新的“中国文学史”可能吗——以《剑桥中国文学史》为中心的批判考察

Is a New “History of Chinese Literature” Possible?: A Critical Investigation Centered on The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature

2010年出版的《剑桥中国文学史》,是近年来海外汉学界"重写中国文学史"最为重要的实践之一。该书从"书写实践"和"文学史观"两个层面挑战了主流中国文学史的话语权威:前者通过方法论的更新,解答"如何重写中国文学史"的实践问题;后者则以"编纂原则"为中介,重思"何谓中国文学史"及"为何重写中国文学史"的理论问题。以后者为聚焦,在厘清"史中有史"和"文学文化史"两个基本编纂原则的基础上,围绕"历史"、"文学"和"中国"三个核心概念,可以发现《剑桥中国文学史》对"何谓中国文学史"的理论回应;通过追溯其与西方主流理论界的互动关系,可以呈现当代海外中国文学史的重写动因与范式转型。

The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature published in 2010 is one of the most important efforts of foreign academic Sinology to“rewrite the history of Chinese literature.”The book challenges the discourse authority of the mainstream history of Chinese literature from two aspects:“writing practice”and“view of literary history.”The former answers the practical question of“how to rewrite the history of Chinese literature through the updating of methodology;the latter uses the compilation principle as a medium to rethink the theoretical issues of“what is the history of Chinese literature”and“why we rewrite the history of Chinese literature.”Focusing on the latter,on the basis of clarifying the two basic compilation principles of“the history in history”and“the history of literary culture,”we can find a theoretical response to“what is the history of Chinese literature”in The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature regarding the three core concepts of history,literature,and China.Through exploring its interaction with Western mainstream theories,we can find the rewriting’s motivation and paradigmatic transformation of the contemporary overseas history of Chinese literature.