夏志清文学批评研究

【作者】 汤振纲；

【导师】 房福贤；

【作者基本信息】 山东师范大学 ， 中国现当代文学， 2009， 博士

【摘要】 毫无疑问,作为一个文学批评家,夏志清是二十世纪中国文学批评史上著名的“异见”分子,批评者认为夏志清的文学批评充满了“偏见”,赞同者和文学接受的事实却又肯认他文学批评所具有的“洞见”的魅力。夏志清的文学批评是一个复杂的现象,关于其文学批评的研究应当是一个“在批评”的动态发展的过程。本文从批评观念、批评空间、批评方法三个方面展开研究。夏志清文学批评观念的首要特征是“纯文学”批评,他以“纯文学”批评来抗衡左翼教条主义文学和功利主义文学,然而其“纯文学”批评又有着注重人道关怀、主张写实主义、强调以个体的“人性”与“道德”为视角等复杂内涵,认识这一点有助于我们理解他对左翼文学的“偏见”,也有助于我们理解新时期的“纯文学”论争和当下的“底层写作”。全面认识夏志清“纯文学”批评的特征及复杂内涵,是我们正确认识和研究夏志清文学批评的一个重要前提。夏志清的文学批评常从道德视角论评人物和作家、挖掘作品的思想内涵和批评缺陷,“道德视景”(moral vision)是其批评语汇中的重要概念,他的文学批评广泛关注人性道德的各种问题,其思想标准和艺术标准常常在道德这个层面上扭结在一起,呈现出非常复杂的“景观”。他在中国古典小说和现代小说批评实践中有大量这样的批评实践。由于结合了人物心理的深层开掘和人性道德冲突的无限可能性等深度追问,使夏志清的道德批评并没有落入道德说教和教条主义的陷阱。夏志清文学批评的“道德视景”启示我们:文学批评应当有道德承载,应当关注文学在道德问题上的表现力和反映力,作家和批评家应时刻提醒自己对人类的道德承担,应当具有“重申人道,重建荣誉”的道德意识。宗教精神是夏志清文学批评观念中的又一个基本特征,他的文学批评的观念和标准渗透着浓郁的宗教意识。具体表现在他的“中国现代文学肤浅论”,以及他对中国传统文学和文学传统的审视和批判当中,也广泛分布在他的众多的作家作品论中。夏志清对中国现代文学宗教精神的认识虽然不够全面。但他的批评实践在“为圣灵”与“为人生”写作之间努力寻找平衡,这将有助于我们更加全面地理解和把握当代文学创作中的宗教写作、灵性写作、神本写作等诸多问题。在中国古典小说批评空间夏志清成果卓著。他以西方现代小说的艺术尺度对中国古典小说的总体特征进行批评。他在中国古典小说批评中,努力构建现实主义小说美学尺度和人道主义的价值尺度,他的新颖别致的人物论,体现着一个文学批评家的独特眼光。虽然他不能脱除海外汉学“以西典律中国”的理论惯性,然而若以开放的胸襟来考察他的古典小说研究,我们应当赞赏他考见得失、截长补短的良苦用心,应当敬佩他慧眼独具的、濡染着西方人文主义色彩的审美眼光。夏志清的中国现代小说批评影响最大,其中“感时忧国”说和“文坛新四家”是他在这一批评空间最具影响力的观点。他以“感时忧国”为视角总体论述中国现代文学的特征和内涵,并深入反思写实主义和讽刺传统在这总体性时代精神下的流变,这有助于我们祛除“阶级论”模式、二元对立斗争模式等新文学阐释理论的僵化思维范式,有助于我们借鉴西方和世界文学的传统,也有助于我们全面反思二十世纪中国文学所因袭的精神负担,从而推动中国文学现代化的进程。夏志清对张爱玲“苍凉美学”的揭示,对钱钟书卓绝的“讥讽”和心理描写,对沈从文“田园视景”的印象述评。对张天翼“道德视景”独特承担的阐释……都是现代文学批评中的重要发现。“文坛新四家”重排经典,直接启发了重写文学史的热潮,影响了后来的文学消费、生产和研究。夏志清的现代小说批评丰富了现代文学史的内容和文学批评的观念。在当代美华小说和港台小说这一批评空间夏志清也有重要建树。他对小说“奇才”白先勇小说的两期分类和其“阿多尼斯”情结的阐释;对於梨华作品“没有根的一代”的文化心理内涵的细致分析,是其美华作家评论的重要成果。他在陈若曦评论中所体现出的强烈的女性关怀意识,和对其小说“最朴实、冷静的写实主义”风格内涵的总结;以及他对台湾和香港其他小说作家的坦诚直率的评短论长,为台港文学的发展做出了重要贡献。夏志清在这一批评空间中涉及的作家和议题极为丰富多彩,但统观起来,他是在“乡土中国”和“现代中国”这两个历史场域和文化主题中不断出入穿行,他将华语文学纳入世界文学的版图之中来考见得失,既不自卑也不自夸,体现了一个批评家宏阔的批评视野和坦荡的胸襟。文学批评和文学史写作虽有不同,但却密切相关。文学批评为文学史写作提供观点和材料,不断更新和推动着文学史的写作。而文学史又为文学批评的开展奠定知识和观念的基础,文学史常常是不同文学观念相互较量的批评场域。夏著《小说史》是其最有代表性的批评文本,也是一部优秀的文学史。从文学史撰著的方法层面看,其典范意义在于:比较方法带给文学史写作的通观视野;与文本细读伴随而生的文学史撰著的个性化策略;“一炉而冶”的文学史史传模式。夏著《小说史》因为其文学批评的个性化风格,更像是一个批评家的文学史,其方法论的意义不可忽视,这对我们的文学史写作理论和实践都大有裨益。如果在正面的意义上使用“酷评”这个概念,我们或可用“夏氏酷评”来概括夏志清文学批评的风格及方法特征,其具体表现为:好下判断,喜用“最”“一”;不同流俗,常作反调;宏观论评,新颖卓异;有褒有贬,持论坚定;语言生动、机智诙谐。在文学批评缺席、失语或者商业化的趋向愈演愈烈的当下,我们还是缺乏敢于直言、不曲学阿世、机智幽默的“酷评家”。“夏氏酷评”启示我们:要致力于建构批评家的主体意识和批评个性;文学批评要建立以审美批评为中心的批评标准和价值体系;文学批评要打通中西和古今之隔。更多还原

【Abstract】 Without question, as a literary critic, Chih-tsing Hsia is the well-know Pinko dogmatism in the history of Chinese Literary criticism during 20th century. His work is regarded as what is full of bias by critics but favored and appreciated his insights by his supporters. Chih-tsing Hsia’s literary criticism is a complicated phenomenon. It should be considered as a developing period which is criticizing. This article mainly discusses three aspects, conceptions of criticism, space of criticism and methods of criticism.The primary characteristics of Chih-tsing Hsia’s concept of literary criticism is criticism of pure literature Through which,Chih-tsing Hsia contends with the literature of Pinko dogmatism literature and the utilitarian literature. But his criticism of pure literature also have the complicated connotation, such as rephrasing humanistic care, advocating for Realism, and putting emphasis on the perspective of the human nature of individuals and the morals, etc. Knowing this will not only help us further understand his“Bias”of“left-wing literature”, but also will provide insights into the pure literary controversies and the“grass-roots writing”in the new era.Having a a Comprehensive understanding of characteristics and complicated connotation of Chih-tsing Hsia’s pure literary criticism is an important prerequisite through which we can kown and reasearch Chih-tsing Hsia’s literary criticism well.Moral vision is an important concept in Chih-tsing Hsia’s pure literature criticism。His literature criticism widely focuses on all kinds of moral problems. And it often presents a very complicated vision because his ideological standard and artistic criterion are twist with each other at the moral level. Owing to Chih-tsing Hsia’deep digging of the characters’mind and questioning of the infinite possibility of the human moral conflict, his literature criticism does not fall into the trap of moral preach and dogmatism. What we draw enlightenment from Chih-tsing Hsia’s literature criticism is that literature criticism should shoulder moral responsibility, pay more attention to the expression and reflection of morality, and bear the moral consciousness of“reasserting humanity, rebuilding honor”.Religious spirit is embodied in the concepts and criteria of Chih-tsing Hsia’criticism of iterature. This is manifested in his paper named: a general discussion of Chinese modern literature, in his scan and critics on traditional Chinese literature and literature tradition, as well as in his remarks on a large amount of the writers and their works. Though his comprehension to the religious sprits in Chinese modern literature is not very comprehensive, he manageds to find balance between“for holy spirit”and“for earthy life”in his critics practice. Thus it would facilitate us to fully understand and master the problems related to the religious, spiritual and divine-based writing in modern literature.Chih-tsing Hsia also has an outstanding contribution in the field of literary criticism of Chinese classical novels, where he Criticizes the main features from the arts standards of Western Modern Novels.While criticizing Chinese Classical Novels ,he makes efforts to construct the criteria of aesthetics of realism novels and humanism His novel views of characters embodies unique insight of a literature critic. We should appreciate his heart of surveying the gains and losses and complementing each other and admire his peculiar aesthetic foresights influenced by western humanism.Chih-tsing Hsia’s outstanding contributions are in the field of criticism of Chinese Modern Novels ,including Theory of Worrying about the current situation and fate of mother country and Four New Greatest People of letters. He gives overall descriptions of characteristics and connotation of Chinese Mordern Literature From the first perspective of Worrying about the current situation and fate of mother country and deeply reflects upon the fluctuation of realism and satiric tradition following generalised spirit of the age. All of these can help us get ride of rigescent thinking modes ,such as The Class , The Dichotomy and ect,concerning Interpretation Theory of New Literature,refer to the western ,even the world literature tradition and rethink spirit burden inheritd by Chinese Literature of the 20th Century in all respects to promote Modernization Progress of Chinese Literature. The latter one,Chih-tsing Hsia’s Four New Greatest People of letters, rearranges the outlines of literary masterpieces ,directly enlights upsurge of rewriting the history of literature and fertilizes contents of the History of Modern Literature and concepts of literary criticism.Chinese-American and Hong Kong-Taiwan contemporary fiction is also an important area of literary criticism of Chih-tsing Hsia. His important findings of criticism to Chinese-American writers are the classifications of "Wizards" Bai Xianyong’s fictions, the interpretation of "Adonis" complex and the detailed analysis of the psychological and cultural connotations of "rootless generation" in Rika works. His criticism on Chen Ruoxi reflects a strong sense of caring women. He summarizes the style and content of Chen’fictions as "the most simple, sober realism". He always frankly comments on other writers in Taiwan and Hong Kong. All that he has done is an important contribution to the development of literature in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Chih-tsing Hsia comments on all kinds of writers and topics, but in general, his works are mainly about "local Chinese" and "Modern Chinese" which are on historical and cultural subjects. He analyzes Chinese literature under the setting of the world literature, neither boastful nor low self-esteemed which reflects his magnanimous mind and wide vision in comment.Literary criticism and literary history of writing have different, but close relations. Literary criticism provides point of view and materials for the writing of literary history. and Literary History lays the foundation for the development of literary criticism .The book titled mordern Chinese fiction history written by Chih-tsing Hsia is not only his most representative text of criticism but also an excellent one of literary history,which , to the method of literature history composing, shows its contributions in three aspects.The one is the comparative method which he used in different cultures and different novelists providing a macroscopic view to general literature history composing;The second is the accurate reading to the item of the text strengthened his individual style in composing literature history;The third is the comprehensive materials used to analyse the novelists going with the unity of the standard in his judgement.If the positive concept of“sharp comments”can be used , we can sum up the characteristics of Chih-tsing Hsia literary criticisms as“Xia’s sharp comments”which can be illustrated that he likes judging and prefers to using“most”and“first”; he always holds opposite opinions; he always has macro and novel comments; he has firm judgments of what is good or bad; his language is very lively and witty. Nowadays, in the situation of lacking literary criticism and with the development of commercialization, our society is still in lack of a witty“sharp commentator”who has the courage to say, not just following the others.“Xia’s sharp comments”tells us that critics should build the awareness and character of criticism; literary criticism should establish the standards and value systems of criticism which put aesthetic criticism as the center; and Chinese and Western, ancient and modern literary criticism should interrelate with each other.更多还原