莎士比亚“亨利三部曲”中的河流伦理

River Ethic in Shakespeare’s History Plays the Henriad

河流伦理是近年中国黄河研究者集体构建,并被国内外学界广泛认可的河流理论。运用该理论的核心理念阐释莎士比亚历史剧“亨利三部曲”中的河流书写,发现剧作揭示出三种人与河流生命关系:一是以波林勃洛克为代表的篡位者为争夺疆域而强占河流,二是霍茨波所代表的封建领主图谋分裂国家而令河流改道,三是亨利王为了确立王位合法性而认同河流。强占和改道皆违背河流伦理而终致自身悲剧的结局,而认同河流助力亨利王确立其王位合法性,使他获得实现国家统一的内在力量。莎士比亚河流伦理书写揭示出英国早期现代性中关于疆域和王权的时代主题,本质上是为英国民族国家塑形构建话语体系。它还为新时代讲好中国河流故事提供了他山之石。

River ethic is a theory collectively constructed by a team of Chinese Yellow River researchers in recent years and it has been widely recognized in the field of river research both at home and abroad. This paper interprets the river writing in Shakespeare’s history plays the Henriad, including the two parts of Henry IV and Henry V, through the aspect of river ethic, and finds three types of life relations between human and river: violent occupation, changing the course and identifying with the river. Repeated bloody battles on River Severn show the usurper Bolingbroke’s resolution to occupy the river so that he can secure the territory of Wales. Hotspur dares to change the course of River Trent, which reveals his inability of reverence for life and his foolish ambition to divide the country. Contrastively, Henry V chooses to interact with River Wye so that he forms a human-river-community by which he justifies his legitimacy as King of England. The first two types of life relations result in tragic endings because they go against river ethic. While the third type helps to establish the legitimacy as King and finds the inner power to realize national unity. Shakespeare’s river ethic writing reveals problems about territory and about legitimacy as King in early modern England, it in essence constructs discourse for shaping the nation, it also provides us a good example of how to tell the Chinese river story.