中西文学关系研究的新路径:18世纪欧洲“仿东方小说”初探

A New Approach to the Study of Sino-Western Literary Relations:A First Exploration of the“Oriental Novel”in 18th-Century Europe

“仿东方小说”是17世纪晚期到18世纪欧洲文化中一个奇异的文化现象,许多欧洲哲人和作家都创作过以东方为地域背景,借鉴东方叙事传统元素的小说,在很大程度上形塑了欧洲阅读公众对东西方文化关系的想象。这个在19世纪初之后销声匿迹的文化现象与启蒙时期的欧亚文化交流动态——尤其是早期东方学和早期汉学的构建——以及欧洲内部的文化变迁都紧密相关,考察“仿东方小说”有助于我们理解18世纪独有的中西互鉴格局。

The“Oriental novel”was a phenomenon in European culture from the late 17th century to the 18th century.Many European philosophers and writers produced novels with Oriental settings,drawing on elements of Oriental narrative traditions,which largely shaped the European readers’imagination of East-West cultural relations.This cultural phenomenon,which disappeared after the early 19th century,was closely linked to the dynamics of cultural exchange between Europe and Asia during the Enlightenment—especially the construction of early Orientalism and early Sinology—as well as the cultural changes within Europe.Investigating the“Oriental novel”is helpful for understanding the unique picture of mutual learning between East and West in the 18th century.