学术史视角下的“现代主义”概念考辨

The Evolution of “Modernism”as a Literary Term——From the Perspective of Academic History

从学术史的角度来看,"现代主义"作为批评概念有一个源起与嬗变的过程。"modernism"一词在英美批评界并非由来已久,而是经过相当长的历史时期才逐渐被广泛认同与接受。在国内批评界,"现代主义"是一个舶来品,其内涵与外延也经历了较为复杂的从模糊、不确定到相对稳定的语用变迁过程。"现代主义"作为批评概念从引入到定型、再到定性,清晰地反映了西方现代主义文学在中国的研究与接受历程,即民国时期的最初引入与关注、建国早期的贬斥与否定、新时期之初的争议与论辩,以及当下对西方现代主义文学的全盘肯定与认同。在当下语境中,"现代主义"仍然存在着内涵模糊与外延不清的散乱状况,是一个需要慎用且不可随意套用、乱用的术语概念。

From the perspective of academic history, the evolution of ＂modernism＂ into a literary term has been a long process. It began to be widely accepted as a critical concept in Anglo-American literary criticism quite late in the 20th century. Similarly, ＂modernism＂ as a borrowed word in the Chinese context has undergone more complex changes from obscurity and uncertainty to stability and clarity in both its denotation and connotation. Furthermore, the evolution of ＂modernism＂ as a critical term in Chi- nese criticism has been in parallel with the response to the Western modernist literature in various historical stages. Nowadays, it is such a confusing and overused term that needs to be clearly defined whenever it is in use.