道家思想对加拿大华裔英语文学的深远影响

The Profound Influence of Daoism on Chinese Canadian Literature

自20世纪70年代以来,加拿大文坛相继出现了一批华裔英语作家。在他们创作的诗歌、小说和戏剧等文学作品中体现出了道家思想或道家哲理。目前,关于这些作品的研究绝大多数仍流于表面或单向的探索,尚未从整个价值体系和哲理性高度来梳理华裔文学所体现的文化现象,也尚未归纳到一定的理论高度和全球性意义。以颇具代表性的文本为研究基点,可以看出,在加拿大华裔英语文学作品中体现出了回归和弘扬并光大华夏道家的思想;加拿大华裔作家对中国文学和文化寻根溯源,努力发掘和弘扬中国传统文化对世界的影响和价值。

Since the 1970s, a contingent of Chinese Canadian writers has burst onto the Canadian literary scene one after another. Their literary works covering all genres have exhibited the profound influence or inspiration from Daoist thought or Daoist philosophy. However, the bulk of current criticism on these literary works remains on the surface or one-directional： it has failed to analyze the cultural phenomenon bodied forth in this emergent literature from a holistic value system and philosophical height; similarly, it has not reached an appreciable theoretical depth and global signifi- cance. Citing representative texts, this essay argues that a pleasantly surprising situation has appeared, where Chinese Canadian literary works return to and promote the fine Daoist traditions of China, traditions as manifested in aesthetics, philosophy, outlook on nature, world view, and cosmology. The essay further posits this point： Canadian- born Chinese writers, living against the background of Canadian multiculturalism and confronting the huge differences in Eastern and Western cultures, have drawn on the profound and far- reaching Daoist philosophy to reflect upon contemporary world＇s chaotic value system, on environmental pollution, on ecological imbalance, and so on; these writers have claimed descent from and returned to the roots of Chinese literature and culture, just as they have diligently demonstrated and promoted the influence and value of traditional Chinese culture for the entire world.