Communicate souls with literature, the "world language"
——Literary vision and the community of shared future for mankind
【The Garden of Literary Theory in the New Era】
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his important speech at the opening ceremony of the 11th National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the 10th National Congress of the Chinese Writers Association that people with culture can condense their minds;
The vast number of literary and art workers should be based on the land of China, tell Chinese stories well, and use a deeper vision, a broader mind, and a more confident attitude to choose themes that best represent China's reform and Chinese spirit. Create more images of Chinese culture recognized by the world, strive to display a vivid and three-dimensional China, and write a new chapter for promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
In his important speech at the symposium on literature and art work, General Secretary Xi Jinping also emphasized that literature and art are the language of the world, and talking about literature and art is actually talking about society and life, and it is easiest to understand each other and communicate hearts.
These important expositions have profoundly explained the important basis for the existence of the "literary community".
Investigating the "literary community" created by "world literature", and examining the relationship between the literatures of various nationalities within the "literary community" that both compete on the same stage and respond in unison, may bring some enlightenment to the construction of a "community with a shared future for mankind".
1. Writers act as tour guides, people will quickly and deeply comprehend the humanities around the world in the aesthetic enjoyment
An iconic classic of Marxism, The Communist Manifesto is known for its profound historical analysis, broad-mindedness, and passion.
This classic eloquently expounds the inevitable changes in the social structure brought about by the mode of production and the mode of exchange.
Nonetheless, many elaborate readings do not overlook a particular proposition mentioned in the Communist Manifesto: the formation of world literature.
In the first half of the 19th century, the concept of "world literature" had appeared in the rhetoric of Goethe and other writers and thinkers, but the expression of the "Communist Manifesto" went far beyond the purely literary category and pointed to the general spiritual and cultural production: " The local and national self-sufficiency and seclusion of the past has been replaced by the mutual intercourse and interdependence of all nationalities in all aspects. This is true of material production, and so is spiritual production. The spiritual products of various peoples became public property. The one-sidedness and limitation of nations became increasingly impossible, and a world literature was formed from the many national and local literatures.”
The mode of production and exchange in modern society irresistibly smashes the visible and intangible boundaries between "local" and "nation". The modern exchange system not only creates a wide circulation of material products, but also spiritual products will break free from the restrictions of the place of origin and spread to every corner of the world.
This description shows the path of formation of the totality of world literature.
Of course, the so-called "world literature" is not a different set of texts separated from "local" and "nation", but shows that the literary works of "local" and "nation" have acquired the nature of "world" due to their dissemination; At the same time, the "world" is not a stage of some kind of hegemonic monopoly, and tickets must be purchased separately - on the contrary, every "place" and "nation" has entered the world, and they are all parts of the world. Qualified to use the world as a space for creation.
The literary situation of more than 100 years has more and more clearly confirmed the proposition of "world literature", and at the same time, literature and literary studies have begun to consciously realize the existence of world history.
People have used various concepts to describe the evolution of literature around the 19th century, such as romanticism, realism, modernism, postmodernism, etc. The connotations of these concepts all involve the understanding of the interaction between literature and history.
All over the world, whether it is the independence of a country, the liberation of a nation, the transformation of local customs, the reshaping of life by technology, and the different concepts of nature and life, all kinds of historical waves have echoed in literature.
The competition between literary styles or literary forms all involve the unique discovery and representation of history by literature.
Realist literature is good at objectively depicting the picture of social history, and all kinds of characters become the axis of these pictures; Romantic literature is devoted to high dance and magic, and modernist literature shows strong gloom and irony, both of which embody literature Some critiques of modernity - lavish consumerism, greed and materialism, philistine philosophy and utilitarianism, etc.
Usually, the national literature of a certain historical period shows a relatively concentrated theme, a relatively consistent literary style or literary form.
In contrast, "world literature" is often colorful and complex.
This depends not only on the different literary traditions of different nationalities, but also on the different historical themes and rhythms of each "place".
However, precisely because of the variety, the vision of "world literature" may go beyond a particular region or cultural circle to form an increasingly clear world consciousness.
As a fascinating cultural window, literature constantly shows the world in different ways.
Although literature only provides spiritual travel on paper, because writers act as guides, people will quickly and deeply comprehend the humanities around the world in aesthetic enjoyment.
The American scholar Bendnick Anderson once argued that the printed matter that appeared after the 15th century played an important role in promoting the formation of the "imagined community".
Literature is the most fascinating category of print, and literature helps people understand the wider world in a subtle way.
To say the least, the new understanding has created an intellectual community that can talk about the world together.
Although many writers have participated in the production of "world literature" from different directions, most outstanding writers store in their hearts "nation" rather than "world"-they usually take their own nation as the center of the circle.
The world is so big, not all places are full of nostalgia.
National history is the cultural soil for a writer to grow up, it is a writer's spiritual protection, and it is also a writer's lasting concern.
"Why are there tears in my eyes? Because I love this land so deeply..." For literature, this kind of "love" is an indispensable spiritual wealth.
National history often endows writers with real inspiration and inexhaustible creative energy.
If it is said that many nation-states form the world together, then the history of each nation is a unique part of the world.
Showing the historical secrets of each nation is the dedication of national literature to world literature.
Therefore, as an independent chapter of "World Literature", China's "May Fourth" New Literature Movement clearly showed the dialectical relationship between the world and the nation.
A group of "May Fourth" writers headed by Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, and Lu Xun all had the vision of world literature, but the important purpose of their involvement in literature was to save their own nation.
Literature once again proves this point: in the reference provided by the world picture, a nation can know itself more deeply, which is just another gain brought by world consciousness.
Compared to the material products offered by the market, spiritual products hide a special magic.
Substance products usually follow the rule of abandoning the old to the new, with new models and new features quickly covering or replacing older styles.
When conditions permit, no one wants to drive a battered car from a hundred years ago, or use a black and white television set from fifty years ago.
However, spiritual products exist in a far wider range of echoes.
A classic work seems to be sowing spiritual seeds all the time.
People cannot predict when and where these spiritual seeds will germinate, who will receive them, and what effects will be produced.
A large part of the dialogue between different countries and peoples is based on the world consciousness.
The world is so big that individuals can only set foot in limited places; as a vocabulary that is known to each other, literature can help people of different nationalities to understand and even participate in the world together.
Therefore, numerous literary classics around the world show the existence of "human beings".
"Humans" live in every corner of the planet, yet they are a connected community—whether they realize it or not.
General Secretary Xi Jinping's initiative to build a "community with a shared future for mankind" contains a strong sense of the world.
As a response to the "great changes unseen in a century", "a community with a shared future for mankind" is not only a far-sighted strategic concept, but also shows strong historical urgency.
The concept of "a community with a shared future for mankind" points out an important feature that is different from the past: "humanity" as a whole appears on more and more occasions.
There are many new signs that the destinies of mankind are being closely intertwined.
Whether it's climate issues, space development, environmental protection, or biosecurity, many nation-states have to cooperate extensively to share the dividends of success, or share the tragic consequences of failure.
The extreme weather, the destruction of ecosystems and the rise of sea levels brought about by climate problems have a global scale, and the inhabitants of any region may encounter unpredictable disasters.
The COVID-19 outbreak is another classic case.
If "human beings" cannot join forces to stop the chain of transmission of the virus, no country can stay safe alone.
When looking at “humanity” as a whole, certain tendencies are more dangerous than expected—the problems that these tendencies pose are far from threatening individual regions, but endangering “humanity” as a whole.
History shows that some things are quietly turning unexpectedly: wealth and science and technology have brought many convenient materials to mankind, but, due to the increasingly unbalanced development of various groups, wealth and science and technology are unknowingly. Dive into some negative factors.
The Communist Manifesto pointed out: "The productive forces created by the bourgeoisie in its less than one hundred years of class rule are greater and greater than all the productive forces created by all previous generations." After the publication of the Communist Manifesto For more than 100 years, this trend has continued unabated, and advanced science and technology also constitute a stable guarantee for the development of productive forces.
However, with the rapid growth of social wealth, a fair wealth distribution plan has not emerged as expected in the world, and the gap between the rich and the poor is even wider than before.
Another fact that goes hand in hand with the rapid growth of social wealth is that advanced science and technology have developed powerful weapon systems at the same time.
In addition, due to the rapid development of human society, the natural environment is under increasing pressure, and the ecological problems caused by the natural environment may be distributed in any corner of the earth, so that the overall "humanity" is in a state of solidarity.
Faced with this historical situation, the initiative to build a "community with a shared future for mankind" shows special appeal.
The "Community with a Shared Future for Mankind" advocates inclusiveness and mutual learning among all ethnic groups and countries, as well as harmony and diversity, and advocates multilateralism and a new type of fair and reasonable international relations.
This initiative is keenly aware of a major problem that historical development is encountering: after the intertwining of globalization has become the norm, how can human beings overcome the obstacles created by various negative factors with a more united attitude?
From politics, economics, international relations, global governance, to cultural traditions and civilizational traditions, the strategic concept of "a community with a shared future for mankind" brings together foresight and wisdom from many aspects, opening up multiple ideological paths for different disciplines.
Like many disciplines, literature will echo this remarkable historical judgment in its own form, and will actively participate in concrete construction.
It can be seen that some science fiction literature has successively reproduced the ominous picture caused by nuclear war in the form of fantasy.
If science fiction literature expresses anxiety about the future in a tortuous way, then realist writers have a responsibility to explore history more actively.
The unprecedented historical theme of building a "community with a shared future for mankind" will create a huge space for understanding and imagination for literature.
For literature, the real history is not only a set of suspended assumptions and concepts, but also a heavy content that enters every corner of everyone's life.
Literary works usually cut into the protagonist's life encounters and ups and downs, depicting the daily experience, joys, sorrows, and various specific encounters of all living beings. However, the writer will pay close attention to the historical trends precipitated in ordinary details: the existence of emotion and experience What factors help to unite humanity?
How does literature's affirmation of justice, kindness and warmth of humanity continue to add positive energy to humanity?
In the more intense international game, which open historical platforms can accommodate various divergent intentions, seek common ground while reserving differences, alleviate the gap formed by various imbalances, and seek new balance possibilities?
This means new horizons and wisdom, and also provides a great resource for future literature.
2. The cultural traditions of all ethnic groups have the cultural resources that can be used to build a modern society. On the world cultural platform, the contribution of Chinese national culture to building a "community with a shared future for mankind" will become increasingly apparent
If modern society is to be seen as a universal pursuit, then "humanity" will deal with this problem as a whole.
At this time, the relationship between modernity, the theme of modernization and the construction of a "community with a shared future for mankind" will become a special focus.
Is it a universal pursuit in modern society?
This issue has been discussed.
In the 1950s and 1960s, some Western theorists attempted to put forward "modernization" based on a certain ideology.
However, this model has been repeatedly resisted, and many peoples have not surrendered the historical goal of "modernization".
Engels said in "Speech at the Tomb of Marx": "Just as Darwin discovered the law of development of the organic world, Marx discovered the law of development of human history, that is, a simple fact that has always been covered up by the complex ideology: People first have to eat, drink, shelter, and clothe before they can engage in politics, science, art, religion, etc."
The material conditions represented by "eating, drinking, housing, and clothing" are the preconditions for determining spiritual life such as "politics, science, art, and religion."
At the same time, material production and spiritual production have relatively independent logics. The development of the former drives the continuous evolution of the latter, and both are constantly pursuing a more perfect realm.
Although the measurement indicators of what is "modernity" are different, and the economic and cultural models and social management results of various nation-states vary, however, modern society constitutes a commonly recognized station in the movement of human history.
The common pursuit makes each nation-state may encounter similar development problems. At the same time, whether it is science and technology, economy, politics, and culture, the modern society constructed by each nation-state has close cooperation and interaction.
However, as Harvard researcher Du Weiming said, "modernization" is not the same as "westernization".
Although "modernization" originated in Europe, "if we start to look at modernization from a multicivilizational perspective, the claim that the experience of the contemporary West should be repeated in the rest of the world is no longer credible".
Tu Weiming examined the participation of Confucian culture in East Asian modernity, and summed up some characteristics that are different from Western modernity, such as the function of the government in the market economy, the interaction between law and benevolence, respect for each other, and the family as the basic unit. The meaning and organic connection between home and country, public and private, education and personality, self-cultivation and morality, and so on.
Regardless of whether there are discrepancies in many specific analyses, Tu Weiming's conclusion is thought-provoking: "Confucian East Asia can fully modernize without being completely Westernized, which shows that modernization can have different cultural forms. Therefore, it is conceivable that Southeast Asia can realize it. One’s own modernization is neither Westernization nor East Asianization.” On a larger scale, people have reason to believe that “inherent traditions around the world have the potential to transform and develop their own modernity that is different from the West.”
In his view, dialogue among various civilizations in the world is a top priority, and dialogue is the premise for the establishment of a world peace order.
The universal pursuit of modern society and the assumptions of various modernity, this picture contains the dialectics between the "same" and "difference" that must be faced to build a "community with a shared future for mankind": under similar historical coordinates, different nation-states People may form similar pursuits, however, each nation-state can rely on its own cultural traditions and choose different paths to reach modern society.
In other words, the common divisor of the values constitutes the basis of the "community", but each nation-state is not delineated on the same runway.
Compared with ancient society, modern society implies a major structural transformation.
Frequent interactions around the world have led to more and more intensive interactions across space between different nation-states, and the cultural traditions that have been passed down over time within nation-states have relatively declined.
Such cultural symptoms often lead to fierce debates, and cultural traditions and foreign cultures are at odds with each other, and accusations of "forgetting the ancestors", "favoring foreigners", "holding on to one's own shortcomings" and "remaining self-sufficient" come one after another.
In fact, this situation involves the multilateral relationship between national subjects, national cultures and foreign cultures.
Entering the world-wide cultural exchange, various cultural strategies such as reference, reference, criticism, and worship are likely to appear.
At this time, the national subject is always a primary criterion.
Lu Xun advocated "bringing", which means borrowing other people's wine glasses to pour their own barriers.
Lu Xun claimed to have relied on reading hundreds of "foreign works" and "a little medical knowledge" to write novels.
It doesn't matter which "foreign works" he learns from, what matters is that he really wrote the Chinese spiritual outlook.
When defending the main body of the nation, imitating the opponent may also become a cultural strategy, the so-called "learning from the barbarians to control the barbarians".
Another important idea that the various modernity viewpoints try to prove is that the cultural traditions of each nation have the cultural resources that can be used to build a modern society.
On the platform of world culture, the contribution of Chinese national culture to building a "community with a shared future for mankind" will become increasingly apparent.
If cultural "introduction" has been an important enlightenment work for many intellectuals for over a century, then perhaps now is the time to talk about cultural "export".
To a large extent, it has become an urgent task to re-understand traditional culture, carry forward and use traditional culture according to the current historical situation, and carry out creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture.
In fact, Goethe put forward the proposition of "world literature" when he was talking with his secretary about the Chinese Qing Dynasty novel "The Legend of Haoyu".
Of course, the so-called cultural "export" must be based on the cultural quality of the nation-state.
What content of Chinese national culture will win the general interest of different nationalities?
This is a fascinating topic.
As a nation with a long history, there are countless cultural examples to display.
From Li Bai, Du Fu, Cao Xueqin within the literary category to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in a wider range, many cultural examples show world-class cultural creativity.
No matter how the success or failure of each cultural paradigm is analyzed, this kind of cultural creativity is a common and universal feature, and it is also the internal driving force of national culture.
More than a century of cultural "introduction" simultaneously invisibly creates a defensive posture of national culture.
A strong sense of defense even makes people ignore the huge innovative energy hidden in the national culture.
Throughout the endless Chinese history, we must be good at discovering and excavating the unique innovative impulses and innovative forms of the national culture.
I would like to repeat a concise example from the history of Chinese calligraphy to emphasize this feature.
Some advocate the reinstatement of traditional Chinese characters as a form of homage to cultural traditions.
However, the evolution of Chinese characters proves that the ancients once again boldly simplified their fonts.
After the increasingly complex society formed more and more written communication, the ancients did not rigidly stick to the rules and accepted the inefficient writing speed.
From seal script, official script, regular script to running script and cursive script, the unremitting spirit of reformation of the ancients can be detected from the evolution of these fonts.
The amazing real creation is that each new type of font is transformed into the beautiful art of calligraphy in the hands of the ancients.
The culture of the Chinese nation is not only heavy and unchanging, but also flows without stagnation. "Keeping the righteousness" and "innovation" are two aspects that are interrelated.
When reviewing national culture, there is no reason to forget the surging cultural creativity of the ancients.
Talking about a "community with a shared future for mankind" and various modernities, this cultural creativity manifests itself as a variety of unique Chinese wisdom.
3. The beauty of plum blossoms does not reject chrysanthemums, just as the beauty of Chinese painting does not reject oil paintings. When forming an aesthetic family, different faces flashed expressions of mutual understanding
As a comprehensive study of literature between different ethnic groups or different countries, "comparative literature" once tended to summarize the consistent law of "people share the same heart and the same principle" in the "literary community". Qian Zhongshu summarized it as "the East China Sea and the West Sea". , psychologically the same, learn from the south and learn from the north, and the Taoism is not broken.”
However, compared with these bookish cultural aspirations, other viewpoints point more towards cultural differences, disagreements and even conflicts around the world - the term "clash of civilizations" was once in vogue.
If cultural hegemony is an important cause of differences, differences and even conflicts, then Western centrism is causing more and more backlash.
A kind of public opinion has been popular for a long time: Western culture is a more mature civilization, and Western concepts serve as the starting point of various meanings; Western literature is more superior, whether it is to show the richness and depth of characters or the multi-directional exploration of literary forms, Western Literature is a condescending existence.
Up to now, these concepts have been questioned and criticized one after another, including criticism from a group of Western intellectuals.
In fact, the two tendencies of agreement and disagreement in the "literary community" involve the internal and external aspects of national culture, and involve complex games between culture and economy, politics and even military affairs.
President Xi Jinping's important speech at the meeting marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the legitimate seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations profoundly pointed out that the world is rich and colorful. Diversity is the charm of human civilization, and it is also the source of vitality and driving force for the development of the world.
"A hundred schools of thought cannot be the beauty of one person's wonder." There is no superiority or inferiority between civilizations. There are only differences in characteristics and regions. Only through communication can they be integrated and progress can be made through integration.
Any type of civilization is closely related to the life experience of specific regions and different peoples.
Race, environment, era, and various cultural traditions have all participated in the long accumulation of civilization.
Compared with the reproduction of a nation, there is always a metabolic mechanism within the national culture; however, when many nationalities are in a state of self-sufficiency, there is no general principle of superiority or inferiority between national cultures.
On the broad world stage, every type of civilization deserves respect.
Modern history has gradually opened the door of every nation - when the world is connected as one, it is precisely the day when various types of civilizations communicate with each other.
Each national culture learns from each other's strengths and complements its weaknesses.
Regrettably, on many occasions, the world-wide exchanges of civilizations did not unfold smoothly with a warm atmosphere.
When the development and occupation of the market become the primary driving force for breaking national boundaries, the exchange of interests and even the competition for interests inevitably intervene and even dominate the exchanges of civilizations, thus bringing about tensions in many aspects.
Past history offers few examples of optimism.
It is precisely when examining various modernities that we can find that the modernity of some Western countries is linked with imperial hegemony and colonial history.
This social relationship shows that the measurement of interests becomes the core of all measurement, and serious conflicts of interests often serve as the fuse of war.
When strong ships and sharp guns become the language of dialogue, when the law of the jungle vividly interprets the tragedy of "being backward will be beaten", the communication of civilizations has sadly reduced to a trivial vassal, and even constitutes an irony.
Compared with the concept of "community with a shared future for mankind" of mutual benefit, this historical situation is particularly dazzling.
At least for now, traditional international relations, economic and trade systems, or cultural exchange networks cannot provide a solid foundation for "humanity" comprehensive cooperation.
From ancient religions to modern class, nation, and state, all kinds of important concepts have obvious dual nature: these concepts can become the cornerstone of the recognition of some social communities, or they can become the rejection or even exclusion of other social communities. the fence.
At the same time, other concepts such as identity, ethnicity, gender, etc. continue to pour in.
There is a lot of discussion on the formation of the two batches of concepts, which just proves that the issues involved in the two batches of concepts are not outdated.
These issues not only constitute the background of the "community with a shared future for mankind", but also the content that this historical theme will transcend.
"Humanity" as a whole - if this condition means new opportunities, then new requirements must be realized at the same time.
According to Marx and Engels, only when the social wealth is greatly enriched and "the free development of everyone is the condition for the free development of all", then the conflict of interests will disappear.
However, although this social condition has not yet been formed, the relative independence of culture can still delineate a relatively independent historical platform.
This area can get rid of the careless exchange of interests and even sharp conflicts of interest to a considerable extent, such as the aesthetic compatibility of the "literary community" for the literature of various nationalities.
Aesthetics favors individual differences while constructing broad resonance areas.
The beauty of plum blossoms does not reject chrysanthemums, just as the beauty of Chinese painting does not reject oil paintings.
When forming an aesthetic family, different faces flashed expressions of mutual understanding.
Poetry and drama can coexist, music and sculpture go hand in hand.
The same is true for the different styles of literature of various nationalities.
This is also the reason why Chinese writers are able to tell Chinese stories well to the world.
Chinese aesthetic interest, Chinese style, and Chinese style are precisely the most respected among the "literary community".
The construction of the "literary community" shows that the various personalities of literature constitute non-antagonistic differences.
Aesthetics no longer has the responsibility of expanding territory, product competition and profit creation. Non-confrontational differences in personality will get rid of the entanglement of interests and become objects of mutual complementation and even mutual appreciation.
The great pleasures of aesthetic creative labor are no longer the extra burden of subsistence, but the exercise of a free nature; then every individuality will have a wide space and will no longer be subservient to the measure of interest.
This is also a vivid interpretation of "harmony but difference".
It reveals the basis behind the aesthetic compatibility of "literary community", and tries to demonstrate the desirable and beautiful nature of the historical vision of "community with a shared future for mankind" in a metaphorical way.
Although various conditions have not been fully met, just like the "literary community", there is already great hope for success in cooperation in certain fields.
(Author: Nan Fan, a researcher at the Research Center of the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in Fujian Province and a researcher at the Fujian Academy of Social Sciences)