陈世骧论“时间”新探

On Chen Shih-hsiang's Theory of Time

知名美籍华裔汉学家陈世骧于诗学领域成就卓著,学界多关注其“抒情传统”论,而他在阐发中国文学“时间”主题方面亦富创见。陈世骧论“时间”最精彩者有两处:其一,陈氏精心构织中国式悲剧观,视命运为时间空间无尽流转,以此发掘杜甫《八阵图》之悲剧精神;其二,陈氏以“时间性”为轴心,绾和屈原《离骚》各要素,重释此诗的时间意识。其理论精义值得探讨和评析。

Chen Shih-hsiang(1912-1971)is a famous and accomplished sinologist.Many scholars tended to focus on Chen's“lyrical tradition”theory,neglecting his discussions on time in Chinese literature which are still valuable.There are two points in Chen's time theory:one is his thinking of Chinese tragedy:regarding fate as the image of time and space that infinitely move,to reinterpret the tragic spirit of Du Fu's“The Design of Eightfold Array”.The other is by using the concept of“temporality”and combining major factors in Qu Yuan's Sorrow After Departure as whole,to analyze the sense of time in the poem.This paper tries to explain Chen's theory of time as well as arguing its gains and losses.