一轮明月照古今: 贯通中国古今文学的诠释模式

在美国的第一代中国文学学者,几乎都是从别的学科转行过来的,而且经常往返于中国古典、现代文学之间.从跨学科的观点与方法着手,周策纵的<五四运动史>成为研究现代中国社会、政治、文化、思想和文学的一本重要著作.从现代重返古典,他对中国古典文学又有所突破.如<红楼梦案>、<论王国维人间词话>、<古巫医与六诗考中国浪漫文学考源>等,可以证明很多方法与经验能贯通古今.他的文化批评与文化考古式的论证与分释建立了一种新典范模式.夏志清的<中国现代小说史>至今仍是研究比较文学和中国现代文学的权威著作,因他在研究现代中国小说之前,已对中国古典及外国小说理论与著作有研究.本文以西方华人学者中的经验来探讨贯通古今文学研究的诠释模式与成功途径.

Universally Applicable Paradigms for the Study of Classical and Modern Chinese Literature

Among the first generation scholars of Chinese Literature in the America, most of them are originally trained in other disciplines such as political science, history, philosophy, English literature. They are multidiseiplinary scholars, and in the research of Chinese literature, they are moving back and forth between modern and classical periods. Prof Chow Tse tsung's The May Fourth Movement and The Case of the Red Chamber Dream and C.T. Hsia's A History of Modern Fiction and the Classic Chinese Novel are such research works which probably teyond the ability of any scholars who lacked a good grounding in other literature than Chinese or other disciplines. When these scholars trained in the disciplines and techniques of literary study in one or more of the better known literatures, they can apply those methods to the study of Chinese literature of both ancient and modern periods. Only through such studies can we expect Chinese literature of the past and present day to be faithfully interpreted. The application of the multi cultural and multi disciplinary approaches to Chinese literatures of all periods can bring fresh insight to Chinese literature and at the same time place Chinese literature in a wider perspective.