舒允中

面對中國在西方列強手中遭受的凌辱梁啟超等晚清改革家開始注意到通俗小說對民眾的影響并開始將通俗小說看成改革工具。五四時代的作家隨后也意識到小說的廣泛影響并企圖將小說轉(zhuǎn)變成針砭社會的有效手段。然而晚清時代和五四時代的作家和批評家們卻沒有潛心研究中國傳統(tǒng)小說中的文化內(nèi)涵。一九四九年以后文學(xué)批評受到政治環(huán)境左右，自然沒有什么人去探討傳統(tǒng)小說的文化內(nèi)涵。即使在改革時期文化界關(guān)心的也只是如何利用傳統(tǒng)小說制造迎合市場口味的文化產(chǎn)品，如電視劇等，而不是如何解析傳統(tǒng)小說。這種長期以來對傳統(tǒng)小說文化內(nèi)涵的忽視正是劉再復(fù)在《雙典批判》中力圖加以糾正的現(xiàn)象。

《雙典批判》不是一部通常意義上的文學(xué)批評著作而是一部文化批評著作。在指出暴力崇拜和權(quán)術(shù)崇拜分別為《水滸傳》和《三國演義》的核心思想的同時劉再復(fù)探討了中國文化的一些陰暗面，因此他的批判對象可說是中國文化。在《雙典批判》中劉再復(fù)討論了這兩部小說的文化內(nèi)涵的具體歷史成因，但他最感興趣的是這些文化內(nèi)涵與中華民族國民性的聯(lián)系。同時他也將這兩部小說與《山海經(jīng)》和《紅樓夢》之類的傳統(tǒng)作品進行比較并借此提醒讀者注意中國文化的多面性。在當(dāng)代中國的文化語境中 《雙典批判》發(fā)揚光大了五四的批判精神。

在《雙典批判》中劉再復(fù)不僅討論了《水滸傳》和《三國演義》的文化內(nèi)涵而且也討論了金圣嘆和李贄等歷代批評家對這兩部作品的詮釋以及這兩部作品在中國社會的流行。在《雙典批判》中我們可以發(fā)現(xiàn)魯迅等中國作家和批評家的影響，也可以發(fā)現(xiàn)一些西方觀點，如史賓格勒的“偽形”觀點的影響?！峨p典批判》不斷進行中西文化觀念的比較，因此這部著作實際上也是對現(xiàn)代性和現(xiàn)代化這兩個重大命題的探討。本書的對象原為中文讀者，這個英文譯本將使英文讀者了解一位重要的當(dāng)代中國評論家考慮的種種問題。

As China suffered repeated military defeats at the hands of foreign powers in the second half of the nineteenth century，late Qing reformers such as Liang Qichao began to call attention to the importance of popular fiction as a medium through which ordinary Chinese could be roused to save their country.Following in Liang’s footsteps，May Fourth writers of the 1920s and 1930s continued to promote vernacular fiction as the most effective literary genre for the exposure of the ills in Chinese society.However，in spite of the general recognition of the reach of popular fiction in society，few Chinese critics paid sustained attention to the cultural values deeply embedded in traditional Chinese fiction.After 1949 this oversight became more serious as political considerations swayed the evaluation of traditional fiction，as can be seen，most typically，in Mao Zedong’s criticism of The Water Margin in 1975.The inattention to the cultural values in traditional Chinese fiction continued in the reform era of the 1980s and 1990s，when，for example，filmmakers adapted episodes from traditional novels into widely popular television series without subjecting the original works to critical examination.This persistent error is what Liu Zaifu tried to correct with A Study of Two Classics.

A Study of Two Classics is not a work of literary criticism in the conventional sense.Instead，it is a critique of cultural standards and ideals in The Water Margin and The Romance of the Three Kingdoms，two of the most popular traditional Chinese novels.In summing up the worship of violence as the ideal in the former and the worship of trickery as the ideal in the latter，Liu Zaifu examined certain harmful aspects of Chinese culture.As a result，his critique became，in effect，a critique of Chinese culture.While holding up the two classics as windows into certain aspects of Chinese culture，Liu focused his attention not so much on their specific historical origins as on their enduring popularity and social impact，linking them to the Chinese national character.Aware of the multiple facets of Chinese culture，he also explored the sharp contrast in cultural values between the two novels and other Chinese cultural classics，such as The Classic of Mountains and Seas and The Dream of the Red Chamber.As he called the two classics into question，he continued the critical spirit of the May Fourth Movement in contemporary China while expanding the scope of its cultural examination.

In A Study of Two Classics，Liu Zaifu explores not just the contents of the two classics but also the interpretations of the two novels by traditional commentators，such as Jin Shengtan and Li Zhi，and the reception of the two novels in Chinese society.He drew inspiration from May Fourth intellectuals，particularly Lu Xun，and from a wide range of works by Western scholars.For example，he used Oswald Spengler’s notion of pseudomorphosis to explain the degeneration and falsification of certain values in Chinese culture.In terms of his references to both Chinese and Western authors，one should also note that，in his reflections，Liu remained concerned with the issues of modernity and modernization as he frequently compares Chinese cultural values with Western cultural values either implicitly or explicitly.Originally intended for a Chinese audience，his book can help English-speaking readers understand the issues a leading contemporary Chinese critic tried to address.