文学的理喻
Rationality of Literature
从感知的角度来说 ,认识事物的方法越抽象 ,越接近范畴 ,而结果则越不容易出新奇、出巧妙。若概括成口号 ,那么剩下的只有枯燥的重复 ,就像“万岁万岁万万岁”“最新最高指示”一样。
From a perceptual point of view, if the method of understanding things is more abstract and closer to the category, it is less likely for the result to be novel and subtle. If it is summed up as a slogan, all that remains is dull repetition, as in "long long live the emperor"[①] and" latest and highest order".
所以歌德说“理论是灰色的”,而“生命之树常绿”。进而有“狗不说话因为会叫 ,人不说话因为会思考”的谚语。其哲人睿智 ,终极境界也就是沉默 ,因此米开朗琪罗才永恒,罗丹才不朽。
Goethe said: "the theory is vapid, while the life is colorful." Furthermore, there is a saying that, "dogs do not speak because they bark, and men do not talk because they think." Philosophers are wise, and the ultimate realm is silence. Therefore, Michelangelo is eternal, and Rodin is immortal.
作“创作谈”其实是尴尬的事情。尤其现在谈创作 ,更是尴尬的事情。你想玩几个时髦的词句 ,显得现代一些。
It is embarrassing to talk about literary creation, especially now. Instead, it is more fashionable to speak with buzzword.
可前不久 ,报载一条消息 ,说埃及古金字塔墓穴里找到一台彩电 ,是好几千年以前的 ,令人看后不得不惊讶 ,也疑心自己的彩电是古董。
Recently, it is reported that a colour TV set from thousands of years ago has been dug up at the grave of ancient Egyptian pyramid. People were astonished and suspected that their colour TV set may also be an antique.
当然 ,另一方面 ,像犁田打耙栽秧割谷那样来实实在在的 ,你又会被斥之为迂腐。文学嘛 ,总还要有一点玄妙。
On the contrary, literature always needs some mysteries. Sometimes you would be castigated as pedantic when you intended to write some substantial things such as ploughing, harrowing the soil, transplanting seedlings and harvesting.
事实上 ,你一气呵成写完一篇东西 ,满意地松弛松弛 ,过一段时间 ,在杂志上发表出来 ,你重新来读的时候 ,总有些陌生的感觉 ,仿佛那不是你自己写的 ,而是另一个同名同姓的人写的 ,即便清楚是你自己写的吧 ,也好像必须有一种神力的支配 ,你才能够写出来。
As a matter of fact, we always fail to recognize our article in a magazine, which we felt satisfied with when it was finished without a hitch at that time, as if it was not written by ourselves, yet by another person of the same name. Even if you know it's attributed to you, you may still feel that it must be controlled by a kind of divine power.
所以 ,我在自己的作品变成文字后 ,总怀着一种虔诚和新鲜的感觉 ,要仔细地读两遍 ,进一步熟悉和了解自己的那一位神灵 ,以便需要的时候 ,可以呼之即来 ,为己所用。
Therefore, after completion of my work, I always read it carefully twice with the feeling of devoutly in order to further understand and familiar with my own literary god, so that when I need him, he can come at my call and serve me.
此情此景 ,其实与发财人家敬供赵公元帅 ,并没有太大的区别。只是财神菩萨只有一位 ,世人皆不过在其面前争宠 ,一处破财一处进财而已。
In fact, this is not much different from wealthy family to worship the Marshal Chao[②], except that there is only one god of wealth and everyone in the world is just competing for favor in front of him, with some people's breaking of fortune and other people's making money.
但属于文学之神 ,则每个作家都有自己的一位 ,成与败 ,得与失 ,就看人神之间关系怎样。
However, for the god of literature, every writer has his own. Therefore, the relationship between writer and god determines the writer's success and failure, gain and loss.
创作需要一种特殊的精神境界。我们成天叫唤“来源于生活”,我们自己却在生活的角落猥猥琐琐 ,“高于生活”并不是容易的事情。就像风筝飞得高 ,必须要掌握春天的气象。一生中有春天 ,一年、一个时候也有春天 ,甚至可能是瞬间的春天。
Creation requires a special spiritual state. We claim that" creation comes from life" all the time, however, we ourselves are in the corner of life, so "above life " is not an easy task. To fly a kite high, we must master the spring meteorology well, and it's necessary to learn that spring exists in one's life, in one year or at one time, even in an instant.
屠格涅夫说过 ,春天里容易别离 ,心爱的人会被吸引到远方去。春天不乏忧伤 ,但总的是美好的。你只有占据这份美好 ,不失时机 ,凭借顺劲的春风 ,才能将一只纸鸢放上天去。
As Turgenev said, "spring is a parting season when the beloved will be attracted to a distant place." Hence, although there is no lack of sadness in spring, overall it's so great that you only need to take advantage of this pleasant time and rely on the strong spring breeze to fly the kite high into the sky.
当然 ,放风筝是需要技巧的 ,比如风筝本身头重脚轻的平衡 ,陡线角度的高低 ,放线的张弛有致 ,等等。
There is no doubt that flying a kite requires skills, for instance, to balance the top-heavy structure of kites, find a good diverse angle of the string, properly reel the string in and let it go, etc.
我的这方面的技巧不行 ,但我力图避开乱头风 ,才让我的风筝出手 ,虽不高远 ,却轻易不会跌落下来。
Though I do not have a good grasp of this kind of skills, I try to avoid the shifting wind before letting go of my kite so that it won't fall down easily, though it not very high and far.
“爱情”“死亡”“和平”这样一些东西 ,之所以会成为文学作品经久不衰的主题 ,是因为表达了人的情感和人的愿望。“文学即人学”,一个永远不会苍白的定义。
The reason why the love, death, and peace have been the enduring theme of literary works is that they express the human emotions and desires. That "literature is essentially the study of human beings" is a definition that will never be pale. "
“饥者歌其食 ,劳者歌其事”。小鸡从鸡蛋里孵出来,长成大鸡后又生鸡蛋 ,是和阿凡提的兔子汤不一样的。文学产生于人类生活 ,自然反映人的命运、人的喜怒哀乐 ,像我们老田老土年年长出新苗新谷一样 ,本身是一种生命的形式。
The hunger sings for food, the laborer sings for their work". The chicken-and-egg is different from the story of Avanti's rabbit. Like the old farmland growing delicate seedling and grains year by year, as a form of life, literature originating from human life naturally reflects human destiny and emotions.
崇高而且严肃的循环 ,和机械的运动不同 ,后者会疲劳而崩溃 ,而前者则是自然的产物 ,自然的精气灵气滋养着 ,使这种循环有如永动机的神话灿烂迷人。
Lofty and serious cycle differs from mechanical movement. The latter would snap from constant fatigue, while the former is the product of nature, which is nurtured by natural essence and nimbus, making the cycle as resplendent and fascinating as the myth of perpetual-motion machine.
当然 ,你可以说“爱情”就是“性”,“死亡”也显得平常 ,“和平”是强者对弱者的施舍。但人类历史发展到今天 ,经验和教训像滚雪球一样积聚着 ,建立起来的秩序不会轻易改变。树大根深 ,除了暴力砍伐倒下 ,根基是拔不起来的。
Certainly, you can say that love is sex, death is a common thing and peace is a gift from the strong group. However, as the human history has developed to the day when experience and lessons are accumulating like snowballs, the established order is like a big tree whose roots strikes deeply and can't be uprooted unless with the violence.
人类在渴望理想的同时 ,就进行自身的调整 ,而调整不是退回到原点重新起步。人活不舒服便转世投胎一回 ,这实际上是不可能的。
While longing for the ideal, human beings adjust themselves. Adjustment does not mean to go back to the beginning and start it again, with the same reason that human beings can’t be impossibly reincarnated when they not satisfied with their current life.
生活的主流不会改变 ,你的文学完全可以不屑一顾 ,按照文学的面貌去关注 ,就像血流必须回归心脏一样的 ,文学只有在还原到产生文学的人那里去 ,才具有强大的生命力。
The mainstream of life will not change, therefore, your literature can just pay attention to something related to its appearance and completely ignoring the tangential issues. like the blood's flowing back to the heart, literature can have strong vitality only when it restores to the person who produces it.
那么政治也是一种生活。作为生存环境 ,直接和人的生存状态息息相关。孔子的民本思想 ,商鞅的变法 ,董仲舒的独尊儒术 ,无一不和“人”有关。
In that way, politics, as a living environment, is also a kind of life and related to people's living conditions directly. For instance, some political policies such as Confucius's people-oriented thought, Shang yang's reform and Dong Zhongshu's proposition of "the confucianism worship alone", are all people-related.
权力倾轧 ,党派斗争 ,只是政治的副产品 ,如果这也可以说是政治 ,则不过是狭义的政治。严格意义上的政治不是属于哪个阶级哪个政党的,而是属于“公民”(人)的。
Power rivalries and partisan battle are only by-product of politics. They can only be classified into politics in a narrow sense, and in the strict sense, politics belongs to the citizen, not to any classes or parties.
所以 ,积极的文学应该是关心政治的。多年来 ,政治和文学的关系一直解决不好 ,仿佛不是歌颂 ,就是揭露 ,结果导致文学不是服从政治 ,就是远离政治。
Therefore, positive literature should be concerned with politics. Whereas for many years, the relationship between politics and literature couldn't be dealt with well because the politics was either eulogized or exposed, as a result literature is either subordinate or far away from politics.
客观地说 ,政治生活也与日常生活一样 ,就像“当官的”也有寻常百姓的七情六欲一样 ,政治生活理所应当成为文学的内容。
Objectively, there is no difference between political life and daily life which same as the governors and civilians. They are all human beings and all have the sentiment of human. Accordingly, political life should be the content of literature.
可不可以这样说 ,日常生活与政治生活是文学载体的双轭 ,只有一齐拉向前进 ,才能把“人”这个文学的对象真实地反映出来。
Can we say that daily life and political life are the two driving forces of literature? And it can truly reflect the object —human in the premise of moving forward the two together.
现在来谈作家的主体意识已经成了隔岸的回声了。但为人为文又的确像连环套一样密切除了两端“人”与“文”,过渡带上还呈现出了交叉融合的现象 ,虽写别人 ,却常常是写自己。
There is no longer meaningful to talk about the writer's subjective consciousness at this time, however, human and literature was closely related like a chain except the fully human and literature at the two end. There is still the phenomenon of merging in the belt of transition, where the other side actually often means him/herself.
只是文学讲究“以心观之”,具备一颗什么样的“心”,便显得尤其重要。万事万物都是立体的 ,仁者见仁 ,智者见智。
The difference is that literature lays emphasis on "the felling in heart", thus, what kind of "mind" the writer possesses is particularly important. Everything in the world is stereoscopic and different people have different opinions.
文学需要想象 ,但不是设计。精明过人的人搞不成文学 ,只有做生意。而常常 ,天真无邪的稚子能从一滴水珠里看见太阳 ,也能识破皇帝的新衣。难怪经历人生的顿悟之后 ,会有人特意去追求一种朴拙。
Literature requires imagination not plan. A shrewd person only fits for business not literature. Usually, an innocent child can see a sun from a drop of water, and also can identify The Emperor's New Clothes. No wonder some people will purposely pursue a kind of simplicity after experiencing the epiphany of life.
文学的特质是真、善、美,被世俗的泥淖裹浸的灵魂除功利外 ,是不会敏悟到这种特质的。保持一颗童心 ,不世故 ,不老沉 ,就能够提纯生活 ,滋养文学。
The characteristics of literature are truth, good and beauty. A worldly-minded heart can understand only utilitarianism other than these characteristics. Therefore, by maintaining childlike innocence instead of being sophisticated and mature, a life can be purified and literature can be nourished.
文学离不开想象 ,而想象是依靠直觉经验支配的 ,也就未必精确 ,因而也就模糊起来。数学可以模糊 ,哲学可以模糊 ,文学更应该是模糊的。模糊是多角度多渠道认识世界的方法。
Literature is inseparable from imagination that dominated by human intuition and experience, so it actually lacks of accuracy. Comparing to Mathematics and philosophy's abstract, literature would be more mysterious. Being mysterious is good to learn the world from multiple perspectives and channels.
文学的模糊使得创作的结果具备了张力 ,具备了弹性。
“文无定法”,“国无法则乱 ,文无法则兴”,“文学当然不应该只有一把尺子”,
From the sayings that "Creation has no fixed forms", "a country would be in chaos without law, literature would be prosperous without rules", "literature should not have only one evaluation criteria", and "there will be no fish if the water is too clear, there will be no friend if a person too shrewd", we can see that the vagueness of literature gives the creative works the tension and elasticity.
“水至清则无鱼 ,人至察则无徒”,不是鼓吹神秘主义 ,但神秘的确能和现实拉开一段距离 ,吸引欣赏者不再满足于表象,而撩开面纱窥见实质。
This is not to advocate mysticism, it can indeed pull a distance from reality, attracting the viewer to be no longer satisfied with the appearance only, but to perceive the essences.
所谓虚与实的辩证 ,不过如此。传奇有两种 :一是内容的离奇古怪 ,一是构思的奇巧。前者太注重文学的消遣性 ,后者则属于形式的张罗。当然 ,内容和形式并没有截然的区分 ,其实也是模糊的。
It is the so-called dialectics of virtual and reality. There are two kinds of legendary works of literature, one of which is the bizarre content which is focused on the entertainment of literature, and the other is the skillful conception which pays attention to the form. Nevertheless, there is no clear distinction between content and for me, instead, they are still distinguishable.
主体意识不是个人意识 ,就像深层迂回的洋流与浮躁单向的河流 ,是完全不同的。可口可乐千分之一的配方不同 ,就和世界上那么多仿制公司生产出来的可乐味道迥然。文学的气派 ,实际亦如此。小我写日记 ,作传,大我创造史诗。
Subjective consciousness is not the individual consciousness. They are completely different, like the deep circuitous ocean current and the fickle and monodirectional river. The reason why many companies in the world made copies of the Cola that tastes greatly different from the real one is that the key formulation's different. The same is true of literary grandeur, which can be diaries and biographies or creating Epics.
人之初 ,至成熟 ,垂老 ,就是一个渐渐融化的过程 ,一直到复归大地 ,散作烟缕升化天空。
Life is a process of gradual evanishment, from birth, maturity, aging and to bury in the soil, eventually turn into smoke which dissipates in the air.
个人的 ,民族的 ,人类的 ,“我”越大 ,涵盖越大 ,上达“我非我”“物我两忘”“无极而太极”的境界 ,才飘飘荡荡自由驰骋。于是 ,马克思的雪茄烟 ,巴尔扎克的债 ,也才好理解。
The "I" can be individuals, nations and human beings. The bigger the "I", the more contents it covered, which can be as higher as the ideological level of "Me and Non-me", [③]"forget everything ", and "Wu Ji and Tai Ji. " Only from this perspective, can we better understand Marx's cigar and Balzac's debt.
“风物长宜放眼量”,从文学追求到文学的实践 ,目的也好 ,手段也好 ,都应该洒脱一些 ,急功近利是不成气候的。
With a long vision, from literary pursuit to literary practice, we should be indifferent to fame and wealth no matter in terms of purpose or means. Quick success and instant benefit can’t last long.
文章写到这里 ,字数已经凑足 ,应该结束了。创作和创作谈 ,是走向截然相反的两件事情。创作是审视别人 ,观照社会。创作谈则是内省自身,开凿个人体会。一是实践 ,一是理论。
At this moment, it's time to end for the number of words of the paper is already sufficient. Literary creation and literary talk are two completely different things. Creating is to examine others and observe the society which related to practice.
对别人说三道四容易 ,具体到自己 ,才知道要动真格的。理论对理论家来说 ,自然不成问题 ,可对我来说,就像爬坡上坎走山路的人来到平坦宽直的大马路 ,总高一步低一脚的,反而感到别扭极了。
Give opinions on" literature "is to introspect and dig personal experience which related to theory. Gossiping others is always easy, however, it's hardly acceptable when it happens to ourselves. Theory is easy for theorists. For me, I fells so awkward instead.
序《遵义方言诠注》
The Preface of Notes and Commentaries on Zunyi dialect
我认识钟金万 ,是在北京黔北作家强化班上。能够办成这个班 ,除了当时市人民政府 ,特别是作为书法家的晓光市长对文学的理解与支持 ,还因为遵义县文联主席张云红女士自上而下的动员。
I met Zhong Jinwan in the intensive class for northern Guizhou writers in Beijing. This class could be formed successfully for two reasons. On the one hand, it got the the understanding and support of Municipal People's Government, especially mayor Xiaoguang, as a calligrapher, for literature. On the other hand, Ms. Zhang Yunhong, the Chairman of Zunyi Literary Federation fully mobilized for it.
参加学习的作者多 ,而且写散文的县人大常务副主任赵福强也去了 ,当了这个班的班长 ,算把这个班撑了起来。
There were many authors participating in the study. Even Zhao Fuqiang, the executive deputy director of County People's Congress has been there as a essayist, and as the monitor of the class who sustained the class at last.
我因此对遵义县的作者多了几分留意 ,觉得他们能够成就事情。事实上 ,从南到北 ,撇开生活上的尴尬不说 ,很多作者都是领导,牵挂着单位一摊子事 ,个把来月 ,还真不容易。
Therefore, I paid more attention to the writers from Zunyi County as I believed that they were bound to achieve something. In fact, in addition to the inadaptability of their lives, it was not easy for them, many of whom were leaders being involved in a lot of things in their units, to spent almost a month there.
这之间 ,我就发现了钟金万 ,听课听到精彩地方 ,脸红扑扑的 ,还喜欢举手提问 ,有一种“愣”劲。他是县移民局副局长 ,到北京学习 ,也费了不少周折。
Among them, Zhong Jinwan got my attention. When he heard the interesting points, his face would be red and he liked raising his hand to ask questions. He was the deputy director of immigration office in county. He had experienced a lot of trouble before he could study in Beijing this time.
晚上 ,我从他寝室门前走过 ,常看见他召集人喝酒吹牛。他酒量大 ,牛皮也多。他的室友谯立东喝到后来有些撑不住了 ,看人看不清楚 ,眼睛都走形了 ,不得不提前回家。
He was a talkative person and strong drinker. I often saw him drinking and talking tall with people in the evening when I passed by his dormitory door. One evening, his roommate Qiao Lidong got drunk too much to drink any more. He couldn't see clearly and his eyes were out of shape that he had to go home ahead of time.
而钟金万照喝不误 ,照样谈笑风生。他率性而热烈 ,凡事粗中带细,学习结束 ,带着厚厚的两本笔记兴冲冲离开北京。
On the contrary, Zhong Jinwan was still drinking, talking and laughing with others. He was unruly and enthusiastic, and thorough and meticulous in his work. He left Beijing excitedly with two thick notes after this study.
那以后 ,我就特别看了他的一些小说 ,几乎都是小短篇 ,趣味幽默 ,充满智慧 ,便琢磨钟金万如果有时间 ,把握住分寸 ,其实是可以写出好小说的。
Since then, I have read some of his novels especially, almost all of which were short, funny, humorous stories full of wisdom. I thought that if Zhong Jinwan had enough time and allocated it well, he could really write some good novels.
而遗憾的是他一直在忙着 ,不是在跟移民打交道 ,就是跟朋友在酒桌上喝酒、吹牛。我两次路过遵义县 ,想跟他聊一聊 ,都赶上他的工作、赶上他的酒。Unfortunately, he has been busy, either dealing with immigrants or drinking and talking with friends at the table. I passed Zunyi County twice and wanted to talk to him, however, he was working at both time.
写作是一种命运 ,而怎么写与写什么或许冥冥中有一种主宰。我那时候就想 ,钟金万如果还在文学这条路上走 ,一时半会也只能弄一点小玩意儿。
Writing is a kind of fate. How to write and what to write perhaps it's the will of god. At that time, I was thinking that if Zhong Jinwan would persist in writing , he would only be able to write some general works in a short time.
但怎么也想不到他竟然“小”到了家 ,着力一个词汇、一个发音 ,研究起方言来了。语言是一个民族、一个地方的文化基质。每一个民族都有自己在漫长的历史发展过程中形成的母语。But I never thought that he would study such a little thing as a word and a pronunciation - he studied the dialect. Language is the cultural foundation of a nation and a place. Every nation has its own mother tongue which was formed in the long process of historical development.
它不仅是一种表达工具 ,还包含了一个民族生产、生活 ,乃至生命的信息。只是随着现代化进程 ,文化在碰撞中逐渐走向大同 ,很多民族的母语已不复存在。
It's not only a tool of expression, but also contains the information of a nation's production, life and even lives. However, with the development of modernization, culture is gradually moving towards integration in the collision. The mother tongue of many ethnic groups has disappeared,
而母语消逝 ,并不表明方言也会消逝。方言不仅是一个文化概念 ,还是一个地理概念 ,比一个民族的母语大气。事实上 ,母语消逝 ,更多是一个量变过程。
however, it does not mean that the dialects will be extinct. Dialect, as a cultural and geographical concept, has much broader connotation than the mother tongue. In fact, the vanishment of a mother tongue is a quantitative process.
相当一部分母语 ,作为一种文化元素 ,已经被方言吸收 ,或者转化为方言。普通话推广半个多世纪 ,中国七大方言区却依然存在 ,而且还很有生气。
Much of native tongue, as a cultural element, has been absorbed or converted into the dialect. Mandarin has been popularized for more than half a century, but the seven major dialect areas in China is still existing and active.
某种程度而言 ,作为自然与历史的馈赠 ,方言其实就是一个地区人民的母语。只有在满足交流的前提下 ,最大限度地保护和利用方言 ,才能最大限度地保证中华民族文化生态的健康形成。
In some extent, as a gift of nature and history, dialect is the mother tongue of a region. Only by protecting and utilizing the dialects to the largest extend on the premise of meeting the need of communication, can the healthy formation of the cultural ecology of the Chinese nation be guaranteed maximumly.
从这个意义上说 ,钟金万与他的朋友倾情倾力完成的《遵义方言诠注》,对中华民族文化大系黔北文化单元的固本强基 ,实在是一件功德无量的事情。
In this sense, Commentary on Zunyi dialect, which was devoted by Zhong Jinwan and his friends, is of great contribution to solid foundation for the cultural unit of the northern Guizhou in the great system of Chinese national culture.
很多作家都是民间文化专家。民间文化有文人化的参与 ,不只是一种简单的记录 ,还是一个甄别与提炼的过程 , Many writers were folk culture experts. It can be said that the interaction between literary creation and folk culture was a kind of mutually supportive and a real virtuous circle. On the one hand, the participation of literati in folk culture was not only a simple record, but also a screening and refining process.
只有去粗取精、去伪存真 ,民间文化升华成为一种民族精神 ,才能够得到进一步的传播。On the other hand, only by discarding the dross and selecting the essential, and eliminating the false and preserving the true, and sublimating the folk culture into a kind of national spirit, can it be further spread.
而文人的文学张扬 ,也只有经过民间文化的滋养 ,也才能够产生壮观的气象。可以说,文学创作与民间文化的这种往返 ,是一种相得益彰的交换 ,是一种真正的良性循环。相信钟金万通过对黔北地区方言的研究 ,会对文学的一些本质性的东西有更深的认识 ,并运用到创作实践中 ,写出更多更好的小说。
Only through the nourishment of folk culture, could literati achieve success. I believe that through the study on the dialect in Northern Guizhou, Zhong Jinwan would have a deeper understanding about the essences of literature, and apply it to write more better novels.
应钟金万之邀 ,写下这点肤浅的感受作为序言 ,算是在一个厚重的礼盒上系一条带子 ,多少给人一点方便。果如此 ,我也就感到万分欣慰。
Invited by Zhong Jinwan, I wrote down this plain feeling as a preface. It is a tie on a thick gift box, which gives a little convenience. If so, I am very pleased.
