Many works have studied Goethe's influence on writers and readers who followed him in Germany and abroad. The classic in this respect is Goethe and World Literature published by Fritz Strich 1946. The book is actually limited to Goethe's influence in Europe and North America (Goethe's influence in North America is slightly lower than that in Europe). Nevertheless, only Shakespeare's translation is more extensive and influential than Goethe's. According to the seven-volume Faust, Goethe's most important work Faust has been translated into 48 languages at least once since 1968. Stuart Atkins discussed the translation of Faust from 1972 to 1992 in an article, which refers to the translation of more than 20 languages except English and French. By 1972, a quarter of Faust's translations are in English, which shows that there are many translations. This imbalance shows another unusual aspect of Goethe's international influence. Among Goethe's biographies in all languages (except his own autobiography, of course), the first influential one is The Life and Works of Goethe written by George Henry Lewis of England (1856). In addition, the latest academic biography of Goethe is "Goethe, Poet and Times" written by British Nicholas Boyle (199 1). Two volumes have been published, and the third volume is under preparation. These ridiculous facts show that although Goethe's position in German culture is very important (which must be pointed out), his position in world culture is even more important, and he occupies a special position under the background of globalization.
On the other hand, we can also see Goethe's influence on world literature, that is, his influence on other countries' classics. In English-speaking countries, in the second half of the19th century, learning German means reading Goethe's works, especially his classic drama Evy Gnaev Tauriz, Homer's epic Hernan and dorothea, and Faust, which will certainly be included. Apart from Greek drama, the only non-English drama that American students can definitely recognize is Faust. Goethe's influence in China also illustrates this point. Goethe's first novel, Young Werther, caused a sensation when it was published in Germany and was immediately translated into all European languages. It is said that many young people wear the same clothes when they commit suicide as the hero in Goethe's novel wears when he shoots himself. One hundred and fifty years later, this novel still has great influence in China. I don't know how many suicides the novel caused, but it caused a strong response after the May 4th Movement. 1922, Guo Moruo translated it into Chinese; The eighth edition was published two years later, and by 1949 it was already the fiftieth edition. By 1935, two volumes of Faust (about 12000 lines) have been translated into Chinese. Later, Feng Zhi translated his novel William Meisters Lehgare into Chinese. In Goethe's time, Europe was in the process of rapid modernization. Obviously, Goethe's works are also popular in China society under the same circumstances.
Second, the influence of world literature on Goethe.
Goethe always seems to think that he is a part of world literature. He is very talented-his first preserved poem was written at the age of five. Even by the high standards of Goethe's time, he received excellent literary training in his early years. He comes from a rich family, so he invited a teacher to teach him specific subjects. His father has a rich collection of books and educated him personally. Goethe said in his autobiography that when he was about twelve years old, he practiced writing novels in seven languages-German, French, Italian, English, Latin, Greek and the dialect of local German Jews. He can control a wider range of literary genres. His lyric poems include songs, hymns, carols, sonnets, folk songs and satirical short poems. His plays are poetry and prose, including comedies, tragedies, satirical short plays, long plays, court masquerade balls and even operas-and, of course, the epic Faust (three times as much as Hamlet). He wrote all kinds of narratives-short stories, novels, first-person and third-person narrative novels, which were handed down from generation to generation as epistolary novels, initiation novels, social customs novels, archival novels, poetic narrative epics and pastoral novels. He will try almost every literary form. In all fields of Goethe's interest, this combination of classicism and modernity, country and race, primary and secondary, advanced culture and popular culture is Goethe's characteristic.
The historical span of his works is equally surprising. During his literary career, he dabbled in classical literature (Greek and Roman literature), classical mythology and Egyptian mythology, Bible, medieval poetry, Dante's works, Italian Renaissance, German Renaissance, Shakespeare's works, French classicism and the golden age of Spain (all in17th century), as well as18th century and17th century. He translated, rewritten, parodied and wrote according to the style of these works, or put them on the stage. Faust alone covers all the above fields, and it is simply the epitome of European literary tradition. However, Goethe dared to take risks and go further. Led by his friend Johann Gottfried Herder, he became interested in folk songs all over the world. Even in his later years, he continued to pay enthusiastic attention to the newly collected works outside the mainstream of Europe, such as Serbian folk songs. One of the prefaces of Faust is based on the 5th century Indian drama Shagongdaro, and he has read its translation.
The most prominent and distinctive example of Goethe's participation in "world literature" is his two collections of poems, one is German in West Ostrich (18 19), and the other is Chinese-Sischr Deutsche Jahre-und Tages Zeiten (6549). Poetry of the West East was written after reading the German translation of the poem of the great Persian poet Hafez (1326- 1390). He read Hafez's poems several times with great interest, and then began to study other Persian and Arabic literature (translated versions), and also read Asian travel notes from Kelpolo to1late 8th century. At the same time, he began to write poems in Hafez style. Within four years, he created a large number of poems with the tone of a medieval Persian poet, and these works were not blindly imitated, but freely rewritten original poems with different degrees of Persian flavor. He added detailed notes and special statements-these are actually his own historical comments, summarizing his achievements in Persian poetry research. Before Goethe became interested in Persia, he began to study China. As far as a European who didn't know Chinese at that time was concerned, his research was still very serious. Similarly, his research is based on his travel notes and scattered literary works. 178 1 year, he read China's travel notes written by a Frenchman and became interested in cowardice. 1796, he read the first China novel "Good Biography". We know that in 18 17, he watched the English version of the drama "Old Son"; On 1827, he read the English version of Hua and its appendix "A New Poem with White Eyebrows". In the same year, I also read the French translation of Selected Stories of China and another novel, Yujiao Pear. Similarly, his contact with China literature prompted him to explore in the article and write beautiful lyric poems-this time a group of fourteen poems (The Four Seasons between China and Germany, translated by Feng Zhi), which is the best lyric poem in Goethe's later period.
In today's world literature field, the similarities between Goethe and those German scholars who initiated the field of comparative literature in advocating "world literature" are remarkable. The recent topic is about the birth of comparative literature in Istanbul in the 1930s. At that time, some famous German linguists came to Istanbul to escape Nazi persecution. Emily apter believes that Spitzer played an important role in the study of comparative literature in Istanbul University through the study of Leo Spitzer. David Dai Mrosh mainly discusses the complex feelings of erich auerbach's exile and dislocation in a hostile world. However, like other exiles of his time, auerbach and Spitzer grew up in Germany, and Goethe was the most influential cultural image at that time, and was sometimes regarded by the state and educators as a humanistic poet representing the human and humanistic ideals of the whole world. Goethe has influenced two generations in Germany. It is these two generations who founded classical linguistics and modern linguistics successively, followed by the great German romantics. One of the most important and influential linguists is william von humboldt, who founded modern German universities and was a good friend of Goethe. Goethe kept in regular correspondence with him for the rest of his life. German culture in this period is (and will still be) regarded as a classical period in Germany, which is usually called "Goethe's era". The German classical cultural movement and the establishment of linguistics are all named after Goethe, and with his personal achievements and thinking habits, it can be said that the founder of comparative literature and his concern for world literature are all influenced by Goethe. Spitzer studied by apter is open to the world and full of love; Auerbach studied by Dan Lausch is more reserved and full of worries. But these two people and their views are fundamentally based on Goethe's open and complicated personality and his situation at the same chaotic historical turning point.
Third, Goethe's definition of "world literature"
In this context, Goethe's view of "world literature" is quite extraordinary. He is not a theorist in the ordinary sense. When we call him a literary theorist, it is obvious that he does not follow the present meaning. Therefore, he has no articles to clarify his theory of "world literature". However, in 19 in the 1920s, he often used this word in his talks and in his magazine "Uber Kunst und Altertum". He reviews the latest art and literature articles in magazines and introduces the reviews in English and French magazines. The most important of these scattered comments is his comment on Thomas Carr Lyle's Romance in 1828. German stories translated German folk stories, some of which were written by Goethe. Goethe used the word Weltliteratur, which we now call "cross-cultural communication", referring to a series of global dialogues and exchanges. In these dialogues and exchanges, the individuality of different cultures has become increasingly obvious, but it has not been erased. In fact, World Literature advocates that writers and artists enhance international and academic exchanges through discussion, mutual evaluation, translation and personal communication. Goethe is not naive enough to expect-or hope-perfect harmony among people all over the world, but he very much hopes to improve tolerance through cultural understanding and make future wars less malicious and destructive than all the major wars launched by Napoleon I, which Goethe experienced as an adult. For him, this is a complete collapse of culture and civilization.
The word "Duldung" deserves our consideration. "Tolerance" is associated with the "dominant universality" proposed by the Enlightenment, so it is tainted. In the current critical discourse, it is replaced by "multiculturalism" and in American social discourse, it is replaced by "anti-discrimination action". But I think the universality of domination advocated by the Enlightenment has been exaggerated. For Goethe, "tolerance" is the antonym of homogenization, which means to restrain oneself. The context in which Goethe mentioned the word also shows that it also means overcoming hatred and doubt. This view holds that differences act as obstacles in the world and always appear in new forms. Nowadays, when the world is experiencing a Disney-style unification, we are worried that differences may be erased forever, or become an abstract concept that needs to be affirmed and accepted among many insignificant differences, but Goethe believes that this phenomenon will not appear. In fact, the meaning of "tolerance" is more practical, because it affirms the existence of irreducible differences and believes that individuals should bear the responsibility of properly coping with these differences. Its goal is to gently advocate subjectivity in front of the same institutions in mass society. This goal may be difficult to achieve, but Goethe's universalism is not a naive utopia, and when he put forward the concepts of "world literature" and "global society", he was not as overbearing as he recently advocated.
In addition, for today and future generations, Goethe's "world literature" is a dynamic category, call and task, not a classic tradition. It is not a classical literary classic that formed the basis of European literature in Goethe's era (even up to our time), nor a masterpiece accumulated by following the modern European tradition (modern European tradition has formed the pillar of the so-called world culture curriculum in the American curriculum in recent 150 years). Goethe's "World Literature" is not the accumulation of texts in all languages, nor is it the course of world classics (relative to European classics) revised by the new generation of American universities. However, this does not mean that Goethe despises classical literary traditions and European classics. On the contrary, he attaches great importance to history, especially cultural history. As I mentioned, he has an extraordinary understanding of European cultural history. He made great contributions to the historical consciousness of19th century. In fact, he was one of the first European thinkers with historical consciousness, and realized that the historical situation and geographical location played an equally powerful role in determining their identity.
However, Goethe did not use the word "identity". When he talks about "opinions" or "opinions", people think of Hurd's (1803) folk song collection Stimmen der V6lker in iedern (the first edition was named Volk-Slider1778-1779). One of Goethe's most famous early poems, Heidenr6slein (adapted from a folk song, which he collected under the influence of Hurd), is the first time that this folk song appeared in a concentrated way. The word "opinion" also reminds people of an influential proposition put forward by Hurd in 177 1, that is, poetry is the primitive form of human language, which can be traced back to ancient times. Like modern multiculturalists, Goethe's concept of "world literature" attaches importance to cultural diversity, oral culture and popular culture. Therefore, to understand his view that world literature is a dialogue, we need to realize how the past determines the present. From this point of view, Goethe's thought of "world literature" cannot be carried with the banner of "modernism", which dominates the discussion of world literature in the era of globalism.
Fourth, world literature and Goethe's artistic practice.
After broadening the historical background of the concept of "world literature", it is obvious that Poetry of the East and the West and Hymn of the Four Seasons between China and Germany only represent Goethe's space attempt in the practice of world literature and art. His works written in the style of classical literature, Shakespeare and German Renaissance are only part of his artistic practice. During his artistic career, he continued to learn languages through extensive academic reading. He has a huge private library and often goes to the huge Weimar Royal Library. He is also a government official in charge of universities, libraries and museums in the Principality of Weimar. He is the ultimate director of the nearby University of Jena. He regularly participates in academic discussions in universities, and often asks professors about topics outside his major, such as China culture. It is hard to imagine a writer who is more knowledgeable than Goethe. His works are full of clear or dark, serious or ironic allusions. Therefore, his view that "world literature is a dialogue between writers" is actually an extension of the combination of lifelong learning and poetry creation. All his works are dialogues with the past, far or near.
Goethe also used translation to better understand the text. Besides, as I mentioned, he also expanded and tested his understanding of other writers and cultures by writing in different styles. In this way, he turned himself into a cultural ventriloquist and talked with people. In fact, there is a rule of thumb until today: if you come across an article at the end of the 8th century or the beginning of the 9th century, and you are not sure about the identity of the author, it must be written by Goethe. In his plays and novels, Goethe is usually interested in developing and unstable characters, so his characters often have changing and incoherent views, and their identity is often expressed by dramatic characters. Many of Goethe's plays (especially Faust, but not just Faust) include direct role-playing and drama. Goethe even talked about how he likes dressing up and role-playing in life at the beginning of his autobiography Dich-tung und Wahrheit. Willing to admit the views of various cultures in the world, not only treating them with tolerance, but also easily accepting or ignoring them calmly: world literature in this sense is deeply rooted in Goethe's artistic practice and his own psychology.
V. World Literature and Goethe's Scientific Practice
Goethe's view of world literature is also rooted in his scientific methodology. In fact, he especially likes to recall how he welcomed the emergence of Kant's Kritikder Urteilskraft in the 1990s in 18, because it regarded art and science as mutually inspiring phenomena. In addition, Faust, the hero of the most famous works he spent most of his life creating, is a scientist. In Goethe's view, the basic problem of scientific knowledge today is to avoid "judging everything by yourself"-in other words, to avoid subjectivity. This is also Faust's problem: at the beginning of the play, he hopes to fly out of his narrow Gothic room and is eager to escape from his past and present academic status. No matter whether the world is small (Germany, the first part of the play) or big (pan-European concept of past and present, the second part of the play), Faust has escaped subjectivity to experience the world, so the understanding of science has become the central theme of Goethe's most representative contribution to world literature.
Goethe believes that the task of scientists is to observe, not to force phenomena into human systems, nor to provide concepts created by observers. Because it is subjective, and too strong subjectivity will lead researchers to arbitrarily draw the connection between phenomena. However, too strong objectivity will make scientific knowledge just a collection of isolated facts. So Goethe used the word "experiment" to refer to this special scientific observation process, which is a combination of self and nature, subjective and objective. "Experiment" establishes the connection between facts in a unique way, that is, by adding and changing observation conditions. Observers can avoid the limitation of subjectivity by looking at things from different angles. Important discoveries are not made by individuals, but by accumulating personal perception and observation to reveal their hidden patterns. However, observers who look at problems from different angles actually act as a series of observers with different positions. Therefore, the Goethe-style observer actually plays a series of different roles or adopts different identities. In fact, the observer acts like an actor or role in Goethe's plays.
The repeated observation of observers in different situations has produced what Goethe called "Erhhrung", that is, a collection of knowledge containing many small knowledge. However, "experience" is not comprehensive knowledge. Goethe said, "Pure phenomena appear as the result of all observations and experiments. It is never isolated, on the contrary, it appears in series regularly and shows itself. In order to express it, the human brain stabilizes the fluctuation of experience, eliminates accidental changes, separates impurities, combs chaos, and even discovers (uncovers) the unknown. " This is not like a blind man touching an elephant, because the blind man has to enjoy the experience to get a complete experience. Goethe is different. He is interested in potential patterns and what he calls laws.
Goethe's experimental method of series observation developed into the morphological criterion he followed in biology and form, which constituted the prototype of his epistemology. For example, in his biological research, Goethe observed the skulls of various animals to understand the basic characteristics of all these animals, but they showed different forms under different living conditions. In this way, he discovered the remains of a certain structure of human mandible-intermaxillary patch, which showed the connection between human and animals. Observing these skulls from animals to humans, Goethe's morphology looks a bit like the early form of evolution. But Goethe is not interested in the development direction, he is more interested in studying the potential survival mode revealed by this.
In this respect, Goethe's morphological practice looks very much like his world literature practice. In these two fields, people observe the different manifestations of the same phenomenon, not to turn it into the same thing, but to perceive * * * in the differences and reveal the principles that make human groups or biological communities form a unity. It is not surprising, therefore, that Frank Moridi followed Goethe and his thoughts on world literature at the beginning of his article Conference on World Literature, and later hoped to develop the morphology of world literature. "Morphology" and "world literature" are both Goethe's formulations. Meredith believes that literary forms should be understood from the perspective of sociology and regarded as "abstract refinement of social relations". I'm not sure whether Goethe agrees with him. For Goethe, the laws of nature are principles that appear in special collections. Decoding them from natural existence is actually symbolizing them and separating them, which is contrary to Goethe's epistemological framework. Meredith went on to describe that national writers think in a tree way, while world writers think in a wave way. He distinguishes between different views. For a dialectical thinker like Goethe, these hostile views are always interrelated.
If Goethe's morphology is to seek the unity and harmony of all living things in the existing differences, then his view of world literature is undoubtedly the same. Indeed, Goethe (especially in the latter half of his life) created a number of profound concepts such as "world literature", but there were also "world citizen", "world belief" and "world soul". All these concepts * * * have the same characteristics, so they can * * * enjoy a larger system, without losing their unique personality, integrate * * * and characteristics, and * * * enjoy a vibrant body. This concept of seeking common ground while reserving differences can even be extended to the most fundamental concept of unity in European culture: Goethe said this in an early poem "Emblem of Gems" in "Poetry of the West". An ordinary place. Will Fadel Mann. They changed this name to this name! Amen. He is the only just God, and he wants to be fair to everyone. Let the reputation of one hundred get the highest praise! Amen. For Goethe, world literature is a hundred good names of God.