中国叙事艺术的西方批评话语阐释——赛珍珠的中国传统小说写实美学观析论

An Interpretation of Chinese Narrative Art in Western Critical Discourse—On Pearl S.Buck’s View of Chinese Traditional Novels Realistic Aesthetics

作为具有双重文化身份的作家、学者,赛珍珠是从跨文化视角审视中国传统小说的。她从艺术哲学的高度谈中国小说写实性时往往借用西方文艺批评的范畴和理路。赛珍珠根据摹仿、再现理论和“镜子说”将中国传统小说比作中国古代社会生活和历史文化的一面镜子,揭示了中国传统小说在反映社会生活方面具有圣哲典籍无法企及的历史高度和独特价值,并从反映现实与艺术加工关系的维度对中国传统小说的写实美学特征及内涵予以解读。她认为中国传统小说体现了追求真实与艺术加工的统一,同时也带有自然主义冷静、客观、实录性的书写及观察、记载人性在具体环境中的表现等特征,不是仅停留在“像生活”的层面,而是创造出一种“是生活”的感觉,与自然主义“实验小说”的原则相符。

As a writer and scholar with dual cultural identities,Pearl S.Buck surveyed Chinese traditional fictions from a cross-cultural perspective.Her comments on the realistic characteristics of Chinese traditional fictions from the perspective of artistic philosophy often borrowed the categories and logic of western literary criticism.According to the theory of imitation,reproduction and“mirror theory”,Buck compared Chinese traditional fictions to a mirror of ancient Chinese social life,history and culture,revealed their historical height and unique value in reflecting social life that the classics written by the sages and men of virtue cannot hope to reach,and interpreted their realistic characteristics and connotation from the dimension of relation between realty reflection and artistic treatment.She thought that Chinese traditional fictions embodied the unity of faithful depiction and artistic fabrication,and were tinged with some naturalistic characteristics such as calmness,objectivity and factual recording,and observation and document about human nature’s expression in the specific context,and that they were not confined to“being like life”,but to create a sense of“being life”,which is consistent with the principles of“experimental fictions”of naturalism.