作为抗战文学的《湘西》

Xiangxi as Anti-Japanese War Literature

虽然在何谓、何为抗战文学上沈从文与左翼作家多有辩论,但他于1938年创作的系列散文《湘西》,却是不折不扣的抗战文学。在战事逐渐西移、湘西即将成为火热战区之际,如何认识湘西,使其担负即将到来的历史使命,成为摆在国人与湘西子民面前的迫切问题。由此,《湘西》叙述出一个物产丰富且与外界发生密切联系的枢纽区域,袪除它的蛮荒神秘原始性,还原其历史和文化上既是苗区又属于中国的真实处境,寄望其对抗战有所贡献。纪实和史笔是创作《湘西》的主要手段,但沈从文利用中国绘画的"画意"来调和作品的"文意",为其美学上的精妙追求"增色";尤其是为古代绘画涂抹现实人生的色彩,喻示湘西人民必须超越自然的生命形式,投入到历史的洪流之中。这也使《湘西》成为沈从文对自己之前湘西叙事进行"袪魅"的作品,体现其创作随时而变的发展轨迹。《湘西》在世情与诗情之间维持平衡,保持着五四新文学的姿态并延续它的香火。

Though Shen Congwen had many quibbles with left-wing writers regarding what was and what was not Anti-Japanese War literature, his collection of essays titled Xiangxi of 1938 was plainly part of this literary genre. As the war quickly moved westward engulfing Western Hunan or Xiangxi, it became an increasingly urgent issue for the Chinese in general, and the people of Western Hunan in particular, have an adequate understanding of the locale before it could shoulder its upcoming historical mission of defending China. In Shen’s Xiangxi, Western Hunan was a pivotal hub of China with abundant resources and close contact with the outside world, dispelling its previous image of a wild, mysterious and primitive land. It showed Western Hunan as land of both the Miao ethnic group and the Chinese, hopefully preparing it for its due contribution to winning the war against Japanese aggressors. The collection featured both realistic description and historical depth, taking advantage of the “gist of traditional Chinese painting” to cement its “literary content”, which adds substantially to the aesthetic color of the work. In particular, its employment of ancient painting techniques for realistic depiction of true lives is a clear indication that the people of Western Hunan must transcend the natural pace of life and plunge themselves into the torrent of history. These techniques of Xiangxi also gesture Shen Congwen’s “disenchantment” from his previous still-life narrative of Western Hunan, which means that Shen’s dynamic styles could closely follow the tide of events. Thus, in Xiangxi, one finds a delicate balance between real life and poetry, a symbolic continuation of the May 4 th new literary tradition.