“神性”精神走向“边缘”与“混沌”——论五四新文学基督教叙事的空间问题

The“Divine”Spirit Moves Towards the“Periphery”and“Chaos”:Space in May-Fourth Era Christian Narratives

基督教文化与中国文学的关系已经被多方面地加以阐释,人们达成了初步共识:在中国传统社会中,基督教长期不能融入文化的主流,而不得不屈居于边缘,直至20世纪,基督教才广泛地影响了文学的整体面貌。①然而,基督教精神在五四新文学那里.

The question of space in Christian narratives of the May Fourth New Literature is one of the keys to unlocking the puzzle of why the modern enlightenment trend in China led toward the Anti-Christianity Movement.Unlike the study of Christian culture and the New Literature,the question of space is close to the philosophical background of Christian Theology.Looking back at the Christian narratives of the May Fourth New Literature,the“absolute”has moved toward the periphery,while the“love”has lost the place it once had and has fallen into disordered,individualized chaos,while personal love has attempted to replace God’s love,and the possibility of the construction of a community that transcends the ethics of consanguinity has lost a source in religion.In the face of Christian spirituality,the leaders of the May Fourth New Literature employed an arbitrary“take-all”strategy and a very spirit of practical application,which resulted in an exclusionary New Literature,and a“chaotic”spirituality.It is difficult for a religious spirit that has been selected and modified to exert any influence in the world.At the same time,Marxism set off a substantial ideological wave among the youth,the Anti-Christianity Movement was in full swing,a social consensus developed around the need to save the nation from subjugation and ensure its survival,and the cultural destiny of May Fourth literature was to cast spirituality to the margins.