芥川龙之介的近代批判与反思——对《中国游记》的反东方主义解读

Akutagawa Ryunosuke's Views on Modernization——an anti-oriental interpretation of Travels in China

芥川龙之介的《中国游记》里多处可见芥川对近代中国脏乱落后景象的批判以及厌恶之情。诸多先行研究援用萨义德的东方主义理论,认为芥川作为一个先于中国迈入近代国家之列的日本国国民,显然是以先进国的优越姿态、亦即日本式的东方主义眼光来打量曾经的老大国。然而,联系芥川在中国之行前后创作的多篇作品来看,《中国游记》的意义也许并不在于它表明了芥川的何种中国观,而在于它反映了芥川不局限于一国一地、对近代整体的反思与批判。

Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s Travels in China has a lot of description of China’s messy environment.Akutagawa criticized it and manifested his disgust.Some previous studies use Edward Said’s Orientalism to explain the text,considering Akutagawa as an advanced national in Japan,it is clear that he was looking at the old country with the advanced posture of the advanced country,that is,the“Japanese Orientalism”.However,judging from several pieces of art work created before and after Akutagawa’s visit to china.The significance of Travels in China may not be to show his view of china,but to reflect that Akutagawa’s reflection and criticism is not limited to modern times in one place and one country.