“美刺”传统今何在——新媒体时代的舆论监督与社会批评

The Role of Traditional Poetic Praise and Satire in Public Supervision and Social Critique in the New Media Age

中国社会自古便形成了自己独有的政治文化。由《诗经》开启的"诗教"传统,发端于三代,源远流长,影响至今未息。汉儒承上启下,将诗的功能进一步概括为"美"和"刺",即借助诗歌、民谣、民谚等艺术手法曲折委婉地表达心志,颂美刺过,针砭时弊,影响政府,监督社会。两千多年来,诗的美刺功能在引导社会,改良政治方面发挥的作用不可小觑,即便是在网络电讯高度发达的新媒体时代,仍能通过不同的载体形式,产生积极的效用。

China has had a distinctive political culture since ancient times. The practice of shi jiao（poetic moralization）, which began with the Book of Songs in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, remains influential. With the rise of Confucianism in the Han dynasty, poetry was further defined as a form for praise and satire. In this sense, poetry, ballad, adage, and other artistic forms became a subtle way to praise good things and satirize the bad, thus improving governance and society. For two thousand years, this dual function of poetry has worked wonders in political systems. Even in the new media age of Web 2.0, poetry continues to exert positive influence through various channels.