目睹圣彼得堡《石头记》抄本散记

上个世纪,学术界在俄罗斯圣彼得堡发现了一套清代的《石头记》抄本,派专家做了学术鉴定和考察,这个抄本是迄今发现12个早期《红搂梦》抄本中价值最高的本子之一,文本内容很多地方独出异文,这些异文更接近曹雪芹的原笔、真笔,解决了一些《红楼梦》版本校勘的问题。1986年中华书局影印出版了这部《石头记》。文章作者在圣彼得堡目睹了《石头记》抄本,与中华书局的影印本尺寸不同,这部《石头记》宽如同常见书(18．5cm),而长度却像《辞海》等大型工具书(25．5cm)。这套《石头记》共5函,每函7册,现存35册,一般每两回订一册,但也有少数三回装订一册,还有一回订一册的。第五回和第六回装订的那一册遗失了,这很可能因为第五册里有“册子”判词和“红楼梦”曲子,预示十二钗的结局,更能引起阅读兴趣,被人借阅未还而失去。这部抄本没有第八十回,最后一册只有七十八回和七十九回,事实上,八十回的内容包含在七十九回中,第七十九回和第八十回尚未分断,也说明这个抄本所依据的底本应该是时间比较早,当在曹雪芹去世前后不久。此外,第十七回和第十八回虽然分开了,第十八回却只有标回而无回目的具体文字,属于早期抄本的特征。抄本的纸张是已经写有文字的纸反过来在背面抄写,册页上还有红色点断的痕迹和名宁旁边的红线标记。

Witnessing the Handwritten Copy of Shi Tou Ji in St. Petersburg

Last century,the academic circle found a set of handwritten copy of Shi Tou Ji of Qing Dynasty and sent some experts there for identification and examination,This copy is one of the most valuable 12 early hand- written copies of A Dream of Red Mansions that has been discovered,with much of content different from other ones,These differences are more close to Cao Xueqin's original version or authentic works,which has resolved the collating problems of some editions of A Dream of Red Mansions,In 1986,Zhonghua Publishing House published the photocopy of this Shi Tou Ji,The copy that the author of this paper has witnessed in St,Peters- burg,Russia,is different in size from the one the Zhonghua Publishing House photocopy edition,with the simi- lar width to the common book(18.5cm),but length like Ci Hal and other large reference books(25.5cm),This set consists of 5 cases,each with 7 volumes,now totally 35 volumes,In general,12 chapters are bound into one volume,but with a few exceptions of three into one and one into one,The volume of chapter 5 and chapter 6 has been lost,probably because it contains the summary and the Qu(a type of verse)of A Dream of Red Man- sions,which indicate the end of 12 beauties,and which is more likely to arouse the readers'interests,hence be- ing borrowed without return and getting lost,There is no chapter 80 in this handwritten copy,and the last vol- ume only has chapter 78 and chapter 79,In fact the content of chapter 80 is included in chapter 79 and these two chapters are not segmented,All these suggest that this copy is based on the rather earlier version,soon be- fore or after the death of Cao Xueqin,Besides,Chapter 17 and chapter 18 have the characteristics of early hand- written copies,it was written on the back of used paper with the leaf of volume and the side of name marked in red.