戏在台下——鲁迅《社戏》重读

The Best Takes PlaceOff the Stage: Rereading Lu Xun’s “Village Opera”

《社戏》作为通行版《呐喊》的最后一篇,呼应了第一篇《狂人日记》"救救孩子"的主题,也使鲁迅笔下的中国故事有了一个乐观的结尾。《社戏》之"戏"并非"好戏",真正的"好戏"其实是孩子们在台下所上演的他们自己的人生戏剧。《社戏》中的"八一公公"、外祖母和母亲是孩子们应该感谢的三个大人,他们在将近一百年之前就懂得尊重儿童的独立性了。鲁迅写这篇小说的目的,就是要呼应他在五四时期所主张的"幼者本位的道德",而迄今为止中小学语文课本中删去《社戏》开头部分,恰恰违背了鲁迅的这一极富现代性的思想。

The "Village Opera", as the last piece in Lu Xun's short story collection Nahan(Call to Arms), apart from echoing the theme of "saving the children" articulated in the first piece, "The Madman's Diary," actually serves to give an optimistic ending to the author's narrative of China story. What is really exciting does not take place on stage; instead, it is what the children do off the stage that's the really appealing drama. Thanks to Grandpa Bayi, Grandma and Mother, who knew that the children should be respected for their own sake nearly a century ago, the children could duly enjoy themselves if the plays were not appealing to them. In composing the "Village Opera", Lu Xun's purpose is to give expression to the "juvenile-based morality" as advocated by people during the May-4^(th) period. The deletion of the beginning part of the "Village Opera" in primary and secondary school Chinese textbooks is a violation of Lu Xun's extremely modern thought.