≪水滸葉子≫의 天孤星 魯智深 서사 연구— 揷畫 및 評語와의 연계성을 중심으로

Abstract

Shuihuyezi was published in South River Land of China, which was under a process of economic and cultural reorganization at that time. The virtual space ‘Shuihu(water margin)’ allowed people to form a self-conscious identity by becoming someone else. What transformed the orally transferred narratives of Shuihu into a metaphorical literary text was the contemporary development of typography. The publication culture gave birth to novel methods of reasoning and communication, adding plurality to the materiality of ‘Yezi(Cards).’ Chen Hongshou, an intellectual artist with a strong identity of an immigrant in the late Ming Dynasty, attempted an intriguing exploration of the Shuihu narrative. The experimental and dynamic plot the cards conveyed expanded the readers’ field of imagination. Chen Hongshou’s Shuihuyezi was a result of the ceaseless overlap of boundaries and discontinuous practice of culture, brought by the gap between reality and the ideal. The difference between oral transmission and records, along with the space between illustration and critique, questioned the existing Shuihu narrative and its interpretations. This also transformed the traditional role of readers. In the late Ming Dynasty, the Shuihu plot once again encountered a transition in its media. Shuihuyezi, which had illustration and quote coexisting in one screen, was the change. ‘Yezi’ refer to playing cards that portray a certain plot or verse in a poem. Epic songs, books, and leafs of cards were all structurally different in terms of how they were enjoyed. Compared to the Shuihu world, premised on cultural homogeneity, the cards expanded the possibility that individual characters had their own narrative. The illustration and quote of each Yezi figure often created meaning from what was unfamiliar or less emphasized. Lu Zhishen, who was most popular among the 108 Stars of Destiny, imprints his image as a Zen priest via Shuihuyezi, drawing the reflection of players.