周氏兄弟笔下的北京

Beijing in ZHOU Brothers' Writings

北京对鲁迅与周作人的文学创作与学术活动都有着很大的影响,北京的存在对二人成了一种参照,潜在地制约和丰富了他们对乡村中国的文化想象。倘若没有北京的生活经验,鲁迅的乡下小说图景或许不会那么浓地呈现出地域色彩;而周作人关于江南民俗的勾勒,也缺少了对比的色调。鲁迅对北京文化始终持有一种批判态度,而周作人则对北京文化从批判逐渐走向欣赏。打量周氏兄弟与北京文化的关系,可以感受到现代文化中的分分合合,兴衰流变。鲁迅与周作人有许多相近的思想,曾经有过密切合作的历史,也留下了诸多令后人玩味的故事。他们留给北京的,远不是文学上的花絮,倒是关于知识分子自我选择的文化难题。

Beijing has a great impact on the literary creation and academic activities of both LU Xun and ZHOU Zuo- ren, the two brothers. In fact, the existence of Beijing has become a reference of them, and potentially restricted and enriched their cultural imaginations about the then rural China. If there is no life experience about Beijing, LU Xun＇s depiction of the countryside in his novels could not be so heavily colorful and vivid, and ZHOU Zuo-ren＇s sketch of the folk custom of the south of the Yangtze Rivier should have naturally lacked the contrastive tinctures. LU Xun has always had a critical attitude towards Beijing culture while ZHOU Zuo-ren gradually changed his view from critism to appreciation. Their relations to Beijing could represent the separating and merging, as well as the rise and decline, of modern Chinese culture. They shares many similar ideas and collaborated once, but also left numerous amusing stories for later generations. What they have left to Beijing is far from interesting sidelinghts in literature; rather it is cultural problems for intellectuals to self-select.