“诗言志”与中国文学传统——兼对抒情传统论的反思

“Poem Expressing Will”and Chinese Literary Tradition:Reflection on the Theory about Lyrical Tradition

中国文学传统研究的问题意识并非空洞的存在,而是建基于具体的历史语境及其话语系统的一种中国问题意识,由此反观陈世骧等人的抒情传统论,有必要对其作出认真的清理与反思。作为中国诗论的“开山”纲领,“诗言志”对于理解中国文学传统具有起源性的重要意义,就此而言,陈世骧等人上绍孔子,以“诗言志”传统为其学说提供依据,亦可谓沿波讨源。但考察陈世骧等人的抒情传统论,这种抒情传统论从西方浪漫主义文学观念及其抒情界定对中国文学的抒情传统作出个体情感表达及自由表现的解读,此种解读无论是在孔子那里,还是在以其观点为基本规约形成的“诗言志”及其中国文学传统中,作为“正统”之外的某种“异端”,都不能构成相互的理论支持,相反形成了一种来自“正统”与“异端”的质疑与反颠覆关系。这在造成理论阐释的错位与误读的同时,也构成了对其自身理论的瓦解。走出这种理论困境,需要从对西方理论话语的简单套用回到真正的中国问题上来,也就是回到中国文学本身所处的历史语境及其话语系统,并对之作出我们自己的理论阐释。

For the study of Chinese literary tradition,its issue consciousness is not an empty existence,but a kind of Chinese issue consciousness based on specific historical context and discourse system.Therefore,it is necessary to careful liquidate and reflect on the theory about lyrical tradition advocated by Chen Shih-hsiang et al.As the“originative outline”of Chinese Poetics,“poem expressing will”is of great significance for us to understand the origin of Chinese literary tradition.Chen Shih-hsiang et al.traces back to Confucius and use the“poem expressing will”to provide the support for the theory about lyrical tradition,which is can be called origin approaching.But on close inspection,this kind of theory based on Western Romantic literature and its lyrical meaning,interprets the lyrical tradition of Chinese literature into free expression of individual emotions which as a“heresy”different from“orthodoxy”not only in Confucius,but also in the“poem expressing will”formed with his viewpoint as the basic convention and its tradition of Chinese literature,cannot construct theorical support,but the doubt and anti-subversion relation between“heresy”and“orthodoxy”.This not only causes the dislocation and misreading of theoretical interpretation,but also constitutes the disintegration of its own theory.To get out of this theoretical dilemma,it need to return to the real Chinese issue from the simple application of Western theoretical discourse,that is,to return to the historical context and discourse system of Chinese literature itself to make our own theoretical interpretation.