“衍”“生”辨

Distinguishing “Yan” and “Sheng” in Chinese Hermeneutics

与西方后现代阐释理论主张阐释是无限制的意义生产不同,中国阐释学中"衍生"一词,在"阐宏使大"中蕴含"约束规范"之意,使阐释在扩张与守约之间找到平衡。在文字学意义上,"阐""衍"同义,"阐衍""阐化""衍化"均为传统经学常用之语;在阐释学意义上,"衍"是阐的方式,阐乃由衍而阐,"衍"显明"阐"不同于"诠""解"之个性,更发展出古代释义"阐衍"与"诠解"两条主要脉络,离散与递归两种思维方式。"衍生"较之"生产",更能确当表达文本阐释在合理性约束下的扩张与流溢,也提示我们全面客观地认识西方后现代阐释理论。"衍生"当为中国阐释学理论体系中具有节点性意义的重要概念。

Different from the notion put forward by Western post-modern hermeneutical theories that interpretation is meaning generation without constraints,the term“Yansheng”(衍生)in Chinese hermeneutics,which means elucidation within boundaries and regulations,strikes a balance between“spreading out”and“abiding convention”in interpretive behaviors.Philosophically,“Chan”(阐)and“Yan”(衍)share the same meaning,and the terms“Chanyan”(阐衍)“Chanhua”(阐化)“Yanhua”(衍化)were all frequently used in traditional Chinese exegesis.Hermeneutically,“Yan”means the route in which“Chan”is conducted;“Yan”underscores the distinctiveness of“chan”from“Quan”(诠)and“Jie”(解),as two major principles,namely“Chanyan”and“Quanjie”(诠解),as well as two ways of thinking,namely spreading and convergence,stemmed from this distinction.Compared with“generation”,“Yansheng”can more accurately demonstrate the expansion and spreading of text interpretation within reasonable constraints,which reminds us to look at Western post-modern hermeneutical theories in an all-round and objective way.This paper concludes that“Yansheng”is an significant landmark concept in the theoretical system of Chinese hermeneutics.