从“上善若水”到《文心雕龙》的“以水喻文”

From the Highest Excellence Like Water to Match Literature with Water in Literature Mind and the Carving of Dragons

自古以来,人们喜欢用"水"这样一种大家非常熟悉的事物来比拟抽象的事理。从先秦诸子到《文心雕龙》,这种以水喻理的智慧大致经历从"体道"到"比德"再到"喻文"三个阶段,形成中国文论水性智慧的早期脉络。水近于道,体现中国文化的哲学思辨和形象言说。崇尚水德,表现中国人的人生态度。许多文论范畴、概念,如"源""流""清""深""浅""滥""润"等等,都是把文学艺术拟水化的暗喻。毫不夸张地说,关于水的基本术语,大多可以在《文心雕龙》中找到。这是一种极富民族特色的思维和言说方式——把水的存在状态作为文学艺术结构形式的象征,即"以水喻文"。举凡艺术构思、文学风格到审美批评等文学的系列流程,都可以看到《文心雕龙》的这一思维和言说。以水喻文彰显了刘勰文法自然的审美意趣。

From time immemorial,we like to match abstract truth with water that is familiar to us. From the various schools of thought in pre-Qin times to Literature Mind and the Carving of Dragons,this wisdom with water goes through three phases： to experience and observe Tao,to match moral character,to match literature,which is the early phase of the wisdom with water in Chinese literary theory. It is the philosophic thinking and speaking in image in Chinese culture that the water is nearing Tao. It is the attitude to life of Chinese people to worship water. It reflects the aesthetic interest of natural literary to match literature with water in Literature Mind and the Carving of Dragons.