近代以来中国文学理论生产机制的生成与流变——以“言说语境”和“叙事方式”的流变为中心

Formation and Evolution of the Production Mechanism of Modern Chinese Literary Theory with a Focus on the Evolution of“Speech Context”and“Narrative Mode”

要对以“大众”“消费”“文化研究”等为关键词的当代文学理论进行追本溯源式思考,就有必要对近代以来的文学理论生产机制作必要的梳理。在这个过程中,将“言说语境”和“叙事方式”作为思考问题的角度,无疑能够将问题聚焦于“生产机制”这一中心话题之中。一方面,从言说语境的流变来看,近代来以来文学理论的言说语境经历了一个从“现代性”到“消费”的变化过程。尽管“现代性”一直被认为是一个未完成的命题,但当代提倡以“人”为中心的人文主义言说语境,既是近代以来所生成的“现代性”语境在当代的流变,也是对现代性话语的传承与呼应。而随着消费社会的生成以及大众文化的繁荣,“消费”已逐步取代“现代性”成为当代文学理论言说的话语背景。很显然,以“消费”为中心的大众化立场,与之前的以“人文主义”为中心的精英化立场是格格不入的。于是,以“批判”理论的引入为标志的批判话语得以生成。另一方面,从叙事方式来看,近代以来在以革命斗争为主题所生成的“革命”语境中,宏大叙事成为革命年代叙事方式的首选,其话语表征是注重文学艺术的革命宣传功能和政治教育功能。到了当代,随着言说语境从革命向“消费”的转移,叙事方式也从宏大叙事向大众化叙事转移。与之前的注重革命政治意义的宏大叙事不同,大众化叙事更强调意义本身的生成性与建构性,也就是将“语言学转向”的思维模式纳入到大众化叙事的言说系统之中。

It is necessary to straighten out the production mechanism of literary theory since modern times if we want to trace back to the origin of contemporary literary theory with“mass,”“consumption”and“cultural research”as the key words.In this process,it is possible to focus on“production mechanism”from the perspectives of“speech context”and“narrative mode.”On the one hand,the speech context of literary theory has undergone a change from“modernity”to“consumption.”Although“modernity”has always been regarded as an unfinished proposition,the present humanistic speech context with“man”as the center is not only a contemporary form of the“modernity”context in modern times,but also an inheritance of and response to the modernity discourse.With the emergence of consumer society and the prosperity of mass culture,“consumption”has gradually replaced“modernity”as the discourse context of contemporary literary theory.Obviously,the consumption-oriented mass position is incompatible with the previous elite position centered on“humanism.”Therefore,a critical discourse marked by the introduction of“critical”theory comes into being.On the other hand,in the modern“revolution”context with revolutionary struggle as the theme,grand narrative had become the first choice of narrative mode in the revolutionary era,with its discourse representation focused on the revolutionary propaganda and political education functions of literature.In contemporary times,with speech context changing from revolution to“consumption,”the narrative mode has also shifted from grand narrative to mass narrative.Different from the previous grand narrative that focused on the revolutionary political significance,the mass narrative emphasizes the generative and constructive nature of the meaning itself,that is,a thinking mode with a“linguistic turn”is incorporated into the speech system of mass narrative.