春秋议论文辞的文体价值与特点——兼对《论语》文体史地位的反思

The Stylistic Value and Characteristics of the Argumentative Statements in the Spring and Autumn Period——A Reflection on the Status of The Analects in Stylistics

人们一般以为我国古代议论文体是从诸子讲学语录——特别是《论语》——发展而来的,这个看法忽略了春秋时代的议论文辞。首先,《论语》并非我国最早的语录体散文;其次,《论语》在艺术方面也不代表春秋议论文体的最高水平,《左传》、《国语》所载议论文辞,主题明确,结构完整,表述生动,堪为春秋议论文体的典范。春秋人多通过上书和借助史官记录的方式实现"立言"的愿望,其议论文辞说理圆通,从容委曲,华实相副,体现着春秋议论文体的最高成就。

It is generally thought that the ancient Chinese argumentative essay derives from the recorded utterances of the masters＇ teaching, such as The Analects. This is actually a wrong concept, as it has neglected the existence of the argumentative statements popular in the Spring and Autumn Period. First of all, The Analects is not the first of its type; secondly, The Analects cannot represent the highest level of this genre in that historical period. The argumentative statements contained in Zuo＇s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals and Discourses o/the States demonstrate distinctive themes, complete structures, and persuasive rhetoric; they can be taken as the models of the argumentative essays. Submitting a written statement to a higher authority or asking a historiographer to record their statements is the popular way for people living in the Spring and Autumn Period to realize their wish for expounding a theory. These argumentative statements are usually persuasive, flexible, logical, concrete, and dynamic, representing the highest level of the argumentative essay in the Spring and Autumn Period.