中国小说的文化身份及其使命

The Cultural Identity and the Mission of Chinese Novels

小说发展的动力来自两个方面,一是内部动力即作者的言志之欲,二是外部动力即群众的阅读需求。文章在汉文化语境下探讨了中国小说文化身份从最初生成到全面建构的历史演进过程。中国小说从概念提出到文化身份确立,走过了两千多年的岁月,是在人民的哺育和社会的滋养下成长壮大的。中华民族文化基因绵延不衰,决定了中国小说文化身份的稳定性。无论中国现当代小说家怎样从西方文学中借鉴新的表现手法,无论进行哪种形式的文本实验,只要是用汉字写作,就永远改变不了中国小说的纯正血统。

the Motivation in the development of novel originates from two aspects:one is the internal motivation——the expressing desire of composer;the other is external motivation,the demand of the readers.Chinese novels have been going through about 2,000 years from the day of birth to the establishment of cultural identity.The process witnessed the nurturing and caring of Chinese people and Chinese society.It is the everlasting cultural gene of Chinese nation which decides the stability of Chinese cultural identity.So no matter in what ways Chinese contemporary writers have borrowed from western literature in artistic devices and the means of expression,Chinese novels are always labeled with Chinese features if written in Chinese.