浅议《中国小说史略》之“略”

Analysis on the “briefness” of A Brief History of Chinese Novels

《中国小说史略》作为中国小说史研究的"第一块基石",长期以来受到研究者的重视。在《中国小说史略》的题名中,"小说史"何以言"略",是个极易被忽视的问题。"小说史"之"略",既与作者撰写全书的体例、结构有关,也与作者的叙述策略及学术理念、立场有关。就《中国小说史略》而言,"略"至少包含三层信息:其一,"略"是作者教学的实际需要;其二,"略"是作者撰史的表述策略;其三,"略"是史家对史料和史实的精要提炼。在小说被纳入中国文学史的过程中,鲁迅的《中国小说史略》体现了文学史家的高超眼光,为后代学者撰述中国古代小说史提供了范式。

As the first cornerstone in the study of Chinese fiction history, A Brief History of Chinese Novels has been brought to the attention of the researchers for a long time. In the title of this book, the significance of ＂briefness＂ is easily neglected in ＂the fictional history＂, because the＂ brief＂ of ＂the fictional history＂ is not only related to the style and the structure of the author, but also to the narrative strategy, the academic ideas and the positions of the author. The ‘brief＂ in the A Brief History of Chinese Novels includes at least three layers of information： first, the ＂brief＂ is the practical need of the author in teaching; second, the ＂brief＂ is the strategy of the author in the statement; third, the ＂brief＂ is the refinery of the historians to the historical data and historical essence. In the process that the novel was incorporated into the Chinese literature, the book of A Brief History of Chinese Novels, written by Lu Xun, reflects the eyes of literature historian and provides a paradigm for the future scholars＇ writing about the ancient Chinese novel.