Section Six How to Study Literature and Life
我们打算要学习的这本《文学与人生》与其他人编写的《文学与人生》不同。
The Literature and Life we are going to learn is different from the others’ Literature and Life.
1．这本《文学与人生》有下列特点：
1．The Literature and Life is characterized as follows.
1.1 在选择来作阅读、分析和欣赏的文学作品时，杰出的文学性是放在第一位的。在这本《文学与人生》中选入的文学作品全都是世界文学中的古今名着。
1.1 The distinguished literariness is put first in choosing our literary works for reading， analysing andappreciating. The literary works chosen in the Literature and Life are really all classics of world literature.
1.2 强调的是实用性而不是理论。最重要的是阅读那些经典的原着，在基本又新近的文学理论指导下分析作家和其中作品中主要人物的人生，从美学观点来赏析那些经典。
1.2 The emphasis is put on practicability rather than theory. What’s most important is to read theclassics in the original， to analyse the writers’ lives and their main characters’ lives under the guidance of thebasic and yet recent literary theories， appreciate the classics from an aesthetic point of view.
1.3 重点在小说，因为小说是用散文或韵文形式写的任何文学记事，例如小说《红楼梦》里就有很多诗歌，因此它又被称为诗化小说。更重要的是，小说具备一种功能，就是教导我们认识世界，向我们展现世界是如何运转的，通过不同的聚焦方法，让我们从别的角度观察事情，并且了解他人的动机，而我们通常是很难看清这些的。小说提供充分了解他人的可能性，弥补了我们在“真实”生活中对他人的无知。小说中的角色是那些生活的隐秘清晰可见或者可能被窥见的人：我们则是完全隐匿私生活的人。这就是为什么小说会给我们带来慰藉，尽管有时它们讲述的可能是邪恶的人；小说让我们看到的是更容易理解、因此也更容易掌握的人类，小说使我们产生一种睿智和力量的幻觉。小说通过从人物的视角展现事物而鼓励与人物的认同。我们在与我们所读的那些人物的认同中成为我们自己，从而通过他人的经验和认同的方式使我们成为更优秀的人。
1.3 The stress is put on novels because a novel is any literary narrative， whether in prose or verse. Forexample， there are many poems in the novel A Dream of Red Mansions； thus it is also called a poeticizednovel. What’s more， novels have the function of teaching us about the world， showing us how it works，enabling us—through the devices of focalization—to see things from other vantage points， and to understandothers’ motives that in general are opaque to us. Novels offer the possibility of perfect knowledge of othersand compensate for our dimness about others in“real”life. Characters in novels are people whose livesare visible or might be visible： we are people whose secret lives are invisible. And that is why novels，even when they are about wicked people， can solace us； they suggest a more comprehensible and thus amore manageable human race， and they give us the illusion of perspicacity and power. Novels encourageidentification with characters by showing things from their point of view. We become who we are byidentifying with figures we read about. Therefore， we may be made better people through vicarious experienceand the mechanisms of identification.
1.4 这本《文学与人生》是用汉英双语写的，因此，它可用作《文学与人生》课程的教材。学生通过学习《文学与人生》课还可以提高英语水平。每章和每部选作学习的名着后都有复习讨论题，有利于学生对所学的内容进行复习巩固和拓展深造。
1.4 The Literature and Life is bilingually written， i.e. in both Chinese and English. Thus it can beused as a textbook for the course“Literature and Life”. The students can improve their English by learningthe course“Literature and Life”. After each chapter and classic chosen for learning there are somequestions for revision and discussion so that the students can review and consolidate what they have learned.
2．通过文学研究人生
2．To study life through literature
通过文学研究人生并不意味着是文学研究或文学批评，而是通过阅读东西方汉英文学名着来提高自己的素质和品味，来研究和完美自己的人生。
To study life through literature does not mean the study of literature or criticism but means that one canimprove one’s quality and savour， and study and perfect one’s life by reading classics， both in the East andWest， in Chinese and English.
3．读者应读名著全文的原文
3．Readers should read the full texts of the classics in the original
既然本课程《文学与人生》是通过阅读名着来研究人生，当然教材中要提供对过去各历史时期，包括不同气质、不同性格及不同社会地位的各种人物之生活叙述、成功经验和失败教训。但教材不可能提供名着的全文，只有“内容简介、作者人生、作品赏析、作品中主要人物（经验教训）分析、问题讨论”五部分以代之。每部分由教师详细讲解，但同学们（或读者们）应读名着全文的原文。
3．Since this Course Literature and Life is to study life by reading classics， it is natural to presentaccounts and experiences of successes and lessons of failures of life in the past—in the various periods ofhistory and in different walks of life by characters of different temperament and nature and social status.
However， in the textbook it is impossible to present full texts of classics but only“Introduction， The Writer’sLife， Appreciations of the Novel (Play)， Major Characters’ Lives (Experiences &； Lessons)， Questions forRevision &； Discussion”five parts are presented instead. Each part is to be fully explained by the teacher，but students (or readers) should read the full texts of the classics in the original.
4．学会做人
4．To learn how to be a man
还有，通过经常独立阅读和积极大胆地参加课堂讨论，理论联系实际，不但能学会文学研究和英汉表达方法，而且还可以学会做人。
Furthermore， one can learn not only a method of literary study and expression in both Chinese andEnglish but also how to be a man by reading books constantly and independently， taking an active part indiscussion-in-class and integrating theory with practice.
我们读的好书越多就能使我们的人生越美好。
The more we read fundamental good books， the better we can make our lives.
