学衡派的白话文学观

Xueheng School’s Views on Vernacular Literature

看似壁垒森严的文言保卫战背后,学衡派蕴藏着具有鲜明调和色彩的白话文学观。文学变迁论是学衡派白话文学观的理论基础,意在消解文学进化论的线性革命叙事,从而达到文白兼容、新旧并蓄的目的。在学衡派建构的文学谱系中,白话文学作为一种特殊的“文之文字”,比文言更为平易、活泼和自由,特别适用于科学论文和小说写作。学衡派对白话文学运动的批评具有建设性意义:认为白话文学运动一味欧化的倾向有违白话的本质,应回归语言的纯粹性;强调白话文学的文学性,反对文学品味过分卑下;呼吁白话文学创作应保持理性和节制,防止负面情绪泛滥。在白璧德新人文主义的西学外表之下,学衡派本质上是传统儒家价值的拥护者,怀有强烈的道统意识。文言文学始终是学衡派尊奉的“文学的正宗”,在此前提之下,白话文学与文言文学得以和谐共存。

XuehengSchool,actually,has a strong sense of vernacular literature behind their seemingly intense defense to classical Chinese.The theory of changes of literature,a sound basis of XuehengSchool’s views on vernacular literature,aims to achieve the integration of classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese,the old and the new,by diluting the linear revolutionary narrative of the theory of evolution of literature.In the literary pedigree XuehengSchool has constructed,there is a special“prose diction”—vernacular literature,which is much freer,livelier and more approachable than classical Chinese,which is ideally suitable for the writing of scientific papers and novels.Besides,XuehengSchool’s criticisms on the vernacular literature movement are of constructive significance.Firstly,XuehengSchool believes that it is a breach of vernacular nature for vernacular literature to blindly pursue Europeanization,therefore,the purity of language should be emphasized.Secondly,XuehengSchool supports the literariness of vernacular literature but opposes the vulgar literary taste.Finally,XuehengSchool appeals for keeping rational and moderate in the creation of vernacular literature in case of too much negative emotions.Beneath Babbitt’s exterior of Western learning of New Humanism,XuehengSchool,indeed,firmly advocates traditional Confucian values.To XuehengSchool,classical Chinese literature,as it were,has been regarded as real literature all the time,and that is the prerequisite which vernacular literature and classical Chinese literature could co-exist in harmony.