尚未完成的“现代”——也谈中国现当代文学的分期

Unfinished“Modern Age”——My View on the Division of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature

中国现代文学的上限应该定在晚清 ,而非“五四新文化运动”。中国文学的现代性追求并未止于 1 94 9。 1 94 9只是政治划界 ,此后中国文学发生了许多激变 ,呈现出复杂的现代性样式。晚清至今的中国文学仍然属于尚未完成的现代。通常所谓从“五四”到 1 94 9年“现代文学”应该作为特殊的学术史概念来使用 ,而 1 94 9年至今的“当代文学”则应该理解为一个文学批评而非文学史的概念。以往所谓的“现当代文学”只是一个暂时性的提法 ,似乎应该为重新作出解释的现代文学所取代。

The start of modern Chinese literature should be defined at the Late Qing rather than “Wu Si and the Moment of New Culture”. The pursuit of modernity in Chinese literature did not break off in 1949, which is nothing but a political division. Since 1949, many significant changes have taken place in Chinese literature, which has exhibited very complicated modernity. Chinese literature from the Late Qing till today still belongs to the unfinished modern age. The so called “Modern Literature” which was usually limited within the time frame of “Wu Si” to 1949 can only be used as a special scholastic concept, and the so called “Contemporary Literature” (after 1949) should be understood as a concept in literary criticism, but not as a concept in literature history. “Modern and Contemporary Literature” is only a provisional notion, and it will be replaced by “Modern Literature” which is re interpreted in this thesis.