“谈狐说鬼寻常事”——周作人早期散文中的一种文化探源

A Cultural Explanation of Zhou Zuo-ren's Early Prose

周作人的早期散文中多热衷于谈“鬼” ,这其中包括对“蛮性鬼”的科学剖析 ;对“专制鬼”的高度警惕和对“吃人鬼”的猛烈批判。对三种“鬼”的剖析的方法、角度各不相同 ,但都统一在一种周作人对历史与现实关系的独特文化思考及其思维方式中。周作人的谈鬼在经历了三个阶段后 ,由得出的悲观结论转向了“闭户读书”和小品文写作。于是理解了周作人的谈鬼 ,可以为他后来的人生转向和文风转向提供思想依据。

In his early prose (written approximately before the year of 1930), Zhou Zuo-ren showed great interests in talking about ghosts. His discussion involved rational analysis of savage ghosts, vigilance over despotic ghosts and fierce attack on man-eating ghosts. These three kinds of ghosts were examined from various angles in different ways and were all united in Zhou's distinctive thinking on the relationship between history and reality. After three stages of talking about ghosts, Zhou became disheartened and turned to closed-door reading and writing. Thus comprehending the ghosts in Zhou Zuo-ren's early prose will help us to search for the underlying causes of his transformation in life and prose .