食可以群——试论叙事作品中的共食书写

Meal-sharing Helps to Maintain Community——On the Commensality Writing in Narrative Texts

中外叙事作品中均有不少同餐共饮活动的书写,这些聚食的场面不仅构成了故事情节不可或缺的部分,其背后还蕴含着深刻的社会意义。从共食的社会功能角度来看,分享食物是群体得以建立与维系的重要纽带,而纽带是否牢固与如何巧妙利用同食的手段密不可分。通过考察叙事作品中的共食维群事件,发现共食在群体的建立与维系中只是充当了一种表象功能,食可以群的本质在于共食者的善行美德感化他人,飨食享德方能真正凝聚人心,结而为群。

There is a lot of writing about commensal activities both in Chinese and foreign narrative texts,these communal eating scenes not only form an integral part of story,but also have profound social significance.From the perspective of the social function of commensality,meal-sharing is an important bond for community establishment and maintenance,but whether the bond is strong or not is inseparable from how to skillfully use the means of the meal-sharing.Based on the analysis of the commensal events in the narrative texts,this paper finds that commensality only serves as a representation function in the establishment and maintenance of the community.The essence which meal-sharing helps maintain community is that the good and virtue of convive can influence others,and only the good and virtue of diners combining with commensality can truly unite people and become a community.