茅盾与二三十年代中国乡村贫困叙事

Mao Dun and Poverty Narrative in the Rural China in the 1920s-30s

对于20世纪二三十年代中国的农业危机和乡村急剧贫困化,茅盾小说与同时期其他作家包括左翼作家的描述有诸多不同之处:它以国际、国内全局视野来认识这一现象的社会根源,并不仅仅归咎于土地制度,也不仅仅归咎于地主的个人品德。他认为农业破产、农民贫困化只是近年之事,因而并非封建土地制度的直接结果,外国资本的入侵才是其主因。在茅盾笔下,地主不等于恶霸,地主与农民的关系未必截然对立,地主、富农和小商人同样是农业危机的受害者。这些叙事特点源自茅盾独特的小说美学追求:与其他左翼作家追求直接宣传鼓动效果不同,茅盾更将小说创作看作一项探求真理、追寻社会现实背后潜在规律,最后以"精进和圆熟"的"艺术手腕"予以表达的过程,看作一种"求真"活动。他既强调理性认识,也倚重感性经验。茅盾不同于其他左翼作家的创作方法,还表现在他其他小说的叙事聚焦选择上。

For the 1920s-30 s agricultural crisis and radical poverty in the rural China,Mao Dun＇s description differed in many ways from those of other writers,even including left-wing writers. It recognized the social origin of this rural phenomenon from a wholesome perspective,both home and abroad,and attributed it not merely to the current system of land and morals of the landlord. It thought that agricultural bankruptcy and farmer＇s poverty occurred only in recent years,so it did not result directly from the feudal system of land but from the invasion of foreign capital. All these characteristics of narration were derived from Mao Dun＇s individual pursuit of novel aesthetics. Differing from other left-wing writers,He regarded novel writing as a process of exploring truth and potential rules behind social reality and expressing it by ＂elaborate and sophisticated＂＂artistic devices＂,and,in a word,an activity of ＂seeking truthfulness＂.