中华性的接受与呈现：孙爱玲小说里的中国“物”语

The Reception And Presentation of “Chineseness”: Chinese Objects in Soon Ailing’s Novels

Abstract

新加坡华文文学女作家孙爱玲的小说因频繁运用中国物象，而在表层文化审 美形态和内在伦理价值观念上显现出鲜明的中华性。“物”在小说中承载特定文化 内涵而成为“物象”。通过解读小说“物”语可以探究孙爱玲小说物象书写的形式、 功能和意义。孙爱玲小说中的物象兼具搭建空间、串联结构的叙事功能和塑造人 物品性的修辞功能，在文本之内是联结人物关系与时空转换的枢纽，在文本之外 又是作者借之追溯民族文化源头、审思当代社会文化的媒介。作者既保留“物” 在中国传统语境中的原初文化意义；又通过书写“物”在不同时空环境中的变更 与创新，赋予其文本之外的现实意义，突出中华性的流动变化。对文化韵味的强 调和文化流动性的捕捉成就了孙爱玲小说的独特性。

关键词：孙爱玲，物象，中华性，叙事功能，现实意义

Due to the frequent use of Chinese objects, the novels of Singaporean Chinese writer Soon Ailing show a distinct “Chineseness” in terms of superficial cultural aesthetics and internal ethical values. Objects in the novels bear specific cultural connotations and become images. This paper explores the form, function and significance of the objects in Soon Ailing’s novels through interpreting the language of objects. Objects in the novels have both the narrative function of building space, linking structures and the rhetorical function of characterisation. Within the text, they are the pivot of linking the characters’ relationship and time-space transition, and outside the text, they are also the medium through which the author traces the origin of the national culture and contemplates the contemporary culture. Soon not only retains the original meaning of objects in the traditional Chinese cultural context, but also gives them extra-textual realistic significance by writing about their changes and innovations in different spatial and temporal environments, highlighting the fluidity of Chineseness. The emphasis on cultural flavour and the capture of cultural mobility have made Soon Ailing’s novels unique.

Keywords: Soon Ailing, objects, Chineseness, narrative function, realistic significance