文章与literature:中西文论如何言说“文学”

Article and Literature: How Chinese and Western Literary Theories Interpreting ‘Literature' Independently

文论关键词的中西比较,似应首选却最难诠释的莫过于"文学"。指称语言艺术和学科类别的"文学"一词是19世纪通过日语转译过来的,侨词色彩明显而本土特征丢失。对文论关键词作观念史的考察,或可发现真正能与literature对译的是"文章"而非"文学"。汉语的"文章"与西语的literature虽有时空之隔却不乏语义之通,此二者之通义依次表现于对文学观念之缘起、沿生及再创的言说。在关键词的根性结构、语义流变和话语转换等不同层面比较"文章"与literature,不仅能看出中西文论如何言说"文学",还能为中国文论语体系的重建提供有益的尝试和启示。

With regards to the literary theories of Chinese and Western keywords,it is‘literature’that should be preferred but is most difficult to clearly interpret.The term‘literature,which refers to language art and a subject category,is translated by Japanese in the 19th century,having an obvious color of overseas words without local character.An investigation of the history of the concept as a key word of literary theory can find that the term‘literature’can be interpreted as‘article’rather than‘literature’.Although the space-time separated,these terms of Chinese文章(article)and English‘literature’are interlinked and expressed in the similar origin of literary ideas,and the words of life and creation.The comparison between‘articles’and‘literature’in different levels of root structure,and between semantic change and discourse conversion,can not only reveal that the Chinese and Western literary theory can be used to say‘literature’,but also to provide a useful attempt and enlightenment for reconstructing Chinese literary system.