何其芳的“出世”与“入世”——兼谈新文学作家“儒道合一”的文化人格

He Qingfang's“Coming Out of the World”and“Entering the World”:With a Discussion on the“Integration of Confucianism and Taoism”Cultural Personality of New Literature Writers

何其芳是中国现代著名的诗人和散文家,他早期的诗文创作受道家思想影响很深,“出世”态度十分明显。抗战全面爆发以后,他又由“出世”转为“入世”,积极投身于全民族的反法西斯战争,最终走上了革命的道路。这就是学界所关注的“何其芳现象”。其实所谓的“何其芳现象”,从某种意义上说就是新文学现象,它所反映的问题本质,绝不是一个简单的世界观问题,而是中国知识分子自古以来,一直都在自觉坚守的文化人格问题,即:“出世”与“入世”这两种传统文化因素,形成了他们文化人格中可以互相调节且可以自由转换的内在机制,并根据其自身的生存环境不断地进行切换,进而使自己始终都能够保持一种心态平衡。

As a famous writer in twentieth-century China,He Qifang's early poetry was deeply influenced by Taoism,and his attitude of“coming out of the world”was very obvious.After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out,the predominant national sentiment prompted him to change from“coming out of the world”to“entering the world”by actively participating in the Chinese nation s anti-fascist war,and finally embarking on the road of revolution.This is the“He Qifang phenomenon”which has been drawing attention of the academic circle.In fact,this is not only a common phenomenon of Chinese new literature,but also a manifestation of the cultural personality of the Chinese literati since ancient times.The change of national situation is only the external factor that leads to the change of thought of He Qifang and other new literature writers,while the philosophical foundation of Confucianism and Taoism is the internal factor that has shaped their life choice.Therefore,an ideological interpretation of“He Qifang phenomenon”is superficial,as it cannot enter the soul of this phenomenon.The mentality of traditional Chinese scholars has always been in free switch between Confucian and Taoist thoughts,seeking to place themselves in an invincible psychological balance.Yan Yuan,a philosopher of the late Ming and early Qing period,revealed the cultural personality of the Chinese literati in his poetic lines:“In peacetime they talk about the nature of heart/mind idly with folded arms,but in crisis they would not hesitate to die for their kings.”Here“talking about the nature of heart/mind”refers to the Daoist mentality of“coming out of the world”,and“to die for their kings”refers to the Confucian mentality of“entering the world”.This free change between the two mentalities enabled them to calmly deal with various complicated social situations.The essence of“He Qifang phenomenon”is that although modern Chinese intellectuals have accepted the western humanistic spirit,they still adhere to the ideological traditions of Confucianism and Taoism.When class and national contradictions have not developed to the point of absolute intensification,they can relax,do not care about state affairs,enjoy themselves,chant poems and pursue dreams.When the aggressors trample on their own homeland,they would share the same hatred,use their pen as the gun,and ultimately achieve righteousness even at the cost of their lives.Therefore,“He Qifang phenomenon”is not so simple as the ideological transformation of modern Chinese intellectuals in the period of great historical change,but the modern expression of their traditional cultural personality.If we ignore the inherent restraint of Confucianism and Taoism for Chinese literati and only discuss the formation of“He Qifang phenomenon”from the sociological dimension,we will get nothing except a lot of metaphysical nonsense.