中国小说的“中国性”管窥:以汪曾祺为例试驳“葛浩文之问”

The Chineseness of Chinese Fiction: Taking Wang Zengqi as an Example in Response to the Query of Howard Goldblatt

美国汉学家葛浩文质疑中国小说,认为沉迷日常生活场景描写令情节不够紧凑流畅,使小说有丧失文学性之嫌。我们则认为,中国小说大量描写与情节无关的生活细节,源于中国文学对"文""人"与"世界"的融合性表现传统,它体现的正是中国小说的"中国性"特色。与西方重视文学的独立性价值不同,中国传统文论强调"心生而言立",追求"文""人"与"道"的合一性与合作性。汪曾祺用现代汉语传达了中国传统的"文""人"与"世界"融合统一的精神追求,体现出"真实"与"美"在日常生活中相交融的特色,从而证实了中国传统审美趣味与创作手法绵延至今的强大生命力。葛浩文的误解恰好证明了中国文学具有无法被西方文学及其诗学审美惯例拘囿的"中国性"。

In his questioning of Chinese fiction, Howard Goldblatt suggests that, thanks to its obsession with the depiction of daily life, Chinese fiction features loosely-knit plots, which as a result deprives itself of literariness. Goldblatt’s perception is problematic, because the depiction of everyday details precisely originates from the long history of Chinese literary tradition, which pursues the harmony of writing, man, and the world. Such a harmony-seeking practice bespeaks the Chineseness of modern Chinese fiction. Unlike Western literature that puts an emphasis on literary independence, Chinese literary tradition stresses "the expression of what one truly thinks", and emphasizes the unity and harmony of writing, man, and Tao. Taking Wang Zengqi as an example, this article argues that Wang’s work conveys the spiritual pursuit of such a long tradition of merging "truth" and "beauty";he also testifies to the vitality of traditional Chinese aesthetic values and creative techniques in the contemporary times. Goldblatt’s misunderstanding serves as evidence that Chinese literature cannot be confined to the aesthetic conventions of Western poetics.