「一個重新發見的國魂」：徐志摩歸國首講“Art and Life”再探

“A Rediscovered National Soul”: Xu Zhimo’s Homecoming Speech“Art and Life”Revisited

本文重讀徐志摩 (1897-1931) 1922 年底在清華學校的歸國首講 “Art and Life”（〈藝術與人生〉），提出三點觀察：其一，徐藉人生問題介入「覺悟」的五四時代，在科玄論戰前夕，發出個人聲音，宣揚以人道為信條、以藝術為宗教的新理想主義。其英文講稿實為一篇重要的五四文獻。其二，它說明，徐以靈魂冒險著稱的浪漫人生，有著人生觀跨文化批判的根基，以及國魂重鑄的志向抱負。其國民性批判、魔怪書寫、伊卡洛斯情結，乃至唯「心」的革命思想，都已於此次演講發端。其三，它既是徐的浪漫新宣言，也是其「經營中國之大夢」的發展。徐的浪漫自我本於自幼的聖賢─英雄情結，汲汲於活出「一個重新發見的國魂」，曝露出浪漫主體與儒家傳統的糾葛。浪漫一代的跨文化形塑，有待進一步細分探討。

This article revisits Xu Zhimo’s 徐志摩 (1897-1931) first speech, “Art and Life,” at Tsing Hua College after he returned to China, arguing that the English text is an important document of May Fourth anti-enlightenment. This is based on three observations. First, Xu’s speech engaged the May Fourth Movement as a period of awakening (juewu 覺悟) by addressing the problem of Chinese life and expressing his voice on the eve of “The Debate Between Science and Metaphysics” (ke xuan lunzhan 科玄論戰), a new idealism with humanity as its creed and art as its religion. Second, the Tsing Hua speech marks the beginning of Xu as a May Fourth poet. His romantic journey, known for its spiritual adventures, has its roots in a transcultural life-outlook critique and embodies his search for a new national soul. His socio-cultural critique of China and its national character, his demonic poetry, his Icarian passion for transcendence, even his conception of the “revolution of the soul”—all can be traced back to this speech. Third, the speech was Xu’s romantic declaration as well as the development of his “big dream of serving China.” His romantic self was rooted in the sage-hero complex he had developed since childhood, his eagerness to live out “a rediscovered national soul.” It therefore reveals Xu’s entanglement with Confucian tradition, suggesting that the transcultural hybridity of “the romantic generation” is a topic for further study.