美国中国古代文学研究管窥

A Brief Review of the Study of Classical Chinese Literature in the USA

美国中国古代文学研究具有如下基本特点:第一,重视文本的英译,并将英译与研究紧密结合。第二,研究者多具有英美文学、比较文学、西方理论的背景,注重跨界研究以及与西方文学研究的对话。第三,注重具体作家、作品或者某一文学体裁的研究,研究成果大多不以文学史的形式呈现。第四,中国女性文学研究是近二三十年来的一大热点,并取得了丰硕的成果。第五,关注文学与宗教、社会史、文化史等的关系,把文学置于广阔的社会生活背景之中进行研究与分析。随着中美信息和人员交流的增多,两国相关领域的研究会更加趋向融合,其差异越来越表现为个体之间的差异,而非两国整体的截然不同,美国中国文学研究今后可能的发展趋势也将继续体现上述特点。

Since the end of World War II,the study of classical Chinese literature in the United States has developed rapidly.The normalization of diplomatic relations between China and the United States and China s Reform and Opening-up policy propelled this field towards unprecedented prosperity.Since the mid-1980s,many mainland scholars have studied in the United States,which has greatly changed the background composition of scholars and students in this field.Since the 1990s,American academic institutions have gradually established online accesses to Chinese textual resources,which has made it possible for Chinese and American scholars to exchange their academic achievements in a more timely fashion.After a brief survey of the general state of the study of classical Chinese literature in the United States,this paper discusses the following basic characteristics of the field:First,American scholarship on Chinese literature puts emphasis on the translation of Chinese literary texts and considers it an integral part of literary research.Second,most Chinese literature scholars in the US have received training in English and American literature,comparative literature and Western critical theories,which enables them to study Chinese literature with interdisciplinary approaches and in dialogue with scholars on Western literatures.Third,scholars in the US tend to concentrate on studies of individual Chinese writers,works and genres.Most of their research is not conducted in the form of literary history.Fourth,the study of Chinese women s literature has become a popular trend and a fruitful subfield in the past two or three decades.Fifth,the study of Chinese literature in the US focuses on the interconnection between literature and religion,social history and cultural history,situating literature scholarship in a broad context of social environments.With the increasing exchange of information and personnel between China and the United States,Chinese literary studies in both countries are becoming more and more integrated.The differences are increasingly in individual approaches only.Finally,this paper envisions possible future developments of Chinese literary studies in the US.First,more American scholars will publish in Chinese so as to reach a larger audience and communicate with their Chinese counterparts more directly;for the same purpose,a larger number of studies originally published in English will be translated into Chinese.Second,the research field of classical Chinese literature will be further expanded.Third,the number of American students who are interested in modern Chinese literature,films and popular culture is likely to increase dramatically,while the number of those interested in classical Chinese literature might decrease.Fourth,Chinese officials and individuals will be more proactive in seeking to introduce Chinese literature and other cultural products to the US and the Western world at large.Fifth,the Unite States will be increasingly concerned with China s social developments.Finally,the augmented accessibility to Chinese information resources will not only facilitate American scholars work but also,quite ironically,make sifting and screening of the materials a more difficult process.