身体·民族·国家——《沉沦》中的身体政治

Body,Nation and State:Body Politics in Chen Lun

郁达夫的短篇小说《沉沦》可以作为思想史文本来解读。小说的主人公"我"在空虚孤独中,发现了自然的身体,进而激发了欲望的身体,当欲望的身体得不到满足,"我"把原因归咎于欲望对象与自己不是一个民族,而自己民族所属的国家是弱国,因而得不到欲望对象的青睐。此时"我"的政治身体凸显,进而希望祖国富强,自己的身体欲望才能得到满足。"我"在身体的煎熬中,以切身感受的方式,产生了强烈的民族和国家观念。在近代中国,个人身体始终被工具化的看待,身体(个人)必须服从于国家的富强和发展。对个体来说,民族国家观念可以通过"知识-权力"之下身体的自我规训的感受中产生。

Compared with traditional politics, modern people cannot separate themselves from politics. Generally speaking,no matter in which country or which corner of the world,they are born to have a citizenship within a nationstate—an identity that comes with political nature.Citizenship does not only signify one＇s rights,but also means one＇s duty. Both of these reflect the discipline of modern politics on one＇s ＂body＂.The nation-state,as a political unit in the present world,is also a form of discipline. So,at its foundation,the nation naturally has a political dimension. Modern states use nationalism to integrate the people into a nation,and,thus,there is the nation-state. In modern politics,the concept of ＂body＂is firstly classified into a nation,a community of history,culture and emotion etc.,and then classified into the nation-state,a political community constructed from it.Modern China has been transformed from an imperial state into a modern nation-state. In this great transformation,China experienced the construction of both a nation and a state. This paper focuses on an analysis of the depression and mental state of the leading character in the novel Chen Lun（Sinking） by Yu Dafu to interpret how national identity and state identity are formed or reflected in an individual＇s ＂body ＂ under the influence of＂knowledge-power ＂ as part of the formation process of the modern Chinese nation-state.I. The Self-consciousness of Body Chen Lun is a novel which describes the lifeof a Chinese student studying in Japan during the Republican Era. The leading character in the novel is a lonely,sensitive and self-abasing young man.He loves the natural scenery of Japan,and loves literature. In his loneliness and depression,he often masturbates, so he feels a lot of remorse.When he was discriminated by a Japanese maid in a hotel,he trembled with rage,and tears fell. This maid in his eyes merely was the object of desire,but he did not have the courage to face her. This is because they belonged to different nations,different countries,and he was a citizen of a weak country. He had an intense feeling of his national identity and the importance of his nation-state,and felt that if his country were strong enough,he could face Japanese women with an identity of an equal nation and citizenship. He told himself remorsefully： ＂Let it be,let it be,for from now on I shall care nothing about women,absolutely nothing. I will love nothing but my country,and let my country be my love. ＂At that moment,when the desire of his body could not be achieved through the alien woman,the object of his desire shifted to the nation and the state. He hoped his country could become strong,and made a wish that the motherland would be strong and powerful. He screamed despairingly： ＂motherland,oh my motherland! Get rich and get strong! So many of your children are still suffering!＂From ＂his＂experience,we can see that only when the ＂body ＂suffers hardship,can a person feel the importance of nation and state. Althoughthe nation is the home of his ＂body＂,the nation cannot protect him,and give him strong support.So,he can only rely on the state at that moment,and therefore,hoped to give his ＂body＂to it. The destruction of individual＇s body and spirit made the＂body＂rise from the desire of the individual and the frustration he met in reality to the level of the nation-state.Erotic feelings,a spontaneous natural emotion and desire of the ＂body＂,had been hindered and discriminated against due to national status and citizenship. So,＂he＂used masturbation（ the body＇s egoistic pleasure） to resolve the body＇s desire.Henceforth, he experienced hatred and resentment. These experiences made his body physically aware of the identity of his own nation,and also produced the concept of state in his mind. Put in another way,in ＂his＂opinion,only having a powerful country as a backup force could enable him to become a Chinese citizen who had an equal position with the Japanese nation,and enable him to express his desires freely rather than be depressed.At this time,the individual＇s body is linked with nation and state. And,the body is politicized and nationalized which impacts and shapes society.This process is also a process of the emergence and embodiment of the concept of nation-state within the body of the individual,and the body under the nation-state is born in such a process.II. Individual,Body and Nation-state Seen from the environment of Yu Dafu when he wrote Chen Lun,the concept of ＂body＂（ knowledge） that ‘he＇ accepted and embodied in the story can be divided into two parts： one part derives from the idea of ＂body ＂ in traditional Chinese Confucianism,and the other part is the idea of＂body＂from the west introduced by intellectuals of that time. In the view of ancient Chinese Confucianism,＂body ＂means abstinence,whereas,in the restated western ideas of ＂body＂,＂body ＂is also linked with the state,and is even a tool for the country＇s wealth and power. So, in Chen Lun,when it is said ＂I＂felt regretful about ＂my＂mas-turbation,in fact,the physical suffering and humiliation are the process disciplined by both the Chinese and Western nationalist ideas（ knowledge）of ＂body ＂. In the process,through the idea of＂body＂,＂I＂deeply felt and experienced nation and state,and generated ＂my＂consciousness and identity onto the nation and state.There are three kinds of bodies within the process of the formation of ＂his＂concept of nation and state. Under the influence of desire,the natural body changes into the body of desire. However,the desire cannot be satisfied,so the ensuing humiliation politicized the body, and, ultimately formed a political body. The political body connects itself with the state,and then,forms the consciousness of nation and state. Different from the propaganda of nationalism and the discipline of the state,the formation of this kind of concept of nation and state is a process of self-discipline deriving from ＂knowledge-power ＂ after experiencing foreign humiliation and physical repression. The main factor in the process is the physical perception of taking the social ideas（ knowledge-power）as the background. This can be seen as the process of modern politics＇ entering into the individual body from every micro aspect. It means in modern politics,that the formation of the individual concept of nation and state is not only through the imagination of members of an＂imagined community＂,but,the more important way is through the feelings of the individual body.Modern politics have more penetrative power than traditional politics. The citizens of a modern country must have political identity. So,modern politics is not only the problem of the operation of an administrative system, but is also how the＂body＂of every individual faces the problem of being shaped in daily life,including the discipline and punishment of the ＂body＂by politics. In the process of shaping, discipline and punishment,everyone＇s ＂body＂is no longer a ＂natural body＂in the traditional state,but becomes a ＂political body＂. In this process,the citizens needed by themodern nation-state will be shaped successfullythey will not only have national identity,but also have state identity. This is the process during which ＂he＂formed the concept of nation and state in Chen Lun.III. Conclusion Joseph R. Strayer states that： ＂A state exists chiefly in the hearts and minds of its people; if they do not believe it is there,no logical exercise will bring it to life. ＂ Based on the analysis of＂body＂politics in Yu Dafu＇s Chen Lun,this article considers that the modern people＇s concept of nation-state can be formed by the call of nationalism and the discipline of state, but it is also through the psychological feelings of the individual body that a person＇s nation-state concept can be shaped more strongly. Moreover,during the formation process of the concept of the modern people＇s nation-state,there is not only top-down discipline,but also self-discipline under which ＂k