“文道觀”的理論内涵及其歷史演變

“文道”是中國古代文論的核心範疇，“文道觀”關注文學的思想内涵與社會價值。先秦時期荀子提倡“宗經明道”，推重儒家經典對明道的重要意義。南朝劉勰《文心雕龍•原道》提出的“文原於道”强化了“文道觀”的本體論建構。唐宋古文家及其後繼者提倡“文以明道”，追求“文道並重”“文道合一”，在强調創作者主體自覺的基礎上，提倡“文”的明道意義。理學家提倡“文以載道”體現出“重道輕文”的理論傾向。20世紀後，園繞“文以載道”所展開的質疑與反思，推動了對傳统“文道觀”的抽象繼承。 A core term in traditional Chinese literary theory, wendao is concerned with the philosophical underpinnings of literature and its intellectual and social value. In the pre-Qin period, Xunzi promoted “Honoring the canon and illuminating the Way”, emphasizing the significance of the Confucian canon for understanding the fundamental principles of the world. The Southern Dynasties literary theorist Liu Xie, in his “Origination in the Way” chapter of the Wenxin diaolong, gives the idea that “Literature originates in the Way” an emphatic expression, solidifying an essential linkage between the term’s two components, wen (“literature,” “writing,” “embellishment”) and dao (“the Way”). The Ancient Prose essayists in Tang and Song times and their followers advocated “Literature for the sake of illuminating the Way”, reconfiguring and further developing the relationship between wen and dao. While they promoted the unity and oneness of literary writing and the moral principles and social goals underlying it, the Ancient Prose theorists and practitioners also recognized the creative agency of the writer, making illuminating the Way a self-conscious choice. The Neo-Confucian thinkers of the Song advocated “Literature as a vehicle for conveying the Way”, demonstrating a tendency toward taking literature to be a mere instrument for the Way. In the twentieth century, the suspicion and critique surrounding “Literature as a vehicle for conveying the Way” pushed forward the discussion of the wendao theory as well as its legacy and relevance in the contemporary world.