出刊年月/Date of Publishing

2002.03

所屬卷期/Vol. & No.   第32卷第1期 Vol. 32, No. 1

類型/Type                 研究論文 Research Article

篇名/Title
A Passage from China: An Archival Study of the Correspondence and Friendship between E. M. Forster and Hsiao Ch’ien
來自中國的訊息：佛斯特和蕭乾之間友誼及書信文獻考據

作者/Author
連文山 Wen-Shan Lien

頁碼/Pagination
pp. 1-43

摘要
福斯特 (E. M. Forster, 1879-1970) 和蕭乾 (1911-1999) 的友誼可以追朔到1941年，他們兩位在假於英國倫敦舉行的泰戈爾紀念會上初次見面。之後福斯特和蕭乾的友情迅速發展，而兩個人也持續密切的書信來往。直到一九四九年當蕭乾要離開香港回到中國上海的前夕，才決定斷絕和包括福斯特在內的西方朋友之間的聯絡。自從蕭乾於一九四四年離開英國之後，他們兩個人便一直沒有再碰過面。

這篇論文對福斯特和蕭乾在1941和1944年之間的通信做一個文獻研究。除此之外，論文也為福斯特和蕭乾之間的文藝友誼提出一份嚴謹的學術記錄。在探討他們的友誼性質和談話內容時，作者詳細研讀了收藏於蕭乾編撰的《友誼通報》之內福斯特的信箋和兩封由蕭乾寄給福斯特的親筆原稿信。此外，作者也參考了蕭乾的自傳和論文、福斯特的傳記、小說及非小說作品，及其他作家的著作。

這篇論文中最引人注意的一點是福斯特和蕭乾之間的文藝談話，特別是有關於福斯特的小說《墨利斯》。該書公開探討同性戀這個禁忌題材。顯然地，他們兩位對男性同性愛的道德意識形態和態度大不相同。

Abstract
The friendship between E. M. Forster (1879-1970) and Hsiao Ch’ien (1911-1999) dates back to 1941 when the two men first met at the Tagore Memorial Meeting in London. Forster and Hsiao soon developed a close friendship, and they engaged in frequent correspondence until 1949 when, prior to returning to Shanghai, China, from Hong Kong, Hsiao decided to call a halt to his correspondence with all his friends in the West, including Forster. The two men never met again after Hsiao left England in 1944.

This paper offers an archival study of the manuscript material of the correspondence between Forster and Hsiao from 1941 to 1944. Additionally, this paper also serves as a scholarly record of the literary friendship between Forster and Hsiao. To discern the nature of the friendship between Forster and Hsiao, and to probe the contents of their conversations, the author studies Forster’s letters collected by Hsiao in his Friendship Gazette and the two surviving hand-written letters from Hsiao to Forster. Hsiao’s autobiography, essays, Forster’s biographies, fiction, non-fiction, and works by other writers are also consulted.

The most salient point emerged from this paper is the literary discussion between Forster and Hsiao, particularly concerning Forster’s novel, Maurice, which deals openly with a taboo, homosexual subject matter. It transpires that their respective moral ideologies and attitudes toward male same-sex love are far from similar.

關鍵字/Key Word
佛斯特、蕭乾、二十世紀英國文學、傳記
E. M. Forster, Hsiao Ch’ien, 20th-century English Literature, Biography

DOI
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學門分類/Subject
文學 Literature