一九八三年,沈从文写了一篇《无从驯服的斑马》,说自己“卅年学习,前后只像认识十一个字,即‘实践’‘为人民服务’和‘古为今用’,影响到我工作,十分具体。”工作,当然是指他后半生从事的文物研究;但他特别强调的这些字眼,是什么意思呢?是时代的烙印?是随便说说的空话?其实自五十年代以来,沈从文经常用这一类的词语来反复解释自己的工作,譬如,在一九六八年的一份申述材料里,他说:“我觉得学 In 1983, Shen Congwen wrote an article entitled ”Unmanaged Zebras,“ saying that he ”learned in his old age and only knew about eleven words before and after, that is, practicing, serving the people and using the past for the present, To my work, it is very specific. “” Of course, it refers to the study of cultural relics that he engaged in the second half of his life; but what does he mean by these words which are especially emphasized? Is the imprint of the times? Since the decade of the decade, Shen Congwen often used this type of phrase to repeatedly explain his work. For example, in a 1968 petition, he said: "I think learning