“复制”曹雪芹的可能性——评阎真小说《活着之上》

Possibility of “Duplicating” Cao Xueqin:Comment on Yan Zhen’s Novel Above Living

阎真小说《活着之上》探讨了市场经济语境中现代知识分子的困境。一方面,以曹雪芹为代表的“圣人文化意象群”促使小说主人公聂致远探索人生终极价值;另一方面,世俗的生存哲学诱使聂致远放弃理想追求现实利益。是安于“活着”的状态,还是追求“活着之上”的崇高,成为以聂致远为代表的现代知识分子一生亟待解决的问题。大数据时代科技的发展,使得圣人的崇高精神被他人领会不再困难;借助现代传播媒介,知识分子可以使自己的思想观念被他人快捷地接受吸纳。现代社会,让他人大规模地“复制”自己的思想而获得永恒的地位,也不再意味着必须经历现世的生存艰辛与贫困,“活着”与“活着之上”二元对立的调和已成为可能。

Yan Zhen’s novel Above Living explores the dilemma of modern intellectuals in the context of market economy.On the one hand,the“sage cultural image group”represented by Cao Xueqin promotes the protagonist Nie Zhiyuan to explore the ultimate meaning and value of life;On the other hand,the worldly philosophy of survival also forces Nie Zhiyuan to live up to the needs of the present world.Being content with“living”or pursuing the sublimity of“above living”has become a problem that modern intellectuals represented by Nie Zhiyuan need to solve in their lifetime.The development of science and technology in the big data age makes it not difficult for others to comprehend the noble spirit of the saints;In the traditional sense,the way that devotes your lifelong energy to write a book and win immortal fame has been transformed into a way to make your thoughts emulated by others by modern social tools.Allowing others to“copy”your thoughts on a large scale and gain eternal life no longer means the hardships or poverty of living in the world,and the harmonious opposition between“living”and“above living”becomes possible.