诗意的追寻——林庚文学史论述与“抒情传统”说

In Search of Poeticality:Lin Geng's Exposition on the History of Chinese Literature and the Concept of"Lyrical Tradition"

"中国文学抒情传统论"是一个非常值得关注的课题。相关论述以陈世骧之说最有影响,而其说又与北京大学的学统关系极大,与林庚先生的中国文学史观亦属同一脉络。上世纪三十年代清华大学的林庚与北京大学的陈世骧同时于北平文坛活动。从林、陈之关系及师友渊源,可知二人论述同调,并非无因。陈世骧提出"整体而言,中国文学传统就是一个抒情传统"。林庚也认为中国文学史在宋以前的重心离不开诗歌;宋元以后虽然小说戏剧当道,但其中还是存有许多的"诗意";因此中国文学史"事实上乃是一个以诗歌为中心的文学史",中国文学的贡献是"以十五国风代表的抒情传统"。由此观之,林庚的文学史论述可说是陈世骧等人的"中国文学抒情传统"论的先声。

The concept of ＂Chinese lyrical tradition＂ was proclaimed by Chen Shixiang in 1970s and has henceforth exerted immense impact on the study of Chinese literature. It is noteworthy that this concept is comparable to Lin Geng＇s exposition on Chinese literature. Lin and Chen were in fact fellow members of a group of young writers in Beiping in 1930s. Both were mentored by the same group of scholar-critics active in the time, and shared the same cultural milieu. Lin later asserted that poetry or poeticality is the most important characteristics throughout the history of Chinese literature. Based on the common conviction that poetry was the predominant literary genre before the Song Dynasty, Lin found that even narrative genres embrace a kind of ＂poeticality＂ in China. These findings coincide with what Chen Shixiang emphasized in his writings on ＂Chinese lyrical tradition. ＂ It is therefore reasonable to regard Lin Geng as one of the predecessors of this influential concept in the modem study of Chinese literature.