aroom 0.7o C cooler but with theblanketoperating as compensation. Chest/backradiantasymmetry across the body, andsurfacecontacttemperatures oftheblanket, were both found to be well-within acceptable limits. The implication forresidential energy usage was analytically simulated usingan apartment (‘flat’) as a casestudy.This showed that energy-saving potential was dependanton the building’s thermal performance,thebuilding’s dimensions and occupantbehaviours. When extrapolated to theUK housing stock it wasfound thataround 5.6 TWh of energy might be saved by using heated armchairs in the UK instead of whole house heating systems. ‘Intelligent furniture’, in the form of heated armchairs canpotentially contribute to energysavingin the UK residential context, and further investigation iswarranted

Quantum Griffiths singularity in three-dimensional superconductor to Anderson critical insulator transition

Disorder is ubiquitous in real materials and can have dramatic effects on quantum phase transitions. Originating from the disorder enhanced quantum fluctuation, quantum Griffiths singularity (QGS) has been revealed as a universal phenomenon in quantum criticality of low-dimensional superconductors. However, due to the weak fluctuation effect, QGS is very challenging to detect experimentally in three-dimensional (3D) superconducting systems. Here we report the discovery of QGS associated with the quantum phase transition from 3D superconductor to Anderson critical insulator in a spinel oxide MgTi2O4 (MTO). Under both perpendicular and parallel magnetic field, the dynamical critical exponent diverges when approaching the quantum critical point, demonstrating the existence of 3D QGS. Among 3D superconductors, MTO shows relatively strong fluctuation effect featured as a wide superconducting transition region. The enhanced fluctuation, which may arise from the mobility edge of Anderson localization, finally leads to the occurrence of 3D quantum phase transition and QGS. Our findings offer a new perspective to understand quantum phase transitions in strongly disordered 3D systems