早期文学史写作的回顾与思考

A Review and Retrospection of Early Literary Historiography in China

经过一个多世纪的写作实践,中国文学史的编撰面貌已发生了不小的变化;至如作品的遴选这样既关乎文学史观、又牵连具体叙述的核心问题,迄今仍为文学史家们重点关注和优先考虑。具体说来,是否需要选录?选文标准如何?怎样解读文本?作品经典化的背后究竟意味着什么?这些问题随着文学史新作的不断问世,亟需时人给予必要的检讨和探究。本文在简要梳理早期中国文学史写作历程的基础上,着重对其中几部重要史著在选取作品中的一些具体因素,如传统话语方式、史料来源、历史背景、时代潮流、师承关系、审美趣味以及政治影响等等加以分析,力图从中寻绎出贯串文学史写作的根本性命题,进而揭示出早期文学史写作对于当代文学史研究的启示意义。

Great changes have taken place in the historiography of Chinese literature as a result of more than a century＇s practice in this field,but some key issues such as the selection of literary works,which is directly related to editors＇narrative styles as well as their opinions on literary history,have hitherto been emphasized and preferred by literary historians.To be more specific,such problems as whether certain works should be included,what criteria are to be observed in the selection,how to interpret the text,and what it may mean to make a work classic,are in want of necessary reviews and research with the publication of more and more works on literary history.The present paper,based on a review of the early work in literary historiography in China,probes into and highlights the specific selections of literary works by several important works in this field,concerning their traditional discourses,sources of historical data,historical backgrounds,common practices of their times,academic relations of their editors,aesthetic tastes,political influences on them,etc.,attempting to find out the fundamental proposition that underlies literary historiography and the enlightenment of early literary historiography to the contemporary research on literary history.