“叙事”与“narrative”在中西传统文化语境中的差异

The Differences of "Narrative" between China and the West

本文拟在中国与西方这一跨文化的时空背景下,将"叙事"作为关键词,对其作词源学上的探讨和文化差异上的厘定。本文认为:其一,中国与西方在叙事初期即出现的精英叙事与大众叙事的分野,使中西叙事对叙事接受者提出了不同的要求:西方重交流,中国则重体悟。其二,西方叙事在时空上更侧重时间安排,中国则相对更重视空间的多层次性;西方对时空的感受很精微,中国则相对比较写意。其三,西方传统叙事模式多为情节集中的单线结构,而中国的叙事作品则多线索纷繁,因此对顺序、头绪格外重视。

This paper intends to analyze 'narrative' in the cross-culture background of China and the West.The main idea in this paper include:first,the main form of narrative in China was 'elite narrative',and the West form was 'public narrative'.The requirements of recipients in West emphasize 'communicate',and in China it emphasizes 'understanding'.Second,with regard to 'time and space',the Western narrative focuses more on the timing,while China relatively more emphasizes on the multilevel nature of space.The feeling of space-time in Western is very subtle,while China is relatively freehand.Third,many traditional Western narrative pattern are one plot structure,while narrative works in China include many clues.