“辞涩言苦”与“简而有法”:归趣迥异的两种文法论范型

Two Models of Writing Theory in Sharp Contrast:“Obscure Diction and Abstruse Words” vs. “Pithy Style and Logical Structuring”

柳开与欧阳修一为宋初古文先驱,一为宋文代表人物,二人都有学习韩愈的经历,文论主张也深受韩愈的影响。然而,前者学韩而不至,声称古文"非在辞涩言苦",而其得意处正在"辞涩言苦","随言短长"说的旨趣则与韩愈"言之短长与声之高下皆宜"说截然相反,所作古文"体近艰涩",对于宋代文章学的发展并无推动作用;后者则学韩而不似,将韩愈的"气盛言宜"转化为"事信言文",强调古文"简而有法",用心探讨文章之法,开启了此后盛行的文法论研究,将宋文引入与"辞涩言苦"截然相反的平易自然的发展道路。

Liu Kai was the forerunner of ancient style prose in early Song dynasty while Ouyang Xiu,the representative personage of the ancient style prose although Song dynasty.They both had the experience of learning from Han Yu and thus being fundamentally influenced by Han in their literary theory.However,the former learned from Han but hadn't obtained Han's spirit,claiming that although ancient style prose'did not necessarily depend on obscure diction and abstruse words',yet the complacent part was really its'obscure diction and abstruse words',while his purport of'being dependently long or short in accordance with words'was just poles apart to Han's'both being suitable regardless of the length of words and the superiority of tones',thus making his own works of ancient prose nearly intricate and obscure in style and making himself no function of promotion to the advance of the literary criticism in the Song dynasty.On the other hand,Ouyang Xiu learned from Han but never tried to be similar to him,having changed Han's'suiting words to the spirit of prose'into his own'being classical in words to faithful matters',attaching great importance to'pithy style and logical structuring'in prose writing,probing diligently into the laws of prose writing,having opened a prevailing study of literary theories from then on,and led the ancient style prose in Song dynasty to a unassuming and natural path of development,which had been completely opposite to that with'obscure diction and abstruse words'.