马修·阿诺德文化观的双重性——读《文化与无政府状态》

The Duality of Arnoldian Culture: Reading Culture and Anarchy

《文化与无政府状态:政治与社会批评》是马修.阿诺德的重要著作之一,也是阿诺德文化观的集中阐述,对西方文化研究和文学批评产生了深远影响。把握阿诺德文化观的关键是理解和平衡阿诺德文化观的双重性,即理论上的理想色彩和社会实践性、文化的精英意识和文化大众化、文化的普遍性和文化局限性。只有理解了这三个层面的双重性才能更好地关注阿诺德文化观所体现出的思想价值及其对当下中国的现实意义。

As one of important works of Matthew Arnold, Culture and Anarchy, an Essay in political and social criticism, is the elaboration of Amoldian culture and has had a far-reaching influence on western cultural study and literary criticism. The key to mastering Arnoldian culture is to understand and balance its duality, that is, its theoretical idealism and social practicalness, its elitism and popularity, its universality and its limitation. Only when we understand the duality on these three levels, can we appreciate the value and practical significance of Amoldian culture.