悲剧性性格与生命历程的艺术体现——“前清遗老”陈宝琛诗文略论

Art Embodiment of the Tragic Character and Life Course: On the Poems and Essays of CHEN Bao-chen, “an Old Adherent of the Collapsed Qing Dynasty

在所谓"前清遗老"中,有相当一批文学才能卓著者,长期以来,由于意识形态及"一代有一代文学"观念的束缚,白话文运动中"桐城谬种"、"选学妖孽"的贬斥,他们被视作"殷顽",斥为反动,除了在晚清史研究中提及其所作为,加以评判以外,文学创作均得不到应有的重视,以致其著束阁,其名日湮,造成在文学史上不提一字的现象。陈宝琛便是其中极具代表性的人物。作为清末民初的遗民诗人,陈宝琛之诗是其悲剧性性格及生命历程的艺术体现。其诗风格和平中正,不用僻典,不避熟语,善于以俗为雅,且长于驱遣词语,工于营造氛围,兴寄之遥,托之比兴,能感动不同类型的读者。风格属诗人中之近于才人者。诗以七言近体,尤以其中之律诗为最。其律赋创作则笔墨澜翻,奇思迭出,而格律则精严之至。古文创作不甚经意,信笔写来,不加修饰,晚年思绪略显跳跃,叙述稍形枝蔓,而语气平和,其言蔼然。文之最佳者当推早年所上的奏议,具见其英发之风、廉悍之气,忧国之心溢于言表。

Among the so-called 'old adherents of the collapsed Qing Dynasty', many of them have outstanding literary talent. Due to the ideology and the doctrine that 'each age has its own typical literature', they were labeled with 'fallacy in Tongcheng school' and 'evils engaged in the study of Selected Literary Works' during the Colloquial Language Movement, and rebuked as 'diehards' and 'reactionaries' for a long time. Except mentioned and criticized in the study of the history of the late Qing Dynasty, their literary achievement has been unfairly ignored. Their literary works are hidden in cabinets and their names are buried in oblivion, leaving no record at all in history of literature. CHEN Bao-chen is a typical example among them. As works of an 'old adherents of the collapsed Qing Dynasty', CHEN Bao-chen’s poetry is the art embodiment of his tragic character and life course. Without unfamiliar literary quotations, his poems are characterized by peace and fairness. He uses idioms and makes vulgar expressions elegant. He is so good at using words, creating atmosphere, expressing deep emotions, and using metaphors and similes that he is able to move different types of readers. He is a talent poet. He is good at the septa-syllabic verse. With unceasing flow of words, his poetic essays are full of unusual ideas organized in strict tonal patterns and rhyme schemes. His essays in ancient style of are written in a free and natural way. Those written in his old age are plain and amiable in tone in spite of the fact that the thinking is a little jumpy and the narrative is a little complicatedand confused. As his best essays, the memorials to the throne written in his early age are inspired, daring, valiant and express distinctively his concern about the country.