中国古典文学的尊体与破体

About the Different Styles of Chinese Ancient Liturature

中国古典文学的文体大体上可以分为文学性的、非文学性的和两可性的三大类。文学类指诗歌、小说、戏剧以及辞赋、赠序、杂记、哀祭、楹联等非文学类文体包括诏令、奏议、公牍、祈祷等应用文体,两可性文体指书启、序跋、论说、箴铭、颂赞、传状、碑志等类。从文学、非文学角度划分文体类别是可能的,但不是绝对的。任何非文学文体都含有不少文学名篇,任何文学类文体也非篇篇都是文学作品。实际上任何文体都是两可的,都可能有文学作品和非文学作品。决定其是否属于文学,是作品本身,而不是文体。正体与变体是在文学发展过程中自然而然出现的,而破体则是为求变求新而有意为之。研究中国古典文学,应从中国古典文学的客观实际出发,不能照搬西方文学和现当代文学的定义。如果只有诗歌、戏剧、小说和散文才算文学,恐怕会得出中国古代无文学,有也少得可怜的结论。

Chinese classical literature may be classified by styles into three categories: literaray,non-literary and ambiguous.Literariness makes a possible but not absolute criterion of classification.Some works that are stylistically classified into non-literary category may be well-known for their literariness,while some stylistically literary works may be in want of literariness.Literariness is determined by the work itself rather than by its style.Standard styles and their variations are natural outcome of the development of literature,while deviations from standard styles often involve efforts for novelty and breakthrough.Concepts of the Western and modern literature shouldn't be applied indiscriminately to studies of Chinese classical literature without considering its reality.