口头表达与现代政治:清季民初社会变革中的“言语文化”

Oral Expression and Modern Politics:"Speech Culture" in Social Transformation in Late Qing and Early Republic China

19世纪末20世纪初,随着公众集会、法庭、议会等新兴政治行为和设施,以及由铁路、汽船等新式交通工具、大众传媒和新兴职业等构成的现代社交环境的出现,中国重"眼学"轻"耳学"的文化传统发生了变化,一系列围绕着口头展开的文化现象兴起,"言语"获得了正面性的评价,口才被认为一个"现代人"必备的素质。这一现象不仅是"下层社会启蒙运动"的产物,也是和以民权为核心的政治变革的诉求联系在一起的。在中国近代言语文化中,文字和言语均被政治化了。一方面,中国传统的象形文字同"少数人",并进一步和"专制政治"联系起来;另一方面,口头言说以及口语化的书面文化被认为便于"多数人"掌握,因而被视为是和广泛参与的民权政治观念相匹配的。

Chinese cultural thought emphasize highly on written tradition instead of oral tradition before late 19th century, which changed in late Qing and early Republic China. The emerge of a series of new political behaviors and institutions for example mass rally, court, parliament, and a modern social contact environment was composed of traffic, mass media, and new occupation made the eloquence be necessary for a ＂modern＂ man/ woman. A series of cultural phenomenon around oral expression became prosperous. The rise of ＂speech culture＂ was not only demand of the enlightenment but also the inference of political idea of people＇s right. Speech and writing were both politicized in modern China. Chinese characters were connected with elites and autocracy, and oral traditions were considered a part of democracy.