论中国的悲剧意识和悲剧精神——以《诗经》为个案

悲剧是人类在实践创造自由的过程中,面对暂时不可能实现自由的准自由状况所产生的特殊应对状态和精神。中国的悲剧意识和悲剧精神可从《诗经》入手。中国人在实践-创造中企图理性把握世界(自然、社会),以实现三种类型的自由,但理性反思实践自由的暂时不可能实现,使其准自由的形象呈现悲剧性。但当理性可知,悲剧性就弱化。中国的悲剧意识是一种理性反思意识,在《诗经》中包括形而上追求的反思,向死而生的反思,和实践自由过程中挫折的反思三个纬度,是一种准自由状态的忧患意识。而中国的悲剧精神则有柔韧之风,那是因为面对实践自由的受挫,中国人具有用迎合的方式化解个体与群体、社会矛盾的趋向,以达到统一的自由。这不同于西方悲剧一味深信终将实现自由,却必然挫败的惨烈。这也解释了为何中国悲剧多以“大团圆”告终。

Discussion on Chinese tragedy consciousness and its spirit——Take The Book of Songs as the case

Tragedy was a special state and spirit produced when human faced the quasi-freedom, a temporary impossible achieved freedom, during the process of creating freedom in practice. Chinese tragedy consciousness and spirit could be studied from The Book of Songs. Chinese tried to hold the rational world so as to achieve three kinds of freedom. However, the temporary impossibility through rational thought to practice freedom made their quasi-freedom image demonstrated tragedy. Chinese tragedy consciousness was a kind of rational thought and a kind of quasi-freedom suffering consciousness, which included three levels in The Book of Songs. However, Chinese tragedy spirit possessed a flexible character, since Chinese had a trend to solve the contradiction among individuals, colony and society through catering attitude so as to achieve uniform freedom. This was different from that of western tragedy, and also explained the reason why most Chinese tragedies ended with a reunion.