“世界诗歌”事件及其理论启示

The Case of "World Poetry" and Its Theoretical Illuminations

"世界诗歌"事件为思考中国当代文学与世界文学的关系提供了一个复杂而有趣的案例。1990年,哈佛教授宇文所安针对杜博妮英译北岛诗集而发表了一篇全面否定的书评。宇文认为,如北岛等第三世界的诗人为了满足西方读者而写作一些缺乏民族根性的"世界诗歌",是极其投机的行为。宇文的评论引来了许多学者的回应,其中奚密认为其持论不公,明显有"中西二分法"的偏见,而周蕾运用了心理分析手法,揭示了宇文的批评有东方主义倾向。关于世界诗歌事件的学术史讨论,有益于我们重新审视世界文学和中国文学之关系的种种议题,给世界文学理论研究提供可贵的启示。

Any discussion on the topic of the relation between modern Chinese literature and world literature should trace back to the case of"World Poetry".In 1990,Harvard professor Stephen Owen wrote a negative review on Bonnie S.McDougall’s English translation of Bei Dao’s poetry.Owen pointed out the speculative motive and the lack of traditional elements in the writing of modern poetry by Bei Dao and other third world poets.Among many responses,Michelle Yeh examined Owen’s unfair evaluation that lies in his dichotomizing China and the West,while Rey Chow using psychoanalysis method to uncover Owen’s Orientalism tendency.The close reading of the case of"World Poetry"helps us re-scrutinize issues in the relation between world literature and Chinese literature,and sheds light on the study of world literature in theory.