空间、地方与自然:段义孚告别演说评述

段义孚将中国文化精髓融入西方地理科学研究,成就斐然,享誉世界。本文围绕他在2014年告别学术生涯演说中阐释的三个核心概念——空间、地方与自然,来评述他的人文地理学思想。他认为,人文现象需以地方经验为切入口,用于重新解读与感受地理知识当中丰富的人文意义。因此,人文地理探索者需带着文化意识,对跨越时间长廊的空间进行人文叙述,以此反思现代地理知识的形成及天人关系分离的现状。他运用心理学术语如距离、想象、过去与情感,通过解析地方精神,阐发了地理空间是如何产生天人意义交织的地方感的。换句话说,段义孚成功地将人文情怀注入对天人之际的人文地理空间研究。现代人需要在地理知识与自然之间找到平衡点,这样才能在物质与知识空间中发现并进入生态和谐的生活场景。

Yi-Fu Tuan, a Chinese American researcher cultural geography, made a link between western geographical science and Chinese philosophical ideas. Based on Tuan＇s farewell speech, this paper reviews Tuan＇s cultural geographical thoughts mainly centering on three key concepts,space, place and nature. Tuan argued that humanistic phenomena should be examined and felt through the local experiences in terms of place. Only in this way could we understand the rich humanistic meanings embedded in geographical locations. Thus, researchers need to carry a cultural consciousness while exploring the geographical landscape in which we could find humanistic narratives and reconsider how modern geographical knowledge has alienated us from the relation towards a romantic nature. To borrow psychological concepts such as distance, imagination, past and emotion, Tuan interpreted how we could feel the spirit of place and have the sense of space. In other words, he successfully input humanistic sentiments into his cultural and geographical researches. Modern people need to find a balance between geographical knowledge and nature. In this way we could find and re-experience the harmony between the spiritual and the material.