后理论时代的中西比较文学研究

Chinese-Western Comparative Literature in Post-Theory Age

研究比较文学面临的基本问题,就是比较的基础是什么。19世纪的比较文学以事实联系为基础,用实证方法研究作家和作品之间的关联和影响,但这种实证主义方法自20世纪以来已显得陈旧过时,且因易为狭隘民族主义所利用,更被战后世界的学界所抛弃。文学理论为互相之间不一定有事实联系的文学比较提供了基础,使中西比较成为可能,但文学理论的过度发展离文学越来越远,已经引起大多数学者不满。现在我们已经进入一个后理论时代。在这种情况下,如何以扎实的文本证据为支撑,重新建立中西比较的基础,发展中西比较文学和跨文化研究,是我们应该努力思考的问题。

What is the ground for comparison?That is the fundamental question for any effort at comparative literature.In the 19^(th) century,comparative literature was based on“rapports de fait”and aimed at establishing relationships or influences between authors and their works through a positivistic approach.As it tended to be made use of by narrow-minded nationalists,such a methodology of positivism became passéand was largely discarded by the scholarly community in the postwar world.The rise of literary theory provided the foundation for comparison of literary works without factual relations and thus made it possible to engage in Chinese-Western comparative literature.The overdevelopment of literary theory,however,moved increasingly away from literature and produced discontent among many literary scholars,and we are now in an age of post-theory.Under such circumstances,how to re-establish the grounds for comparison for Chinese-Western comparative literature with the support of textual evidence,and how to further develop East-West comparative literature and cross-cultural studies—these are important questions for us to consider at the present.