长洲文氏的家族积淀与文徵明的出现

The Wens in Changzhou:How Heritage of a Scholarly Family Contributed to the Making of a Great Master

长洲文氏是明清时期苏州著名的文化世家,兴起于明代中叶。先世武弁的文氏家族在迁苏后弃武习文,第二代文洪中了举人,第三代文林、文森兄弟皆中进士,至第四代更是出现了文化大师文徵明。作为家族中声名最为显赫的人物,文徵明的出现无疑标志着文氏在苏州的勃兴。文徵明的出现并非偶然现象,本文以家族内部环境为着眼点,通过梳理文氏家族迁苏后在文化上的发展脉络,探讨家族为人才出现所提供的先天和后天因素。

The Wens were a well-known family of scholars in Changzhou County during the Ming and Qing dynasties（1368-1911）.The family rose in mid Ming,its ancestors having served in the army.After moving to Suzhou,however,its members started to give up the sword for the pen： among its second-generation descendants in Suzhou,Wen Hong（1426-1479） passed the provincial civil service examination;in its third generation,Wen Lin（1445-1499） and Wen Sen（1464-1525）,who were brothers,passed the highest imperial examinations;to its fourth generation, there was Wen Zhengming （1470 -1559）, a great master of cultural studies. The most eminent figure of his family, Wen Zhengming undoubtedly marked the pinnacle of the Wens in Suzhou. As his success was not something haphazard, the present paper, from a perspective of the internal surroundings of the family and by means of probing into its cultural evolution after moving to Suzhou, explores how the natural and nurturing conditions of the family contributed to the success of its members.