文学的发生——“文学一家言”之一

The Genesis of literature

以往关于文学艺术发生("起源")的各种假说,最著名的如"摹仿"说、"劳动"说、"巫术"说、"游戏"说等,的确从某些方面对文学艺术发生的研究作出了各自的贡献,但是又都不能完全令人信服。而且学界还忽视了一位颇有成就的重要学者俄罗斯的维谢洛夫斯基,更遗忘了中国学者如陆侃如冯沅君等人的独特建树。在艺术起源的研究上,其实最接近真理的是18世纪意大利的维柯,著有《新科学》,他的许多观点至今富有启示。本文作者提出自己的假说:文学(诗)是人的历史实践的产物,是应人的内在的本性欲求和诉求自然而然发生的,也是必然发生的。最早的语言文字显现出诗的最原初的本性,诗就是在语言文字中发生的;最初的语言文字本身就是最原始的诗,就是最早的原始形态的文学。

Existing hypotheses of the genesis （or the origin） of literature and arts, such as the renowned theory of ＂mimesis＂, of labor, of witchcraft, and of play, have made their due contribution, but none of them is entirely convincing. Equally important to the field of study are theories by the Russian scholar Alexander Veselovsky and Chinese scholars Lu Kan and Feng Yuanjun, who have been neglected by academics. It is probable that Giovanni Battista Vico＇s New Science is the closest to the truth of the origin of arts. Therefore, his ideas are still provocative. This article proposes another hypothesis ： literature （poetry） is the product of human beings＇ historical practices, which comes into being inevitably due to the desire and pursuit in man＇s innate nature. The most primal nature of poetry lies in the earliest language and words, wherein poetry comes into being. In other words, the earliest language and words are the most primal poetry, namely the earliest literary form.