赛珍珠《大地三部曲》中的儒家思想.docx

华中科技大学 硕士学位论文 赛珍珠大地三部曲中的儒家思想 姓名：张秀英 申请学位级别：硕士 专业：英语语言文学 指导教师：胡泓20060422儒家思想长期以来影响和规范着中国人们的思想和行为，它影响了赛珍珠本人， 同时它也融入到赛珍珠中国题材的小说中。本文将依据儒家思想中三组重要的关系 来探讨赛珍珠大地三部曲中的儒学思想。本文首先讨论三部曲里人与自然的关系。儒家思想的核心观念之一是天人合一。 天既包括客观的大自然，也指涉某种超自然的精神存在。大地里人与土地在物质 上的和谐和精神上的不可分割体现了儒家思想里人与自然的关系。三部曲里由王龙 扎根于土地到王虎离开土地再到王原回到土地的安排体现了赛珍珠对人应该扎根于 土地的信念的肯定。三部曲里人与人之间的关系与三纲对人际关系的要求是一致的，三纲是儒家思想 里对父子关系，君臣关系（泛指地位高和地位低的人之间的关系）以及夫妇关系的 规范原则。五常“仁义礼智信”也是对人们思想和道德的重要评价标准，在三部曲里 也有体现。三部曲里亦多次涉及王龙三代人的信仰问题。他们对所谓的天和其他的神没有绝 对的信仰，相反他们更相信只有人自己才能把握自己的命运，他们对祖先的祭祀揭 示了中国人精神的最终归宿。这与儒家思想作为一种人本主义哲学并强调自我修身 是一致的。而赛珍珠在自己的自传里也表达了类似的观点。儒家思想要求人与自然，人与人以及人与自身的和谐，人只有努力作到这些才能 实现中庸之道，才能实现儒家天人合一的最高理想。在三部曲里只有那些达到和谐 实现中庸之道的人才实现了自我超越和人生的价值，这一点证明了赛珍珠对中庸理 想的向往。自我修身关键词：大地三部曲 儒家思想 中庸之道AbstractConfiicianism, which for long has influenced and governed the thoughts and behaviors of Chinese people，influenced Pearl S. Buck greatly and found its way into her major Chinese works. This thesis aims at exploring Confucianism in her masterpiece, The House of Earth trilogy. It analyzes The Trilogy on the basis of three main aspects of Confucianism.This thesis，first of all，discusses the relation between man and nature in The Trilogy. According to Confucianism, Heaven includes both the objective natural world and some spiritual existence. In The Good Earth the physical harmony between man and land and spiritual inseparability of them reflected the relation between man and nature in Confucianism. The arrangement of Wang Lungs rooting in land and Wang the Tigers leaving land and Wang Yuan，s returning to land signifies Mrs. Bucks positive opinion on the belief that human beings should root themselves in land.In The Trilogy the relation between man and man conforms to The Three Cardinals of Confucianism, which governs the relation between father and son, husband and wife， and king and minister (referring generally to people at higher position and people at lower position). The Five Constant Virtues “Ren Yi Li Zhi Xin，,，significant standards to estimate the thoughts and morals of people, also find its way into The Trilogy.The Trilogy touched upon the belief of the three generations of the Wang Family. They had no real faith in so-called Heaven and other gods. Instead they believe that only human beings themselves can master their own fate. Their paying respects to the dead elders at certain time disclosed their spiritual destination. All these comply with Confucianism that is a philosophy of humanity and focuses on self-cultivation. Pearl Buck expressed similar idea in her biography.Confiicianism requires harmony between man and nature, man and man, and man and himself so that man can achieve the doctrine of mean，which leads to the Confucian ideal: unity of man and nature. In The Trilogy only those who maintain the harmony between these relations and achieve the doctrine of mean realized self-transcendence and their own value of life，which proves Mrs. Bucks ideal of arriving at the doctrine of the mean.Key words: The House of Earth trilogy Confucianism the doctrine of the mean self-cultivation独创性声明本人声明所呈交的学位论文是我个人在导师指导下进行的研究工作及取得的研 究成果。尽我所知，除文中己经标明引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或 集体己经发表或撰写过的研究成果。对本文的研究做出贡献的个人和集体，均己在 文中以明确方式标明。本人完全意识到，本声明的法律结果由本人承担。学位论文作者签名：日期： 年月日学位论文版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，即：学校有权 保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借阅。 本人授权华中科技大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检 索，可以采用影印、缩印或扫描等复制手段保存和汇编本学位论文。保密,在 年解密后适用本授权书。本论文属于不保密口。(请在以上方框内打“V”）学位论文作者签名：指导教师签名:日期：年月日期：年月日IntroductionConfucianism had been employed by Emperors and other rulers to rule people in feudal society since Han Dynasty. Although it has undergone a lot of ups and downs, Confucian thoughts have been rooted in Chinese peoples mind. Up till now most Chinese people still live under the influence of some Confucian principles whether consciously or unconsciously.Mrs. Buck grew up in China, and she was taught by a Confucian teacher during her childhood, so she was inevitably influenced by Chinese people and Chinese culture. It is unavoidable that Confucianism found its way into Mrs. Bucks Chinese works: The House of Earth trilogy (hereinafter referred to as The Trilogy) since The Trilogy depicted Chinese peoples lives at the beginning of 20lh century when Confucianism still had a strong influence on common people. And how did Mrs. Buck presented and interpreted Confucianism in her works is an interesting topic.The Trilogy told a story of a Chinese farmer and his sons and grandsons. Mrs. Buck presented a picture of life of a Chinese farmer, in his relation to the earth; she also exhibited relationship established between different people especially among family members; she disclosed each major characters development of life. All the above could reflect her corresponding opinions on different ideas of Confucianism.Each episode of The Trilogy consistently goes from family to country and to the whole world, (jia - guo - tianxia)，which also displays one of the Confucian ideas that requires people who want to be the rulers of the universe to govern their country in a right way and those who want to be the head of a country to maintain a good order in the family(y/a zhiguo pintianxia). Each episode mainly involves different aspects in Confucianism and is complementary to the other two parts; therefore they form a panorama of Confucian thoughts. This thesis is to explore the reflection of various Confucian thoughts in The Trilogy. How Mrs. Buck presented and interpreted Confiicianism is also to be examined.Artistic work should be the product of the artist as an individual as well as a member in a society. Marxist Criticism argues that literature reflects consciously and unconsciously the social reality surrounding it. Here the writer of this thesis will employ Marxist approach to examine how Mrs. Buck was influenced by Chinese culture and Chinese ideology via a detailed study of her first trilogy.Confucianism is also used in the scrutiny of The Trilogy. Confiicianism is in the main ethically oriented. Confucius taught that right conduct was a means of acquiring ideal harmony with the Way of Heaven, which means the harmony between man and the entire universe, specifically between man and nature, man and man, and man and himself.According to Confucianism, human beings have to maintain the harmony through self-cultivation. Confucius managed to achieve this through self-cultivation，In ancient China the cult of Heaven and ancestor worship were elements woven into the system of Confucianism. Numerous lesser deities were worshipped in popular Chinese practice. Confucius himself serves as an example of a man who was first regarded as a saint because of his deep wisdom and conscientious observance of ethical precepts. During the Han dynasty, Confucius was elevated to a new status: Emperor Gaozu offered sacrifice at the Confucian temple, and Emperor Wu proclaimed Confucianism the official ideology of China. Altogether Confucianism is a philosophical belief focusing on man instead of god in religion. And it believes that man should try to arrive at the doctrine of the mean through self-cultivation, only in this way can they realize the highest Confucian ideal: the unity of man and heaven.The doctrine of the mean expresses a Confucian ideal that is so broad and so all-embracing as to encompass virtually every relationship and every activity of human life. In practice, the doctrine of the mean means countless things: moderation, rectitude, objectivity, sincerity, honesty, truthfiilness, propriety, equilibrium, and lack of prejudice. For example，a friend should be neither too close nor too remote. Neither in grief nor in joy should one be excessive，for unregulated happiness can be as harmful as uncontrolled sorrow. Ideally, one must adhere unswervingly to the mean, or centre course, at all times and in every situation. Such behavior conforms to the laws of nature, is the distinctive mark of the superior individual，and is the essence of true orthodoxy.Chapter One Literature ReviewMrs. Buck was one of the most prolific writers in America in the 20th century. Her major work is The Good Earth. The Good Earth received much praise soon after it was published in America in 1931: “The Good Earth depicts China as it has never before been portrayed in fiction.Pearl Buck introduced the true images of Chinese people for American readers” (Wagenknecht 67). Some Chinese scholars like Lin Yutang and Liang Shiqiu also thought highly of The Good Earth for offering a better understanding of China and Chinese. At the same time, some other writers denied the values of Pearl Bucks novels. Even some of them argued that her description of China was not true (Lu Xun; Younghill).Sons and A House Divided continued the sage of the house of Wang, but neither achieved quite the critical and popular acclaim of The Good Earth. The three was edited together as The Trilogy. Concerning Bucks The Trilogy，Many critics think The Trilogy as an epic of three generations of a Chinese family Wang. But some argues that Sons and A House Divided are adequate enough to be novels in and of themselves, but not sequel to such a work as The Good Earth.As a woman writer，Mrs. Buck has appealed a lot of feminists and others who are interested in feminist approach to literature both in China and America. In The Trilogy some Chinese women characters were vividly created by Mrs. Buck. Hence, it is inevitable that The Trilogy has been discussed a lot by scholars in the perspective of feminism especially after the movement of feminism or after 1990s. Gao Xiongya carefully analyzed the women characters in Bucks several works. Zhou Weijing first confirms Bucks identity of feminist writer and tried to find out the root of her Feminist Consciousness; Zhu Kunling explores the developing process of the female and their thoughts in China from The Trilogy and he claims that Mrs. Buck described the Chinese womens progress and the changes in themselves with time on their way towards liberation; Lin Lixue brings about the opinion that in The Good Earth Mrs. Buck showed her sympathy and appreciation towards Chinese traditional females and assaulted the male-dominant social concept. Du Lixin and Liu Yue also scrutinize the character and fate of O-lan in The Good Earth under the help of the feminist approach. Also in 2004 Ma，Ruiqi scrutinizes all the Chinese women in Bucks writing. Li Dan discusses womens obedience under the sway of Confucianism and their limited resistance. Women characters in Mrs. Bucks works especially those in her China-theme novels have drawn much attention from all kinds of readers，which prove that Mrs. Buck created women characters successfully.There have also been some critics who read Mrs. Buck from the postcolonial perspective. Yu Jia claims that the bias that western culture was superior to eastern culture and only westerners could change eastern people when there is a conflict between them was deeply rooted in Pearl S. Bucks heart. Chen Liang finds post colonialism in Dragon Seeds and he thinks that Pearl S. Buck did not find the right way to resist war and violence. He holds that Mrs. Buck resorted not to a profound revolution but a mild and moderate reform. Thats why she did not support revolution and over-simplified Chinese revolutionists. Pearl S. Buck proclaimed the humanistic means instead of violent way to solve the problem.Because of Mrs. Bucks unique Chinese cultural background, the relation between her works and Chinese culture has been carefully studied by many scholars. In terms of cultural studies, 1991 came out Yao Junweis Several Values of Pearl S. Bucks My Several Worlds，in which he examines various values of the biography of Pearl S. Buck from the perspective of culture; in 2001 again he explores the description of Chinese people and culture in Pearl Bucks fictions and non-fictions, praising her great spirit of cultural relativism which elaborating China in the context of its specific environment. He fiirther discusses the sources of Pearl Bucks cultural relativism, confirming her great role in the communication between different cultures. In 2003 Gu Jun claims the influence of Chinese culture on Mrs. Buck in his article Pearl S .Buck and Chinese Culture. He believes that Pearl Buck loved Chinese culture more than she did China and her understanding of the Chinese culture helped her shape her own views as to the road that the Chinese culture should take. He also confirms that Pearls love for the Chinese culture unfettered her from the western centralism and ensured her excellence in the representation of China surpassing other 20th century western writers in terms of achievement and reputation. Zeng Lei observes that Pearl Buck held three Chinese traditional cultures in esteem: Chinese humanism，Chinese family system, and Chinese3moral education.Above is mostly about how Chinese culture and environment influences Buck and her writing. There have been more articles about how Mrs. Bucks work shaped China and Chinese. Liu Haiping claims that Pearl S Buck Nobel Prize address “Chinese Novels” is only one of her many essays and speeches intended to bring Chinese literature to the readers and audiences in the West. This opinion cant be agreed on by many critics. Because there are a lot of critics who have found that Bucks writings about China and Chineseespecially The Good Earth create Chinese and China in American and other peoples eyes.( Cevasco; Venne ). As Harold R.Iasaacs wrote in 1958，“It can almost be said that for a whole generation of Americans she created the Chinese，(65). Phyllis Bentley also praised Bucks ability to write knowledgeably of Chinese culture. He holds that Mrs. Buck made an attempt to present China from within and to present the Chinese customs as familiar, natural and correct. She was so familiar with the customs of Chinese people that she called American readers attention to the difference of these customs from their own unconsciously.Whether Confucianism is a religion or not has appealed a lot of controversies, so Confucianism must not be separated from religious talk. When reviewing on Confucianism in Mrs. Bucks The Trilogy，it is necessary to talk about her religious idea in her work. Pearl was ever criticized by both Chinese and American critics because of her religious attitude reflected in a same book: The Good Earth. Some Americans denounced her for not having performed Christian mission in The Good Earth. The same work provoked completely different comments on Pearls religious belief. Lu Xun criticized that “yet viewing from her works, there is nothing more than the standpoint of an American female missionary.” Hu Feng and some other writers at that time held the same thoughts with Lu Xun. Zhang Chunlei, however, claims that tolerance, humanism and equality are the Mrs. Bucks religious stand after researching into The Good Earth.Concerning Bucks understanding and reaction of Confucian thoughts, different comments can also be found. Dong Chenpeng and Liu long claim that Pearl Buck advocated Chinese imperial examination system, Confiician classics, and family ethic principles. Zhou Xishan expresses contrary opinions on this problem，he observes that Buck mistakenly opposed all the Confucian classic, imperial examination system, andChinese ancient sages who created Chinese culture because she was deeply influenced by anti-traditional stream of thoughts during May 4th Movement. Obviously Zhou，s opinion needs reconsideration. Contrary to Zhous opinion, Gu Jun holds the similar opinion with Dong and Liu. And he believes that Buck highly praised Confucian civilization. He claims that the main Chinese traditional culture is Confucianism and Buck loved Chinese culture. He wrote in his article Pearl Buck and Chinese Culture “Buck expressed her understanding and admiration towards Chinese sage Confucius Although Confucius was a philosopher , not a priest, but in fact it was he that created for Chinese society and his offspring a complete ethic functioning as well as any other religion，(85). Gu Jun also confirms Bucks understanding and admiration of Chinese traditional family ethic and the family life under such family ethic “Thus children grew in free security，surrounded by loving adults of various generations, and thus adults shared the burdens of family responsibility. There was no terror of losing ones job, for in such a circumstance one simply lived on with the family and without reproach, until a new job was found. There was no need for orphanages for there were no orphans, since the family kept its own. And the old were loved and revered and never put away into institutions as sometimes they are put away here，(85).Bucks attitude towards Confucian thoughts also appeals Americans comments. As an American scholar, Robert Shaffer thinks that Mrs. Buck romanticized Confucian conceptions in her later writing after 1950s. He observes that “It is true that Bucks later writing, after the mid-1950s, often included Cold War phrasing and romanticized Confucian conceptions, so that historians who knew her writings from the 1960s until her death in 1973 may not have realize the importance and radicalism of her earlier work, from the 1930s to the mid-1950s” Obviously Robert Shaffer like other foreign readers and scholars can not detect the romanticized or biased Confucian conception in Bucks early works mainly due to their inadequate knowledge about Chinese culture and lives of Chinese people. Only until the romanticized Confucian conception was clearly presented by Buck in her later writings especially her biographic work: My Several Worlds can they feel the Confucianism in her work.Since The Good Earth is Mrs. Bucks major work, most of the research has been done on The Good Earth. The later two sequels called little attention. Trying to read The Trilogy#carefull