《수호전》의 음식과 그 서사적 함의— 소고기의 취식을 중심으로

Abstract

Although food is not the main subject of Shuihu Zhuan 水滸傳, there are many instances of its appearance in the work. As food is one of the most important elements of human life, it is an indispensable element in Shuihu Zhuan as well which depicts the people of the Liangshanpo 梁山泊 group. Meat is the most common among the foods mentioned in it, but fish, fruits, vegetables, rice cakes, and dishes for the higher classes made from rare ingredients are also included. Among them, beef appears almost all throughout Shuihu Zhuan, and many of these instances serve as meaningful narrative devices. From this perspective, we first summarize the food-related excerpts in Shuihu Zhuan and analyze fish as a representative example of food as a narrative device. Next, we investigate the reference to beef, which is the food most referred to in Shuihu Zhuan, and discuss how it became the hero’s food, and a symbol of rebellion and taboo. In the agricultural society in which Shuihu Zhuan is set, cattle was directly related to production and could not be slaughtered or eaten carelessly, and in the traditional era, the slaughter of cattle and illegal distribution of beef was forbidden in China. Therefore, for the Liangshanpo group, who rebelled against the national order, beef naturally became the food of the hero and the symbol of rebellion and of what is taboo. This paper analyzes the narrative implications of beef in several episodes of Shuihu Zhuan.