历史书写中的“文成公主” 兼论“多民族中国”的民族史叙事困境

Princess Wencheng in Historical Writing:The Difficulty in Narrating Ethnic History in Multi-Ethnic China

一个"多民族政治体"形成和存续的核心在于一套能够使具有不同政治与文化传统的诸民族"各安其位"的"秩序",而"民族史书写"正是这一"秩序"的一个重要维度。本文梳理了历史文献中三种不同的"文成公主"叙事:古代汉、藏文文献描述了两种迥然有异的"文成公主"形象,其差异反映了两种古代文明对"世界"及其理想秩序的不同想象;第三种叙事来自近代的"民族主义"史学,汉语知识精英利用古代文献中的素材,在"进步史观"的指导下,塑造了"文成公主"的新形象。本文对这一"民族史书写"的新范式进行了反思性讨论,并进一步对近代中国"民族议题"的核心线索及其所蕴含的结构性矛盾展开了理论探讨。

For a multi-ethnic political entity,whether it is an empire or a nation-state,the key to its survival is an inclusive order under which multiple ethnic groups with different heritages coexist peacefully.Historical writing on ethnic groups and interactions among them is an important part of this order.To demonstrate the point,this paper offers an examination of three different historical narratives of Princess Wencheng.In the first narrative from Chinese classical literature,Princess Wencheng was treated as an insignificant figure and the text paid much more attention to the ceremony of the"peace marriage"than Princess’ individual traits.In the second narrative from Tibetan ancient literature,the treatment was quite different.Portrayed as the incarnation of Green Tara,a tantric deity in Tibetan Buddhism,the Princess supposedly possessed Goddess qualities and magic power.This striking difference reflects the different worldviews and ideal orders of the Chinese and Tibetan civilizations.The former reveals a system of "All Under the Heaven"with China as the single center;and the latter reflects the system of Buddhism with multiple centers.The coexistence of these two worldviews is a perfect expression of the diversity and inclusiveness of the imperial system.Shaped by the nationalist discourse during the first part of the 20 th century,the third narrative retold Princess Wencheng’s story in the new light of nationalism,hence,she was gradually transformed into a new role of a "transmitter of technology".The paper offers a detailed analysis of this process and its deep meanings,and a critical comment on the historical writing under the guidance of the so-called "progressive historical viewpoint"since the late Qing.The conclusion discusses a theoretical explanation of the structural dilemma of nationalism and ethnicity in modern multi-ethnic China.