汉语虚字与古代文章学

Chinese Function Words and the Study of Ancient Literary Writings

中国古代文学观念中对虚字的认识,大致呈现从训诂到修辞、从字类到文法的发展趋势。《文心雕龙》“语助余声”及“弥合文体”说的提出,推动虚字研究由经学传统向古文辞传统靠拢。唐宋以后,随着文章创作和批评的开展,文学视野下的虚字论主要从文章体用、节律和声气三个层面推进,体现出古代文章学注重文体功能、语言形式、审美形态的特征。在清代古文家、小学家围绕声音、文字的关系探讨中,虚字不仅进一步沟通语言学和文章学,也借助以文字为本位的文学观念,成为清末以降“中国文学”研究及文学史书写的知识资源。以汉语虚字为线索,揭示古代文章学发展过程中语言和文辞的互动关系,可以彰显中国文学基于汉语言、汉文字的本民族特性。

The understanding of function words(lit.“empty words”xuzi虚字)in the concepts of ancient Chinese literary concepts presents a general development trend from textual exegesis to rhetoric and from classification of words to grammar.In the classic work of literary criticism,The Literary Mind and the Carving of the Dragons,Liu Xie proposes that the function words play the role of expressing sound and rhythm(yuzhu yusheng语助余声)and perfecting the whole article(弥合文体mihe wenti),indicating a shift in the study of function words from classical canon tradition to literary tradition.After the Tang and Song dynasties,as literary writing and criticism developed,the theory of function words in the literary field chiefly evolved in the three areas of style,rhythm,and tone,reflecting the emphasis of ancient article studies on stylistic function,language forms and aesthetic forms.The discussion of the relationship between sounds and words by Qing scholars of ancient writings and philological studies had not only furthered the communication between linguistic and article studies,but also,based on the literary idea with“characters as the basic unit,”become a knowledge source for the study of Chinese literature and literature history.Xuzi can be used as a clue to cast more light on the interactive relationship between Chinese language and literary writings in the development of article study in ancient China,thus highlight the national characteristics of Chinese literature rooted in its unique language and characters.