中菲文学交流，可以为我们“赢得时间”

文/马可·洛佩兹 译/史聪一

首先，我要谈谈我人生的十字路口：时间回溯到1999年，当时我第一次来北京从事教学工作，并首次接触到中国经典文学，以及包括鲁迅、茅盾与老舍在内的一些中国作家的作品。随即，我对中国文学一见倾心，以至于向当时指导我毕业论文的导师坦言，自己想在菲律宾成为一名研究中国文学的学者。而对于这一令人生畏的目标，首先必须要做的便是掌握号称世界上最难的语言——汉语。我还需要申请一份奖学金，使我能先学习语言，然后再去研究经典著作，并继而成为彼时菲律宾国内的中国文学权威。但是，我已故并深深敬重的教授在当时却另有想法，她表示：我不如将精力投入到菲律宾文学的研究之中，而对于研究中国文学这一艰巨的任务，应该由其他人——特别是那些懂得普通话的菲籍华人来完成。然而，时至今日，在菲律宾，我还没看到哪位学者能够使用英语或菲律宾语在这一领域进行研究。2018年10月24日至27日，我们有幸参加了在华中地区举办的“2018年北京外国语大学外国专家儒家文化之旅”。在此，我要对我所敬爱的北京外国语大学的慷慨赞助，以及国际合作与交流处的柯教授、包老师与王老师所作出的不懈努力表示感谢。是这次活动，将我带回那个时代，那个让我几乎决定为中国文学奉献一生的时代，而我现在想知道的是：当时这种可能性有多大，如果我在20年前就按照这一心愿去做，而不是将这一想法扼杀在萌芽状态，那结果会怎样？这是一个人生十字路口抉择的真实案例，一条未曾尝试的道路，一个险些被放弃的选择，最终另一种追求成就了现在的我——用我的母语菲律宾语来进行创造性的写作。

在过去这四天中，那些我在无意识与间接状态下所知晓的一切，得到了印证：中国拥有灿烂的文明，而这之中的伟大文化则令人难以置信。无论是位于安阳的中国文字博物馆和殷墟中的宫殿与庙宇，抑或是位于嵩山的少林寺，以及洛阳的龙门石窟，无不是中国文化财富无与伦比的例证。而与中国相比，我们菲律宾的文化则在各个方面都会显得逊色——我以谦卑的语气来陈述这点，并不是一种自我鞭策，众所周知，因为经历过殖民时代，所以我们菲律宾人在面对其他文明时很谴责文化入侵。例如，本国的口头文学被我们引以为傲，尤其是以史诗形式表现的口头文学。在菲律宾国内，从棉兰老岛的边远地区到班乃岛的偏远地带，我们都能够不断寻觅到唱着悠长史诗的老者。这种史诗，一般篇幅冗长，要以歌颂的形式表达整个故事，有些特别长的史诗，甚至要几天才能唱完。一般来说，菲律宾的史诗与部落英雄的事迹息息相关，他们的美德对于当时的社会至关重要。而这些事实，其本身也展现着奇幻的因素。然而，当我读过《西游记》之后，我被那种超越苍穹的神奇战斗场面深深震撼，这一切就如同《西游记》作者本人的思想一般跌宕起伏。正如同乔治·卢卡斯曾执导的电影《星球大战》一样：对于战争本身的描述早于这些星际战争。当然，当我陈述这一切之时，并非代表着我们的文化在同中国文化相比时，没有任何的关注点：如其他任何国家一样，我们的文化同样具有其自身的优势（与不足）。

为了概括我如上所述的一切，我将用近期的旅行来印证中国文化究竟多么伟大。如果我援引与这次儒家文化之旅的两位主要发言人——埃姆斯教授和田辰山教授所探讨的比喻，那么中国丰富多彩的文化便是其自身的涡轮——这不仅是中国身份特性的源泉，也是其自豪感的源泉。而对于这些，早在我第一次离开北京的旅行前，便已十分清晰了。

于我而言，还想探究的另一点，则是基于埃姆斯教授与田教授在安阳理工学院关于儒学的讲座，以及我们在登封于埃姆斯教授套房中与他们两人进行的愉快讨论。这是一种顿悟，反映出了我在观察中国过程中是多么短视或无知。之前，我对中国的看法一贯如此，因为我从菲律宾国内的报纸中阅读到这些内容，使中国政府在我脑海中留下了僵化与一意孤行的印象。事实上，如果我按照原计划在作一场时长为5分钟的演讲，那么我或将被他人调侃为辗转于中心与边缘的西方解构主义。在我看来，中国信奉绝对主义。但听到埃姆斯教授与田教授在谈及儒家思想的开放性及其他可能性，以及不断创新的必要性的一贯影响时，我的这种念头开始消散。显而易见的是，人们对儒家思想、儒家哲学以及儒家人物的兴趣似乎重新燃起，就像艾姆斯教授与田教授，以及一些机构与学校，正在竭尽全力推动针对影响个人，以及机构如何运行与管理问题所进行的相关讨论，即儒家思想不仅促进了个人，还推动了整个集体。

我多么希望我们的学校曾教授过儒学。彼时，当我还在大学读书，历史学院从未将亚洲文明以科目的形式开设；而时至今日，后者也仅仅是一门选修课而已。而我们的哲学课程也基本上仅涉及欧洲哲学，并致力于西方思想的探讨。我们是亚洲人，但却还未能沉浸于亚洲的历史与文明之中，而这些都是因为我们自身的教育烙印。但在近期，这一领域的进展开始持续发酵。孔子学院在我的大学已经建立，并且，一个全新的项目也拉开了序幕，这便是中国研究（中国学），它备受欢迎，尤其是在菲律宾的华人群体中。同时，中国驻菲律宾大使馆也在全菲积极推广中国文化。鉴于近期发生的一些事件，以及全球经济所产生的连锁反应，这将是一个姗姗来迟但也会有利于发展的吉兆。而同是亚洲同胞，我相信菲律宾人将很容易与儒家思想和文化产生共鸣。

当然，没有任何事情是非黑即白或非对即错的。同理，对于中国人民而言，尽管他们的思想有时也会令我感到费解，但与其他各国人一样，他们的思想从不会产生同质化现象。而我的直觉告诉我：即使是在中国人民内部，也存在诸多百家争鸣式的事例。

我尽最大的能力来教育我在中国的学生，不仅是教授我的语言，而且要告诉他们：作为一个民族，我们是谁，并向他们展示我们也是有自己的梦想与愿望的。

此次在北京外国语大学，通过讲座，以及与同事们进行面谈和热切的讨论后，再次向我证明：任何事情都不是非黑即白的，并且对于中国而言，尽管它被外界视为一个铜墙铁壁般的统一体，但是同样为自身的矛盾与欲望所充斥，并希望能够变得更加美好、公正和人性化，这与其他任何国家并无二致。

最后，一位从事菲律宾研究的同事计划将一本菲律宾小说翻译成中文，动因显而易见：在成千上万的菲律宾小说中，仅有两部被翻译成中文。目前，我正在从真正的意义出发，帮助这位同事扩大和加深对中菲两国间种种事情的理解。毕竟，文学和创造性写作或将运用蕴藏其中的智慧，为我们赢得时间，并恒久流传。

（马可·洛佩兹任教于菲律宾雅典耀大学菲律宾语系，长期从事菲律宾语教学工作。2018年秋季学期在北京外国语大学亚非学院担任菲律宾语外国专家）

Talk about forking paths: Back in 1999 during myfirst teaching stint here in Beijing, I first encountered the Chinese fictional classics and some writers like Lu Xun, Mao Dun and Lao She. I was so enamored instantly with Chinesefiction that I confessed to my then thesis adviser to that I wanted to be a scholar on Chinese Literature in the Philippines and that in pursuit of such a daunting goal which necessitated that I master the most difficult of languages—Mandarin—I would seek for a scholarship that would allow me to study the languagefirst and then proceed to studying the classics and become the authority on Chinese Literature in the Philippines that I wanted to be at the time. But my late beloved professor in the University of the Philippines had other thoughts in mind: she said that I should rather devote my energies to Philippine Literature and let others—specially the Chinese Filipinos who already knew Mandarin—to do the spade work in this field. Up to the present, however, I know of no scholar writing in English or Filipino in the Philippines who devoted his or her life to thisfield. The tour we just had—the 2018 BFSU Foreign Experts Confucian Cultural Tour in Central China—in the last four days which we had the privilege of attending, thanks to the generosity of our beloved university Beijing Foreign Studies University （BFSU）, through the efforts of the International Exchange and Cooperation Office and the hard work of Professor Ke, Ms. Bao and Ms. Wang, brought me back to that time when I almost decided to devote my life to this area of literary research and I now wonder about the possibilities and what it wonld be if I acted on that desire almost two decades ago and was not nipped in the bud by my adviser. A real case of forking paths, a road not taken, a choice abandoned in lieu of another pursuit which eventually became my field—Creative Writing in Filipino, our native language.

The past four days just proved to me what I already knew unconsciously and vicariously: that China is a civilization,and the grandeur of such a culture is mind-boggling. The National Museum of Chinese Writing in Anyang, the Palace and the Temple Ruins of the Yin, the Shaolin Temple as well as the Louyang Grottoes are a proof of this unparalleled cultural wealth of China. Any aspect of my culture—and I say this with humility and not self-flaggelation we Filipinos are known for confronted with other cultures—blame the epistemic violence we experienced because of our colonial past—will appear puny compared with its counterpart in China. Case in point: we take pride in our oral literature especially the form epic. In the Philippines we continue tofind very long epics recited orally by old people in the far regions of Mindanao and Panay Islands.Some epics in the Philippines are very long that it will take days to chant the whole story. Philippine epics are usually about the exploits of a tribal hero who embodies the virtues considered vital to a community. These epics also exhibit fantastical elements. However, when I read the Chinese narrative The Journey to the West, I was overwhelmed and blown-away by the fantastic battle scenes that extended even beyond the firmament. It was like the imagination of the writer went on a rampage. The description of battles antedated the intergalactic warfare in George Lucas’s movies. Nevertheless, when I say this, it should not be taken that nothing is ever interesting in our culture when compared to China: we have our own strengths （and weaknesses） just like any other country.

To recapitulate what I am saying above, the recent tour we just had proved to me how great China is culturally. If I were to use the metaphor discussed last time with Professor Roger Ames and Professor Chen shan Tian, the two main speakers on Confucianism in this tour, this wealth of culture of China is one of its whirlpools. It is a fount of China’s identity and, rightly so,its pride. This was made abundantly clear by this tour, my veryfirst outside Beijing.

Another observation I would like to make is based on the Lectures of Professor Ames and Professor Tian at Anyang Institute of Technology on Confucianism and that lovely discussion we had with both of them at Professor Ames’hotel suite at Dengfeng. It was a personal epiphany that also showed how short-sighted I was—or ignorant—about China. I always had this idea that China, because of my impression of its government from what I read in the papers back home, as very rigid and unyielding. If I was called in-fact to present my 5-minute talk as planned last Friday, I would have fl irted with a Derridian play on Center and Margin. That China believed in absolutes. Professors Ames and Tian just disabused me of that notion when they talked about Confucianism’s openness to other possibilities and the need to innovate all the time.Apparently, there seems to be a resurgence of interest in Confucian thought and philosophy and people, like Professors Ames and Tian, as well as institutions and schools, are trying their best to animate discussion on the same with the end in view of in fl uencing individuals as well as how institutions are being run and managed: Confucianism not only animates the individual but also the collective as well.

I wish Confucianism was taught in our schools. In college during my time we never had Asian Civilization as a subject from the History Department; it is now being offered as an elective. Our Philosophy classes were also devoted to Western thought, basically European. We are Asians but we are not so steeped in Asian History and Civilization because of our brand of education. Recently, there have been developments in this area. Confucian Institute has been established in my university and a new program has been inaugurated—Chinese Studies—which is becoming popular, especially among Chinese Filipinos. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has also been active in promoting Chinese culture on a national scale. In the light of recent historical events as well as interlocking global economy, this is an auspicious even if belated development. As fellow Asians, Filipinos I guess will easily relate to Confucian thought and philosophy.

But I always know nothing was black and white. And that the Chinese, just like any people, are never homogeneous in their thinking despite impressions. My gut feel told me that even the Chinese had debates among themselves about a lot of things.

I tried to teach to the best of my ability my students in China not only my language but who we are as a people and show them that we have our own dreams and desires.

The lectures and discussions as well as tete-a-tetes with colleagues at BFSU just proved to me again that nothing is black and white and that China—monolithic it may seem to outsiders—is just any other country with its own contradictions and desires to make itself better and just and humane.

Lastly, a colleague in the Philippine Studies plans to translate a Filipino novel to Chinese because apparently there are only two of the thousands of Filipino novels that are translated to Chinese. I am helping this colleague of mine in this enterprise to really widen and deepen this understanding between the Philippines and China. After all, literature and creative writing may outwit and outlast dispensations.