对中国近代文学上下限、分期的反思

Rethinking the Upper and Lower Bounds,and Periodization of Modern Chinese Literature

中国近代文学研究长期以来过分依赖历史学科,突出地反映在关于近代文学上下限与分期问题上。近代文学的上限依据近代史确定为鸦片战争发生的1840年,这一上限导致两方面的弊端:一是近代文学研究范围不明确,为了实现文学史家的叙述目的,策略性地挪移作家位置,如龚自珍;二是有重要地位的文学现象、文学流派被割裂,如宋诗派、桐城派。近代文学的分期也是如此,目前的几种观点无不是近代史或依据社会思潮或历史大事件分期的翻版。作为文学史,放下自己的文学立场,把文学现象的选择、描述、解释作为贯彻其历史学科政治判断与价值取向的过程。有鉴于此,前人关于近代文学上限为"嘉道之际"的观点值得重提,近代文学的分期,依据文学演进的历程,分为道光、咸丰、同治半个世纪为前期,光绪、宣统、民初半个世纪为后期。近代前期经世派、宋诗派和以梅曾亮、曾国藩为代表的桐城派得到完整展现;近代后期,一方面是传统文学的结穴,另一方面则是新文学的萌生,二者的消长预示了文学的走向。

The Over - dependence of modem Chinese literature studies upon history discipline is prominently manifested in the issue about the upper and lower bounds and periodization of modem Chinese literature. Its upper bound is determined to be 1840, the year when the Opium War broke out, in accordance with history discipline. However, this upper bound leads to drawbacks on the two sides. The first is an ambiguity of its studies, namely a misplacement of certain writers as Gong Zizhen and others to meet the purpose of the narration of literary historians whereas the second is a separation of important literary phenomena and schools as the Song - dynasty - poetry School and the Tongcheng School. And the same is true with its periodization, and none of the current viewpoints is not a reproduction of the periodization re- lying on history discipline, or on Social ideological trend, or even on significant historical events. That is, by putting aside its literary stand, literary history has taken the selection, description and interpretation of literary phenomena as a process to bring about political judgment of history discipline and value o- rientation. In view of this, it is worth repeating the view of predecessors determining the upper bound to be between the reign of Emperor Jiaching （reigned 1796 -1820）and that of Emperor Daoguang （reigned 1821 -1851 ）. And based upon its evolution, modem Chinese literature is divided into the earlier period of the half a century of the reign of Emperors Daoguang, Xianfeng （reigned 1851 - 1861 ） and Tongzhi （reigned 1862 - 1874）, and later period of another half of a century of the reign of Emperors Guangxu （ reigned 1875 - 1908 ） andXuantong （ reigned 1909 - 1911 ）, and the early Republic of China. The Statecraft （Jingshi） school, the Songdynasty- poetry school and the Tongcheng School with Mei Zengliang and Zeng Guofan as its representatives fully display what its earlier period is like, while the later period sees the end of traditional Chinese literature and the birth of the new literature, and the ebb and flow of the two forebode where literature will make for.