从中希文字与口传的“通约”看中西文化的取向

The Cultural Orientations of China and the West through the Eyes of "Agreement" between Written Symbols and Oral Tradition

文字与口传之间"通约"的特征是审视一个民族文字与文化本质的重要视角。汉族文字与口传之间的通约充满着异质的排斥性,文字不屈服于口传,而是超越于口传;希腊的字母文字与口传之间的通约则洋溢着同质的亲和性,文字俯就于口传,成为口传的类音符。从两族文字与口传通约呈现的"张力"与"引力",可推导出中希(西)对待文字态度、操用思维范式、求知求真最高路径的各别文化取向。

A nation＇s written symbols and culture can be reflected by the way that the ＂agreement＂ made between written symbols and oral tradition. The ＂agreement＂ between Chinese characters and oral tradition was packed with contradictions while the Greek letters and oral tradition was full of attraction. Chinese characters were not submissive to oral tradition, while the Greek letters were so close to oral tradition as musical notes to its songs. From the above two kinds of ＂agreement＂： ＂contradiction＂ and ＂attraction＂, it can be inferred that there existed two cultural orientations between China and the West, such as the different attitudes towards written symbols, different thinking modes and different highest ways to arrive at the truth.