情教 – Chinese philosophy and culture

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qínɡjiào 情教

Moral Instruction Carried Out with Emotion

指文学作品所具有的以情动人的教育功能,即文学作品可以通过描写男女爱情及人世间的真情感化读者、净化心灵,并最终影响、改变社会风气。由明末著名通俗文学家冯梦龙(1574—1646)提出。冯氏强调“情”是人的一种本能、天性,始于男女,而流注于君臣、父子、兄弟、朋友之间,小说要写真情,有真情才能感动人心,从而起到教化作用。冯梦龙倡立“情教”说,并不是要抛弃道德和说理,只是他认为情比道德和说理更本质、更真切,更贴近人的本性。“情教”说发展了明中叶以来重情尚真的思想,代表了冯梦龙的文学观与世界观。他用毕生精力加工整理并创作了大量通俗文学作品,也是对这一思想的实践。

The educational function of a literary work is best fulfilled through discreet emotional influence, based on the belief that a literary work can affect and purify the reader’s soul through descriptions of love between men and women and of true feeling available in the world to finally influence and transform social morality. This term was first used by Feng Menglong (1574-1646), a lateMing writer of popular fiction. Feng emphasized that “feeling” is an instinct or natural inclination of humans, starting with affection between man and woman and then spreading to relationships between monarch and ministers, father and son, or brothers and friends. Without true feeling, a literary work cannot touch the heart and morally edify people. In imbuing moral instruction with true feeling, Feng did not intend to do away with ethical reasoning. In fact, he held that true feeling is far more fundamental and authentic, adhering more closely to human nature. The theory of imbuing moral education with true feeling arose from a general respect for sincerity and authenticity which burgeoned around the middle period of the Ming Dynasty, reflecting also Feng’s literary view and outlook on life. He spent decades compiling and writing popular fictions, thus bringing his ideas to fruition.

引例 Citations:

◎天地若无情,不生一切物。一切物无情,不能环相生。生生而不灭,繇(yóu)情不灭故。……我欲立情教,教诲诸众生。(冯梦龙《情史·叙》)

(天地之间若没有真情,就不会生息万物。万物若无情,则不能环环相生。万事万物生生不灭的原因,是由于情始终不绝的缘故……我想要倡立情教,来教诲人世间的芸芸百姓。)

If no true feeling existed between heaven and earth, creatures could not have multiplied. If creatures have no true feeling, the cycle of life will not continue forever. Life goes on solely because true feeling dies hard… I want to advocate the edification of true feeling to guide my fellow humans towards a meaningful life. (Feng Menglong: Tales of Romantic Love)

◎情不知所起,一往而深,生者可以死,死可以生。(汤显祖《〈牡丹亭记〉题词》)

(人的情感在不知不觉中被激发起来,而且越来越深,活着时可以因为情而死,死了又可以因为情而生。)

Love can be aroused unconsciously and deepen over time. Because of love, the living can embrace death and the dead be brought back to life. (Tang Xianzu: A Preamble to The Peony Pavilion)

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