In describing the achievements and status of Lin Shu (18521924), who lived in late Qing and early Republican China, many researchers have called him a translator, novelist, theorist and writer of ancient-style prose (guwen), but few have considered him an anthologist and reviewer. In fact, Lin Shu edited and published two dozen anthologies of literature and history after 1908, such as Selected Readings of Chinese Literature for Middle Schools, Comments on Wang Fuzhi’s Historical Essays and Comments on Selected Masters’ Anthologies by Lin Shu, which together included almost 1500 pieces of prose and commentaries of varying length. During the selection trend of late Qing and early Republican China, Lin Shu’s anthology series stood above the rest. The external reasons for their success were the new publishing model and promotion of modern education, while the internal reasons were the unique text presentation, dominant implantation of the concepts of ancient Chinese (guwen), comprehensive reading system and diversified features of the commentaries. The production and dissemination of Lin’s anthologies was closely related to the rise of the Commercial Press (Shanghai) at that time. As a profit-pursuing private publisher, the Commercial Press extended its field of cooperation with Lin Shu from translated novels to literary anthologies, inevitably taking commercial interests into account in so doing. The strong demand for textbooks and anthologies created by the new education system had become the market focus of contemporary private publishers. The Commercial Press seized the opportunity and published many anthologies by Lin Shu, which not only produced economic benefits, but also effectively accelerated the spread of anthologies by Lin Shu. The quality of Lin’s anthologies was far higher than the selections produced by other common booksellers due to Lin’s great accomplishments in ancient Chinese and his motivation of passing on the classic texts of ancient Chinese. Lin Shu adopted two special modes of presentation in his anthology series: arrangement in reverse chronological order and choice from an existing selection. These practices not only highlighted the canonization and exemplariness of the selected works, but also took into account the students’ level and the new system of instruction. The preface and epilogue of the anthologies were Lin Shu’s essays on the last phase of the dynasty, which had a practical significance. Moreover, his preference for describing human feelings and his high opinion of the writing techniques in ancient Chinese prose were revealed in his selections and commentaries. The detailed content and diverse commentaries in Lin Shu’s anthology series complemented each other, and served as an indispensable reading system for readers. However, Lin’s commentaries clearly departed from traditional literary criticism, featuring a variety of methods such as comparison, induction, analogy and association. Lin Shu was a creative individual who possessed multiple identities, including those of prose writer, translator and theorist. Each of these identities could be considered a dimension for interpreting his commentaries. Lin Shu imbued his commentaries with two functions: the practical purpose of facilitating teaching and the idealist goal of passing on cultural tradition. Lin Shu and his anthology series laid an important foundation in the wave of selection during late Qing and early Republican China, and Lin’s self-image as an anthologist and commentator was shaped by his particular editing practices.
王兵. 作为选评家的林纾[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2018, 4(2): 175-183.
Wang Bing. Lin Shu as an Anthologist and Reviewer. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2018, 4(2): 175-183.
[1] 永瑢等: 《四库全书总目》,北京:中华书局,1960年. [Yongronget al., Siku Quanshu Zongmu, Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1960.] [2] 林纾: 《畏庐续集》,见《林琴南文集》,北京:中国书店,1985年. [Lin Shu, Weilu Xuji, in Collected Works of Lin Shu, Beijing: Cathay Bookshop, 1985.] [3] Hill M.G., Lin Shu, Inc.: Translation and the Making of Modern Chinese Culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. [4] 林纾: 《重订中学国文读本》,上海:商务印书馆,1913年. [Lin Shu, Chinese Literature Readers for Middle Schools(Revised Edition), Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1913.] [5] 王兵:《清人选清诗与清代诗学》,北京:中国社会科学出版社,2011年. [Wang Bing, The Anthologies of Qing Poetry and Poetics in Qing Dynasty, Beijing: China Social Science Press, 2011.] [6] 林纾编:《林纾选评古文辞类纂》,慕容真点校,杭州:浙江古籍出版社,1986年. [Lin Shu(ed.),Selections from the Classified Compendium of Ancient-style Prose,proofread by Murong Zhen, Hangzhou: Zhejiang Classics Publishing House, 1986.] [7] 张志公:《传统语文教育教材论——暨蒙学书目和书影》,上海:上海教育出版社,1992年. [Zhang Zhigong, Traditional Language Textbooks:With Illustrated Bibliography of Primers,Shanghai:Shanghai Education Publishing House, 1992.] [8] 王兵: 《论明清之际遗民诗选的批评价值》,见左东岭主编: 《明代文学研究的新进展:2011明代文学与文化国际学术研讨会论文集》,北京:生活·读书·新知三联书店,2014年,第452-462页. [Wang Bing,″The Criticism Value of Ming and Qing Dynasty Poetry,″ in Zuo Dongling(ed.), New Progress in Literature Research in the Ming Dynasty: A Study of the International Academic Symposium on Literature and Culture in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2014, pp.452-462.] [9] 王世贞: 《艺苑卮言》,见丁福保辑: 《历代诗话续编》中册,北京:中华书局,1983年. [Wang Shizhen, Yiyuan Zhiyan, in Ding Fubao(ed.), A Sequel to Remarks on Poetry from Various Dynasties(Ⅱ), Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1983.] [10] 林纾: 《畏庐文集》,见《林琴南文集》,北京:中国书店,1985年. [Lin Shu, Weilu Wenji, in Collected Works of Lin Shu, Beijing: Cathay Bookshop, 1985.] [11] 林纾: 《畏庐三集》,见《林琴南文集》,北京:中国书店,1985年. [Lin Shu, Weilu Sanji, in Collected Works of Lin Shu, Beijing: Cathay Bookshop, 1985.] [12] 赖瑞云:《混沌阅读》,福建:福建教育出版社,2003年. [Lai Ruiyun, Chaos Reading, Fujian: Fujian Education Press, 2003.] [13] 林纾: 《林氏选评名家文集·刘宾客集》,上海:商务印书馆,1924年. [Lin Shu, Comments on Collection of Liu Yuxi by Lin Shu, Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1924.] [14] 林纾: 《林氏选评名家文集·谯东父子集》,上海:商务印书馆,1924年. [Lin Shu, Comments on Collection of Cao Cao and Cao Pi by Lin Shu, Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1924.] [15] 林纾: 《林氏选评名家文集·虞道园集》,上海:商务印书馆,1924年. [Lin Shu, Comments on Collection of Yu Ji by Lin Shu, Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1924.] [16] [英]司各德: 《撒克逊劫后英雄略》,林纾、魏易译,上海:商务印书馆,1905年. [Scott S.W., Ivanhoe, trans. by Lin Shu & Wei Yi, Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1905.] [17] 林纾: 《评选船山史论》,上海:商务印书馆,1914年. [Lin Shu, Comments on Wang Fuzhi’s Historical Essays, Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1914.] [18] 钱基博:《现代中国文学史》,上海:上海书店出版社,2004年. [Qian Jibo, History of Modern Chinese Literature, Shanghai: Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, 2004.]