桥与信——试析赛珍珠作品中的两个沟通性意象

Bridge and Letter——On Pearl S. Buck’s Two Communicative Images

赛珍珠作品《同胞》（1949年）中的“桥”与《北京来信》（1957年）等作品中的“信”是赛珍珠着意突出的两个沟通性意象，它们既是对她一贯坚持的“人桥”使命的强调，也蕴涵着某种无奈的焦虑与绝望：除了环境、距离等自然因素之外，还有诸多社会性因素影响着跨文化间的正常沟通，而后者往往决定着“桥”的畅通、“信”的投送。深入分析“桥”与“信”在赛珍珠作品中的意义指涉和叙事功能，可以使我们更好地理解这位世界公民所坚持的多元对话、沟通的思想，并借此体会她对中国知识分子命运的深切关注。

The ＂bridge＂ in Pearl S. Buck＇s Kinfolk（1949） and the ＂letter＂ in her Letter from Peking （1957） are two communicative images she brings out intentionally for they are not only the continuity of her emphasis on the mission of ＂human bridge＂ but also the indication of anxiety and despair of some kind. Apart from such factors as environment and distance, many social factors affect the cross-cuhural communication; in fact, it is usually these social factors that determine the smoothness of the bridge and the delivery of the letter. So an in-depth analysis of the significance references and the narrative functions of the bridge and the letter can enable us to have a better understanding of this world citizen-Pearl S. Buck＇ s thoughts of multi-dialogue and communication, and to find out her deep concerns about Chinese intellectuals.