穹若

Chora:A Keyword in Critical Theory

为阐述其宇宙观,柏拉图于《蒂迈欧篇》中提出了“穹若”这一概念。该术语之后被克里斯蒂娃挪用、移植到其早期对意指过程中符号态和象征态之动态辩证关系的探讨中。在她看来,穹若既为意指实践中意义与说话主体的生成提供原材料,同时又是符号态中身体性驱力向象征态语言转化的融变场域。在后期对母性问题的探讨中,克里斯蒂娃又创造性地将穹若与母性身体空间联系起来,突出了穹若一词本身所暗含的母性空间维度,彰显了其积极的创生力量。因此,穹若作为克里斯蒂娃所挪用与改造的重要概念,贯穿于其理论著述的诸多方面,是理解其动态意指实践论与独树一帜的女性主义诗学的一把钥匙。

In his cosmogonic frame in Timaeus,Plato proposes the concept of chora to expatiate on his contemplation upon the nature of the physical world and human beings.This term has been appropriated and transplanted by Julia Kristeva to her studies on the dynamic dialectical interactions between the semiotic and the symbolic in the signifying process.In her eyes,the semiotic chora not only provides material support for the advent of the speaking subject and the significance,but also acts as a transforming locus where the bodily drives in the realm of the semiotic will be transformed to the domain of the symbolic language.Furthermore,in her later investigations on maternity,Kristeva also creatively associates chora–the maternal space–with the maternal body in real life,accentuating its original maternal spatial connotation and highlighting its positively generative power.Therefore,chora,a significant term appropriated and transformed by Kristeva,is found throughout her theoretical rendition,becoming a key to understanding her studies on the dynamic signifying practices and her unique feminist poetics.