本篇企圖藉由唐代小說敘述西域的主要題材:其物和法術，來主現唐代小說所勾勒的西域圖像，以及如此勾勒所具有的意義。由於歷來封於西域的書寫，大致可以分為視其為一地理空間，或才見其為一心理空間兩個脈絡，唐代小說出現大量的有關西域的敘述，多為涉及到實際與想像的文化差異問題，即以中土為本位去摹寫作為「他者」的西域圖像，故於為數可觀的有關貢物、寶物和特殊珍其產物的記載中，形塑了西域多有其寶，且這些具寶各具神奇的作用，並涉及到西域諸國的地理、歷史、政治、經濟、宗教、文化等面向。而有關法術的敘事，則與西域的宗教息息相關，中土之氏封於展現西域殊其風俗的法術，充滿了好奇，也有接受與拒斥的不同封應。異物與法術可說是西域主體的延伸，中土之民經由它們，去認知、想像西域，成為中土之氏封於西域認識的標誌，也因之鑑別了彼此的差異，不僅是封西域圖像的勾勒，也具有自我認知的意義，故西域胡人和中土之氏的特質和價值觀、以及交流情形也於焉顯現。此外，唐代小說封西域圖像的勾勒，充分展現了游移於真實與虛構的敘述特色，同時也承繼了地理博物志小說的書寫系統，但於敘事中多涉及到中土/西域政治社會的景況和價值觀念的認知，將文化差異的因素融入至殊方異域的書寫之中，而拓展出新的敘事面貌。

This paper discusses the image of the Western
Regions (Xiyu) in Tang Dynasty novels, focusing on
descriptions of exotic objects and magic and the
significance of these representations. Previous
representations of the Western Regions presented the
area either as a physical geographical space or a
psychological internal space. Many narratives about the
Western Regions appeared during the Tang Dynasty and
most of them dealt with the problem of cultural
differences, real or imagined. The authors situated
themselves at the center and described the Western
Regions as ‘other’. In the numerous descriptions of
tributes, treasures, and rare curiosities from the Western
Regions, the authors present the idea that this region is
full of many exotic treasures that have magical
properties. These texts also examine the geography,
history, politics, economics, and culture of various
countries situated in the Western Regions. Narratives
about magic are closely related to the religions of the
Western Regions and of interest to the people of the
central plains who were curious about the exotic customs of the region. Some accepted these customs but others
rejected them. Exotic objects and magic can be regarded
as an extension of the Western Regions and they are
used as a means to identify, imagine, and understand the
Regions. Because they help distinguish the difference
between the Western Regions and Central Plains China,
these exotic objects and magic not only represent images
of the Western Regions but also serves as a means for
increasing self-awareness among the Chinese. The
characteristics and values of the Chinese people and the
ethnic minorities of the Western Regions and their
interaction can also be observed in these texts. The
descriptions of the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty
novels demonstrate the narrative features that traverse
between the real and imaginary. These narrative
techniques share commonalities with the techniques used
in dili bowu zhi novels [geographical natural history
novels]. However, they extend writing about the Western
Regions in new directions because the texts take into
account cultural differences, political and social aspects
of the Western Regions and China, as well as different
value systems.