一提起西方现代派文学,人们会提出的第一个问题是:什么是现代派文学?这个问题提出来很容易,要解答却委实困难。可以说,几十年来中外评论界对此众说纷纭,人言人殊,真象通天塔中的人类语言。否定它的人说它是颓废反动的,唯美主义、形式主义的,个人主义的,虚无主义的,甚至色情主义的;肯定它的人说它是先锋艺术,是人道主义的,甚至革命的,表现了现代人的精神和感性,具有极大的真实性,艺术上大有创新等等。在我看来,这双方都说对了一小部分,却都不足以概括现代派文学的总的面貌和实质。显然,想用一二句话来概括现代派文学,给它一个简明扼要的定义,是做不到的,而且往往是有害无益的,因为它极其复杂丰富,断然拒绝进入定义的牢笼。其实,不仅现代主义文学如此,就连我们认为很有把握界定的“浪漫主义”,据阿·勒夫乔的考证,至少也有二十四种不同的甚至相反的意义。 Mentioning the first issue that people would ask when they mention Western modernist literature is: What is the modernist literature? This question is easy to put forward and it is actually difficult to answer it. It can be said that Chinese and foreign commentators have been divided on this for decades, people speak different languages, and they really speak human language in the Tower of Babel. Those who deny it say it is decadence reactionary, aesthetic, formalist, individualistic, nihilistic, or even pornographic; those affirming it say it is avant-garde art, humanitarian or even revolutionary, Showing the modern spirit and sensibility, with great authenticity, a lot of artistic innovation and so on. In my opinion, both parties are right to say a small part, but they are not enough to summarize the general appearance and essence of modernist literature. Obviously, it would not be possible to summarize the modernist literature in one or two sentences and to give it a concise definition, which is often detrimental because it is extremely complex and abundantly categorically rejected as part of the definition. In fact, not only the modernist literature, but also the “romanticism” that we think we have a very firm grasp of. According to the textual research by 阿勒夫夫乔, there are at least twenty-four different and even opposite meanings.