“以情悟道守理衷情”的文化意义(上)——三论《红楼梦》的创作主旨

Purport of A Dream of Red Mansions: a Third Investigation(the First Half)

《红楼梦》作者以贾宝玉这一艺术形象实践着警幻仙姑的嘱咐:"以情悟道,守理衷情"。以此警醒世人,从而起到补天的作用。《红楼梦》坚持"以情悟道",以情传道,是有志于道而又不得其位即"有命无运"的明清知识分子用小说批评朝政,教化民众而创作出的最为艳丽的文学奇葩。中华民族在漫长的古代社会中,走过了自己的独特的发展道路,创造了自己的迥异于西方的独特的伦理文化,形成了自己独特的"尚礼"精神追求。道与非道、义与非义、礼与非礼,构成中国古代文化矛盾冲突的主线。建立一个和谐有序的王道社会,不仅是中国古代儒家的主张,也是道家无为而治的理想模式。对这一理想的追求,是几千年中国知识阶层乃至广大民众一致的梦想。为了这个梦想,孔夫子在面对周王朝礼崩乐坏的社会现实时,提出了"克己复礼"的主张;同样,《红楼梦》作者面对满清的黑暗与腐败,提出了"以情悟道,守理衷情"作为社会改革的出路。这就是中华文化尚礼精神在中国文学中的具体体现。这就是中国文化与西方文化的不同之处。

The character of Jia Baoyu in A Dream of Red Mansions practices the instruction that realizes the truth with emotions. With such a description,the writer of A Dream of Red Mansions expresses wishes of the intellectuals in the Ming and Qing dynasties to criticize state affairs and educate the public. In the long ancient history,the Chinese nation creates its unique ethical culture and forms its unique spiritual pursuit for courtesy. Morality and immorality,righteousness and non- righteousness,and propriety and impropriety constitute the mainline of the conflict of ancient Chinese cultures. To build a harmonious society is not only advocated by the Confucians in ancient China,but also consistent with the ideal of the Taoist school. It is also the dream of the intellectuals and the vast mass for thousands of years. To realize the dream,Confucius proposed to deny self and return to propriety facing the collapsed feudal code of ethics of the Zhou dynasty; similarly,the writer of A Dream of Red Mansions put forward that to realize the truth with emotions and integrate the principle and the emotions are a way for social reform.This is the demonstration of the propriety- esteeming spirit of Chinese culture in its literature. It is also a difference between Chinese culture and western cultures.