文学经典、审美与文化权力博弈

文学经典不存在某种特殊的普遍性质,经典的确认取决于一部作品在文化场域中的位置。经典在人文教育中举足轻重,得到批评家的频繁征引,是文学史记载的核心内容。经典并非实体性而是功能性概念,它是特定文化空间中的建构物,背后存在参与复杂博弈的各种势力。布鲁姆对经典与审美的激烈捍卫并非错误,但审美的表象背后仍然隐藏了若干尚未解决的问题:如果审美仅仅涉及个人或者自我,所有的分歧将陷入僵局;审美远远超出了生理构造而必须追溯至历史文化的塑造;审美制造的情感波澜仍然需要解释。经典应该交给纵横两轴构成的坐标综合衡量,与仅仅显示传统、规范的纵轴相比,与共时的文化气氛相互呼应的横轴更为重要:横轴方向的内容是主动的,纵轴只能在横轴的带动之下延伸;文学经典与时代声音之间的交流更多通过横轴传递。

Literary Cannon,Aesthetics and the Game of Cultural Power

Literary cannon,which is frequently quoted by critics,occupies a crucial position in liberal education as it is the core of literary history.However,there is no special common nature of literary cannons,which are certified by their place within cultural field.Literary cannon is a functional conception rather than a ontological one,acting as a construction within special cultural space with complex gaming powers lying behind.Bloom’s keen defense of literary cannon and aesthetics is not his fault.But there are still many questions behind the aesthetic appearance.If aesthetics concerned only with individual or self,all the disagreements would reach a deadlock.Actually,aesthetics,which exceeds the physical construction,should be traced to the shaping of history and culture.The emotional fluctuations,which are produced by aesthetics,are not the final effect.They call for further explanation.Literary cannon should be measured comprehensively by both vertical axis and horizontal axis of the coordinate.Compared with the vertical axis,which implicates tradition and standard,the horizontal axis is more important for its contents are active.Further more,the vertical axis could only extend with the development of the horizontal axis.