“哲学意味”与“补史之阙”

Philosophical Speculation and Historical Referential Value

传统上西方人为小说辩护的理由是它“更富于哲学意味”，中国人的辩护理由是它“有可观之辞”。从文化传播的角度看，小说的功能正在补正统文化之缺，后一种理由更符合实际。丈人大规模地介入小说活动，使小说成为沟通各种文化的公共领域。20世纪以后，西方现代派小说发扬了传统的否定性和批判精神，但哲学化倾向导致其脱离民众；从鲁迅开始，中国现代小说摆脱“历史癖”，强化了批判精神。当代小说仍应发扬传统，沟通文人的批判意识和民众智慧，采取积极策略。

In defence of the novel, the reason for Western critics, traditionally, lies in its rich philosophical speculation; whereas for the Chinese, it lies in its referential value. Considering cultural communication, in which the novel plays the role of supplying what is inadequate in orthodox culture, we may recognize the latter to be more practical. Because most of men of letters write novels, the novel has become an effective means of communication for cultural exchanges in the public sphere. In the 20 th century, the Western Modernist novel is spirited with a tradition of critical thinking negation. But such metaphysical tendency alienated itself from a popular readership. The Chinese Modern novel since Lu Xun has also broken away from the 'propensity for history', and also spirited with a critical tradition. Contemporary novels ought to carry on such a critical tradition, employ active writing strategies to communicate the critical consciousness of men of letters to the common sense of a popular audience.