环境史视野下的自然物种人格化——中国古代文人与竹子的心灵交契

On the Personification of Natural Species in Perspective of Environmental History——Taking the Traditional Chinese Elites’ Spiritual Agreement with Bamboo As an Example

自然物种的人格化是人与自然对话的结果,与人们的自然认知方式、思想态度和价值观念直接相关,是环境史研究的重要课题。中国古代文人与竹子的心灵交契,是这方面值得深入考察的一个典型案例。竹子早在先秦时代即开始被"比"之人的品德;中古时代,其人格形象逐渐丰满,成为逸人高士和君子贤人的化身;宋以后更是被文人墨客引为情志相通、高雅脱俗的挚友,直至"身与竹化"、人竹不分。文人与竹子的心灵对话,既以竹的自然禀赋和地理分布为基础,亦与社会政治变动和思想文化嬗变紧密相关;竹子的理想人格化,乃是自然—社会—文化诸多因素共同作用的历史结果。在它背后发挥作用的,则是取象比类的认知方式、万物有情的情感方式和"比德"自然的审美方式。相关史实不仅反映了竹子这个特殊自然物种对文人精神的影响,而且呈现了自然环境与社会文化互相渗透、交相阐释的某些机理。

Personification of natural species is a result of the historical dialogue between human and nature, directly related to people’s cognitive style, ideological attitudes and values to nature. It is an important issue in environmental history studies. The spiritual agreement of traditional Chinese elites’ with bamboo is a typical case worthy of further investigation. This spiritual agreement, through interactions of many natural, social and cultural factors, led to ＂ideal personification of bamboo＂. The traditional cognitive style of ＂Quxiang Bilei＂ （symbolic and analog）, the animist emotional way and the aesthetic way of ＂Bide Ziran＂ （analogize human moral with nature） played important roles behind the historical process. Related historical facts not only reflected to impacts of bamboo as a particular natural species to traditional Chinese elites’ spiritual life, but also demonstrated in ways, features of bi-interpretation and interpenetration between nature and culture in Chinese history.