Legend - Electricity

The literary term denki was first used to refer to novels from the Tang Dynasty in China.

Many of the novels from the first half of the Tang dynasty were known as "shikai," or ghost stories, which were slight modifications of the plots of Six Dynasties novels. However, after the An Lushan Rebellion and into the mid-Tang dynasty, the style of novel grew rapidly and formed a type of novel unique to the Tang dynasty that was different from the "Six Dynasties zhiguai."

The word "denki" is usually used as a general term for Tang dynasty novels, but the core of these were the creations of scholars in the mid-Tang period. At first, many of these novels borrowed the plot and framework of the "Rikudō Zhiquī" (The Secrets of the Six Dynasties), while expressing motifs through their own original ingenuity. However, gradually, they moved away from the supernatural world of the "Rikudō Zhiquī" (The Secrets of the Six Dynasties), and began to write novels that were more grounded in the real world of human society. Representative works include "Likonki" (The Record of a Lily of the Soul), by Chen Xuanyou, "Chinchuuki" (The Records of the Pillow) and "Jinshi Zhuan" (The Biography of Ren), by Shen Jiji, "The Biography of Li Wa" (The Biography of Li Wa), by Chen Hong, and "The Biography of the Everlasting Regret" (The Biography of the Song of Everlasting Regret), by Yuan Zhen. Although the denki stories continued into the Song dynasty and later, the refined literary style of the Tang dynasty fell into disuse, and literary works written in colloquial style (colloquial style), such as popular novels and plays, which had become increasingly popular with the rise of the bourgeois class, came to be seen as the center of literature, replacing literary novels such as zhiguai and denki. Along with this change in the balance of power within the Chinese literary world, many popular novels and plays began to appear that took the material from Tang dynasty denki stories and rehashed them in a modern style. In this climate, the scope of use of the term denki also changed, and it became another name for the type of drama called gebun, which originated in southern China and became popular during the Ming dynasty. In contrast, novels such as denki stories from the Tang dynasty are sometimes called denki stories to distinguish them. As a term for novels, denki is similar to Western romance in that it has unrealistic, fantastical or imaginary content, but is shorter in length.

In Japan, novels depicting the world of fantasy are the reading books of the early modern period. Representative works include "Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki" and "Nansō Satomi Hakkenden" by Kyokutei Bakin.

[Minoru Takahashi]

"Complete Works of Classical Chinese Literature 6: Collection of Novels from the Six Dynasties, Tang, and Song Dynasties" translated by Naoaki Maeno (1959, Heibonsha)" ▽ "Selected Novels from the Six Dynasties, Tang, and Song Dynasties" edited and translated by Naoaki Maeno (1968, Heibonsha)" ▽ "Collection of Tang Dynasty Legends 1 and 2" edited and translated by Naoaki Maeno (Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

文芸用語としての伝奇は、中国唐代の小説の呼称として用いられたのがその初めである。

　唐代の小説も、その前半期のものには、志怪(しかい)とよばれる六朝(りくちょう)小説の筋書きに多少手を加えたようなものが多かったが、安禄山(あんろくざん)の乱を経て中唐の時期に至ると、急速に成長して、六朝志怪と異なる唐独自の小説のタイプを形成した。

　伝奇ということばは、普通、唐代小説の総称として用いられるが、その中心は、中唐期の士人の創作である。その作法も初めのうちこそ六朝志怪の筋や枠組みを借りながら、独自の創意工夫によってモチーフを表出してゆくものが多かったが、しだいに六朝志怪の怪異の世界を離れ、現実的な人間の社会に根ざした小説が著されるようになってくる。陳玄祐(ちんげんゆう)の『離魂記(りこんき)』、沈既済(しんきせい)の『枕中記(ちんちゅうき)』『任氏伝(じんしでん)』、白行簡(はくこうかん)の『李娃伝(りあでん)』、陳鴻(ちんこう)の『長恨歌伝(ちょうごんかでん)』、元稹(げんしん)の『鶯鶯伝(おうおうでん)』などはその代表作である。伝奇は宋(そう)代以降にも引き継がれたが、唐の文人的に洗練された作風は廃れて、市民階層の勃興(ぼっこう)とともにしだいに盛んになってきた通俗小説や演劇など、白話体（話しことばのスタイル）で著される文芸作品が、志怪や伝奇のような文言（文語体）小説にとってかわって、文芸の中心と目されるようになる。そうした中国文学界内部の力関係の変化と相まって、通俗小説や戯曲のなかには、唐代伝奇に素材を得てそれを当世風に焼き直す作品が多くみられるようにもなってくる。そのような風潮のなかにあって、伝奇という呼称の使用範囲にも変化が現れ、中国南方におこり明(みん)代に盛んになる戯文(げぶん)とよばれる戯曲の別称ともなった。それに対して、唐代伝奇のような小説を伝奇小説とよんで区別することもある。小説の呼称としての伝奇は、非現実的な幻想的あるいは空想的内容をもつ点は西欧のロマンに似て、それよりも短編である。

　日本で伝奇の世界を描いた小説は、近世の読本(よみほん)である。曲亭馬琴(きょくていばきん)の『椿説弓張月(ちんせつゆみはりづき)』や『南総里見八犬伝』が代表作である。

［高橋　稔］

『前野直彬訳『中国古典文学全集6　六朝・唐・宋小説集』（1959・平凡社）』▽『前野直彬編・訳『六朝・唐・宋小説選』（1968・平凡社）』▽『前野直彬編・訳『唐代伝奇集1・2』（平凡社・東洋文庫）』

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