“五四”文学观念下的古典重释重构——论茅盾与洁本《红楼梦》

The Reinterpretation and Reconstruction of Classical Literature by the Literary Concept of the May Fourth Movement:On Mao Dun and Expurgated Edition of The Dream of Red Mansions

茅盾拥有深厚的中国文学功底,其早期文论批判了中国旧文学的“载道”与“游戏”观念,但对《红楼梦》评价较高。在洁本《红楼梦》中,茅盾从“写实主义”的立场出发,将原著中涉及“不洁”“神话”“风雅”“无关紧要”部分以及章回体小说套语进行了删削。整体上看,“删红”受到“五四”文学观念的影响,与茅盾本人对小说文体的认识、胡适的“自传说”以及周作人的“人的文学”“平民文学”观念有关。综合来看,“删红”有得有失,其得在于化繁为简、引雅入俗,促进了《红楼梦》的普及与传播,其失在于对原著的误读和艺术损伤。同时,“删红”折射出了“五四”文学观念的局限性,也折射出茅盾文学思想与实践之间的矛盾。

s:Mao Dun has a deep foundation in Chinese literature.In his early literary criticism,he criticized the concepts of“writing is for conveying truth or playing”in classical Chinese literature,but he gave a high evaluation of The Dream of Red Mansions.In expurgated edition of The Dream of Red Mansions,Mao Dun,starting from the perspective of“realism”,removed the parts of the original work that involve“impurity”,“myth”,“elegance”,and“insignificant”,as well as the clichés of the chapter style novel.Overall,abridging was influenced by the literary concept of the May Fourth Movement,which was related to Mao Dun’s own understanding of novel style,Hu Shi’s“self legend”,and Zhou Zuoren’s“human literature”and“civilian literature”concepts.Overall,there are gains and losses in abridging.Its benefits lie in reducing complexity to simplicity,introducing elegance into the secular world,promoting the popularization and dissemination of The Dream of Red Mansions,and its losses lie in the misreading and artistic damage to the original work.At the same time,abridging reflects the limitations of the May Fourth literary concept,and also reflects the contradiction between Mao Dun’s literary thought and practice.