“十”:基督教与西方文学的结构基因

宗教神话作为人类精神活动的文化凝定 ,潜埋着人类最深层的文化 -心理结构 ,这种深层的结构原则构筑了文化赖以传承的桥梁。“十”字既是基督教神学信仰的象征 ,又是《圣经》文化的深层结构语码 :“十”字具有超时空、跨文化的语用特征 ,体现着基督教《圣经》最基本的文化精神和价值取向 ,蕴涵着人类在时空两个维度上欲求超越自我的双重努力 ;“十”字结构包含着对立统一的思维构成原则 ,是主体见之于客体 ,精神见之于现象的自然历史说、社会人生观和道德价值论 ;“十”字结构具有生成基督教神学体系的文化功能。正是这一文化功能铸塑了后世西方文学的基因密码。基督教对于后世西方文学的影响虽直接表现在文学对其主题、题材、人物、情节等的借用上 ,但《圣经》文化中固化下来的人类意识的架构———“十”字结构 ,才是西方文学导源于基督教的妙谛所在。

Cross Symbol: the Structural Element of Christianity and the Western Literature

As the cultural interpretation of mans mental activities, religious mythology reflects the deepest human culture --psychological structure, which enables the human culture to pass down from generation to generation. A cross is the symbol of Christian mythological belief and the language code of the deep structure in the Biblical culture. It has cross-cultural pragmatic implications, embodying the primary cultural mentality of the Christian Bible and indicating mans dual efforts to surpass himself in terms of both space and time. A cross symbol involves the principle of unity of the opposites and performs the cultural function of establishing the Christian mythological system. The cultural function helps to set up the code for the later western literature. The impact of Christianity on the later western literature has been realized in the borrowing of theme, style, character, plot, etc.; however, the framework that derives from the biblical culture--cross symbol--becomes the essence that the western literature draws on Christianity.