《杀千刀》与巴塔耶的“中国酷刑”——汉学与法国理论之间的共情之道

“Death by a Thousand Cuts” and Georges Bataille’s “Supplice Chinois”: Looking for the Path to Empathy Between Sinology and French Theory

东西方比较的起点到底是认知还是体验,归宿到底是共识还是共情?这正是一个引发思考的根本问题。我们选取了"杀千刀"这个典型案例,来展现其中所呈现出来的反思认识和苦痛体验之间的冲突对抗。汉学家们普遍倾向于拒斥情感维度,认为它充其量只是干扰客观公正的学术研究的负面因素。但在巴塔耶式的哲学思辨之中,苦痛的内在体验却足以展现出另一种个体之间的共通力量。苦痛不是积极主动的理性认知,而总是指向着被动性的极致界限,但正是在这里,得以敞开更为普遍广大的世界主义式的共通感性。晚近的文化和媒介研究之中也都不断突显出这个关键要点。

Is the starting point of east-west comparison cognition or experience,and the end result consensus or empathy?This is a fundamental question to ponder.We’ve chosen the typical case of "death by a thousand cuts" to show the conflict and confrontation between reflective knowledge and painful experience.Sinologists generally tend to reject the emotional dimension as a negative factor that interferes with objective and impartial academic research.But in Georges Bataille’s philosophical speculation,the inner experience of pain is enough to show another common force connecting individuals.Pain is not active rational cognition,but always points to the extreme limits of passivity,hereby opening the door to a more universal sensibility,a key point that’s been highlighted in recent studies of culture and media.