詩歌與歷史：論詩史的歷史成分及其敘述的轉向

On Poetry and History: Re-considering the Historical Aspect of the Concept of Shishi and Its Narrative Turn

在這篇論文中，我試圖處理的論題大致有下述三個面向與重點。（一）、當代古典文學研究所建構的古典詩歌發展主要是以抒情傳統為基調，而在抒情傳統這一套創作與解讀的模式中，其實富含著極為細緻而精微的文化想像與價值，並且建立在傳統知識階層（士階層）共同的歷史記憶與相互認同。因此，相對於「神韻」所投射的一種遠觀而不黏滯的詩學與政治，「詩史」的名稱或概念的出現，或可用來展示詩人及其所置身的時代政治社會環境之間的關係，充分反映詩人在面對歷史情境時的「心境」或「判斷」，當然，其中「突出情感因素」的成分又不免多於敘事的功能。（二）、抒情的創作模式既是以自我當下經驗的保存與體現為重心，那麼，在這種觀照經驗模式的制約下，具體生活世界中如鎖鏈般發生的事件並不容易成為詩歌創作的材料，則當下截斷眾流的剎那又將如何因應時間之流的延續與變異？因此，「詩史」此一概念所指陳的歷史事件的面向，是《春秋》式的對於事件意義與價值的解釋或判斷，而不是以情節構造與舖展為主的敘述模式。既然涉及歷史事件此一具體面向的呈現問題，我們或可借用亞里斯多德《詩學》中關於「情節構造」（佈局）與「蓋然或必然的可能性」的說法，重新思考「抒情傳統」在面對未來時可能的轉化。（三）、「詩史」概念的出現，本來就用以描述或闡釋詩人對於動盪劇變的歷史事件的沉思及其特殊的表現手法，因此，這個概念必然指向題材的重大性與風格的深沉濃鬱；然而，當我們把視角轉向清末民初此一充滿變動的歷史階段時，處處可見「革命」與「啟蒙」這些向度重大的議題，我們又該當如何分析、解讀論述場域中關於「詩歌」與「歷史敘事」之間的因依或對反關係？同時，形塑中國現代性過程中的歷史、記憶與認同的問題，又如何在論述與書寫活動中展示出來？簡單說，思及未來，我所關心的課題，一則是鉅變中歷史的解釋與呈現問題，再者即是說故事或敘述的模式可能導向的認同問題，而這也是我要在論文中所以把論述材料引向近、現代的理由，希望透過這種牽引，可以擴大抒情的文學史的範圍與內容。

The aim of the present paper is to reconsider the historical character of the concept of Shishi (詩史)and its narrative turn. In view of the future development of the narrative mode and model in the field of contemporary literature, I first propose to re-examine the possible implications of the concept of Shishi within the context of the classical Chinese poetic tradition, especially within that of the Ming-Qing transition period. Under the concept of Shishi, classical Chinese poets tended to make poetry a kind of writing that is meant not to illustrate certain historical events in a narrative mode, but instead to present their own moral and political judgments on these events. Against such a cultural background, I then venture to provide a viable theoretical framework, which is based on the theories of the narrative self, for our further investigation. In so far as the conception of the narrative self is concerned, the question of the self is also closely related to that of cultural memory and of identity. Therefore, following the approaches proposed by Paul Ricoeur as well as by Alasdair MacIntyre to define and describe the nature of the self, I also ask a possible and positive alternative to classical ways of thinking on the problems concerning poetry, cultural memory, and identity. The self is, or at least in part, constituted through our relations and interactions with others. Still more, since the self and its life is always set and bound up with its historicity, the self can best be regarded as the product of a narrative by the practice of story-telling. A narrative understanding of the self is needed in order to capture the complexity of the self in the field of everyday life as well as in that of literary writings. In making such a claim, I finally propose to reconsider existing lyrical-moral frameworks, shifting our focus of meaning away from a purely authorial perspective and toward an analysis of the web of human relationships.