<p class="ql-block"> 昨日一大早，老戰(zhàn)友陳歆耕發(fā)來一段英文，我一頭霧水，滿心疑惑。一開始以為是亂碼，細(xì)看才知，這是《上海日報(bào)》上，一位叫朱蕓影的作者對他新版著作《稷下先生》的書評。</p> <p class="ql-block"> 說起陳歆耕，著實(shí)讓人敬佩，他曾是解放軍報(bào)駐南京軍區(qū)記者站站長、后升任解放軍報(bào)社記者部副主任，轉(zhuǎn)業(yè)后到上海文匯新民集團(tuán)旗下的《文學(xué)報(bào)》，擔(dān)任社長兼總編輯，退休后依舊筆耕不輟。之前寫的《蔡京沉浮》等著作，就在文學(xué)界和評論界引發(fā)了不小的反響，如今這部新作，再次好評如潮，還收獲了英文版《上海日報(bào)》的關(guān)注。</p> <p class="ql-block"> 我把這篇英文書評輸入豆包，很快得到了中文譯文，只是專業(yè)文學(xué)評論自帶學(xué)術(shù)性，文字偏嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)深奧，普通讀者讀起來難免覺得累。為了讓更多人能讀懂這篇精彩評論，我便再次拜托豆包，把譯文再做精簡和通俗化處理，變得淺顯易懂。</p> <p class="ql-block"> 以下是通俗精簡版書評，分享給大家（英文書評及完整譯文附后）：</p><p class="ql-block"><b style="color:rgb(237, 35, 8);"> 重訪稷下：尋找我們的文化底氣</b></p><p class="ql-block"><br></p><p class="ql-block"> 什么是文化自信？其實(shí)就是明白我們從哪來，了解文明的源頭，讀懂骨子里的精神。</p><p class="ql-block"> 陳歆耕的《稷下先生》，帶我們回到戰(zhàn)國時期那個著名的思想圣地——稷下學(xué)宮。孟子、荀子、淳于髡等先賢齊聚于此，講學(xué)辯論、百家爭鳴，共同鑄就了中華文化的根基。</p><p class="ql-block"> 作者用嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)又生動的文字，把這些歷史人物寫活了。不同學(xué)派在這里自由爭論、相互包容，沒有壓制，只有思想的碰撞。儒家、道家、法家等各抒己見，既對立又共生，形成了難得的開放氛圍。</p><p class="ql-block"> 稷下學(xué)宮最可貴的，是學(xué)者們能獨(dú)立思考、不依附權(quán)勢，心懷家國又堅(jiān)守風(fēng)骨。君王尊重學(xué)問，學(xué)者報(bào)效國家，彼此成就。</p><p class="ql-block"> 讀這本書，就是一場文化尋根。它讓我們看到，中華文明從一開始就兼容并包、開放大氣，這正是我們文化自信的來源。而先賢們追求真理、獨(dú)立正直的精神，也正是中國文人最珍貴的傳統(tǒng)。</p> <p class="ql-block">英文書評，全文如下:</p><p class="ql-block"><span style="color:rgb(237, 35, 8);">第一部分：引言與書籍背景</span></p><p class="ql-block">Jixia Revisited: In Search of China's Cultural Soul</p><p class="ql-block">by Zhu Yunying</p><p class="ql-block">March 27, 2026</p><p class="ql-block">Share Article:</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">What is cultural confidence? It is a clarity of awareness: knowing where we come from, understanding our civilization in its formative years, and recognizing the vibrant spirit it embodies. To understand this, we turn to Chen Xingeng's Jixia Academy Masters. In 2025, Writers Publishing House released a book that reveals a previously hidden era. The Jixia Academy, outside the Ji Gate of Linzi, the bustling capital of the Qi State during the Warring States Period, was a living intellectual ferment. Here, figures who shaped the very fabric of our culture – the witty Chunyu Kun, the lofty Mencius, the erudite Xunzi, the cosmologist Zou Yan, Tian Pian, Lu Zhonglian, and others – take the stage one by one. This gathering is an intellectual appointment across two millennia. To visit Jixia is to see the magnificent cultural foundation laid during the "Axial Age of Chinese civilization." Chen's exhaustive historical nonfiction work recreates pre-Qin thought through literature. The Jixia Academy is the setting for the book. With meticulous historical research and vivid storytelling, it depicts intellectual freedom, academic independence, and human nature's struggles. It accessibly and compellingly depicts the Hundred Schools of Thought.</p> <p class="ql-block"><span style="color:rgb(237, 35, 8);"> 第二部分：核心人物與時代環(huán)境</span></p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">At its core, the book is a character-driven narrative that unfolds like a multi-act play. These key figures of the Jixia Academy debate, challenge, and collide. Chen brings these historical names to life with simple, humorous prose. Chunyu Kun's eloquence, Mencius's radical advocacy for the primacy of the people, and Xunzi's profound synthesis of Confucian thought are transformed from mere historical accounts into dynamic scenes of philosophical debate and intellectual conflict. Chen enriches the narrative with everyday details and nuanced interpersonal relationships, drawing on extensive historical research to ensure both factual accuracy and contextual depth. This book is a work that balances historical depth with literary appeal. First, we need to understand the significance of the Jixia Academy and the role of the Jixia Masters. In 374 BCE, Duke Huan of Qi founded the Jixia Academy, which treated scholars from across the country like senior grand masters. The brightest minds of the era gathered there. Society viewed pure thought, debate, and the pursuit of knowledge as a noble endeavor deserving of state support. They were free to discuss any topic, from statecraft and governance to the nature of the cosmos and individuality. The Jixia Academy endured through the reigns of several Qi kings: Duke Huan, King Wei, King Xuan, King Min, and King Xiang. Adhering to the principle of "discussing governance without taking office," it continued to attract talented minds from far and wide, always granting them the autonomy to decide their own path, whether to serve in government or remain independent. In that era of relentless warfare, the various schools of thought – Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, the School of Names, and the Yin-Yang School – contended and coexisted in a rich pluralism.</p> <p class="ql-block"><span style="color:rgb(237, 35, 8);"> 第三部分：精神遺產(chǎn)與文化意義</span></p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">This environment of freedom and openness provided an ideal setting for intellectuals. Chunyu Kun, who used metaphor to counsel rulers; Mencius, who stood tall before those in power while advocating for the primacy of the people; Xunzi, who advocated a ritual-based system of governance; the Daoist thinkers Peng Meng, Song Xing, and Tian Pian; and future Legalist titans Li Si and Han Feizi, who studied at Jixia before shaping a different order, were all present. The Jixia Academy was more than a gathering of brilliant minds – it was a battleground of ideas. The famous debates between Chunyu Kun and Mencius were just one example. Even within the same Confucian school, Mencius and Xunzi held diametrically opposed views on human nature – the former arguing it was inherently good and the latter that it was evil. And in a fascinating twist, Xunzi, a staunch Confucian, could count among his disciples, Legalist architects like Han Feizi and Li Si. In this free space for intellectual collision, the Jixia Masters forged the foundations of Chinese thought. The relationship between the Jixia Masters and the rulers of Qi was one of mutual empowerment. There was no shortage of dedicated scholars among the people – men of lofty ideals who carried in their hearts a deep sense of responsibility for their country and fellow citizens. They arrived at the Jixia Academy with this very purpose. In return, the rulers of Qi gave them the respect they deserved and honored their desire to serve the state and the people. And those scholars, in turn, repaid this enlightened patronage with their wisdom and passion. This spirit of richness, openness, pluralism, and inclusiveness is the true portrait of the Jixia legacy. "Discussing governance without taking office" was not merely a policy; it was a spiritual haven for the scholar class. There, they were free to turn their gaze outward – to explore the cosmos and deliberate on the rise and fall of nations – and inward, to contemplate the meaning of life and cultivate their talents. The rise and fall of the Jixia Academy mirrored the fortunes of the State of Qi itself. It reminds us that the vitality of a civilization lies not only in its granaries and swords but also in its members' relentless inquiry into the cosmos, society, and the human heart. Founded under Duke Huan of Qi and lasting until the Qin's conquest of the six states, the academy endured through the reigns of numerous rulers. Its unparalleled gathering of brilliant minds and extraordinary longevity make it a unique entity in Chinese history. Reading Masters of the Jixia Academy is an act of cultural root-seeking – a discovery that the very blood flowing through our veins carries a rich and diverse heritage. It is only when we see Chunyu Kun, Mencius, and Xunzi expounding their teachings within their own domains at the Jixia Academy, witnessing how ideas clashed and yet fused with one another, that we can truly grasp what it means to be both broad and profound. This vision of intellectual vibrancy reveals a crucial truth: our tradition is never a lifeless monolith. Those seemingly contradictory ideas once coexisted and thrived together in lively harmony. We come to realize that our civilization, which we take such pride in, possesses from its very inception a spirit vast enough to embrace a Hundred Schools of Thought. This awakening gives rise to genuine cultural confidence. When we learn that the Jixia Masters adhered to the principle of "discussing governance without taking office" – maintaining their intellectual independence in the presence of power, upholding the Way against political might with neither arrogance nor subservience – we cannot help but feel a profound respect for their Chinese scholarly spirit. It is here, in these pages, that we witness Mencius urging the Qi kings toward benevolent rule, Xunzi dissecting human nature with cold rationality while refusing to flatter the powerful, and countless Jixia Masters bowing to truth alone in their debates. It is in this spirit that we realize: the noblest tradition of Chinese intellectuals was already forged more than two millennia ago. (Zhu Yunying holds a PhD in English Language and Literature from Fudan University.)</p> <p class="ql-block">以下是英文書評的完整譯文:</p><p class="ql-block"><b style="color:rgb(237, 35, 8);"> 重訪稷下：探尋中國文化之魂</b></p><p class="ql-block">作者：朱蕓影</p><p class="ql-block">2026年3月27日《上海日報(bào)》</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">什么是文化自信？它是一種清醒的認(rèn)知：知曉我們從何而來，理解文明形成之初的模樣，認(rèn)清其蘊(yùn)含的蓬勃精神。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">要理解這一點(diǎn)，我們不妨翻開陳歆耕所著的《稷下先生》。2025年，作家出版社推出這部作品，揭開了一段塵封已久的歷史。戰(zhàn)國時期，齊國都城臨淄繁華喧囂，稷門之外的稷下學(xué)宮，是當(dāng)時思想激蕩的中心。在這里，一個個塑造了中華文化根基的人物依次登場——機(jī)敏善辯的淳于髡、氣節(jié)高遠(yuǎn)的孟子、學(xué)識淵博的荀子、陰陽五行大家鄒衍，還有田駢、魯仲連等人。這場跨越兩千年的思想之約，讓我們得以窺見中華文明“軸心時代”鑄就的宏偉文化根基。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">這部詳實(shí)嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)臍v史紀(jì)實(shí)作品，以文學(xué)手法再現(xiàn)先秦思想圖景，以稷下學(xué)宮為敘事舞臺。作者依托縝密的史料考據(jù)，用生動的敘事，描繪出思想的自由、學(xué)術(shù)的獨(dú)立與人世的求索，將百家爭鳴的景象寫得通俗易懂、扣人心弦。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">全書以人物為核心，情節(jié)如多幕劇般層層鋪展。稷下學(xué)宮的核心人物相互辯論、彼此詰難、思想碰撞。作者用質(zhì)樸又風(fēng)趣的文字，讓這些歷史人物鮮活可感。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">淳于髡的雄辯、孟子力主民貴君輕的激進(jìn)主張、荀子對儒家思想的精深整合，都從冰冷的史料記載，化作鮮活的哲學(xué)論辯與思想交鋒場景。作者依托海量史料，融入生活細(xì)節(jié)與細(xì)膩的人際往來，既保證史實(shí)準(zhǔn)確，又讓敘事更具深度。這部作品兼具歷史厚度與文學(xué)魅力。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">首先，我們需要認(rèn)清稷下學(xué)宮的歷史意義，以及稷下先生們的歷史角色。公元前374年，齊桓公田午設(shè)立稷下學(xué)宮，將天下士人尊為上賓。彼時最杰出的智者匯聚于此，社會將純粹的思辨、論辯與求知，視作值得國家扶持的高尚事業(yè)。他們可自由探討一切議題，從治國理政、天下方略，到宇宙本源、個體心性。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">稷下學(xué)宮歷經(jīng)齊桓公、齊威王、齊宣王、齊湣王、齊襄王數(shù)代君主，始終秉持“不治而議論”的原則，持續(xù)吸引四方才俊，始終給予學(xué)者自主選擇的空間——既可入仕為官，亦可堅(jiān)守獨(dú)立。在戰(zhàn)火連綿的年代，儒家、道家、法家、名家、陰陽家等諸家學(xué)說爭鳴共存，形成多元繁盛的思想格局。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">這片自由開放的沃土，是知識分子的理想園地。以諷喻勸諫君主的淳于髡、在權(quán)貴面前堅(jiān)守民本思想的孟子、主張以禮治國的荀子，道家學(xué)者彭蒙、宋钘、田駢，還有后來成為法家代表、在稷下求學(xué)后重塑時代格局的李斯與韓非，皆匯聚于此。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">稷下學(xué)宮不只是賢才云集之地，更是思想交鋒的戰(zhàn)場。淳于髡與孟子的著名論辯便是一例。即便同屬儒家，孟子與荀子對人性的看法也截然對立：前者主張性本善，后者認(rèn)為人性本惡。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">更耐人尋味的是，堅(jiān)守儒家立場的荀子，門下卻出了韓非、李斯這樣的法家代表。在這片思想自由碰撞的天地里，稷下先生們奠定了中國思想的根基。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">稷下先生與齊國君主之間，是相互成就的關(guān)系。世間從不乏心懷理想、心系家國百姓的篤學(xué)之士，他們正是懷著這份初心來到稷下學(xué)宮。而齊國君主給予他們應(yīng)有的尊重，成全他們兼濟(jì)天下的志向；學(xué)者們則以智慧與熱忱，回報(bào)這份開明的禮遇。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">這種豐盈、開放、多元、包容的精神，正是稷下留給后世的真正遺產(chǎn)。“不治而議論”不只是一項(xiàng)制度，更是士階層的精神凈土。在這里，他們既可向外探索宇宙天地、思索王朝興衰，亦可向內(nèi)叩問生命意義、修身治學(xué)。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">稷下學(xué)宮的興衰，與齊國國運(yùn)休戚與共。它提醒我們：一個文明的生命力，不只在于倉廩充實(shí)、兵甲強(qiáng)盛，更在于其成員對宇宙、社會與人心的不懈求索。學(xué)宮自齊桓公時創(chuàng)立，一直延續(xù)至秦滅六國，歷經(jīng)數(shù)代君主，賢才云集、綿延長久，在中國歷史上獨(dú)一無二。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">品讀《稷下先生》，是一場尋根文化之旅。我們會發(fā)現(xiàn)，流淌在血脈中的，本就是豐富多元的文明基因。唯有親眼看見淳于髡、孟子、荀子在稷下各抒己見，目睹諸家思想碰撞交融，我們才能真正理解何為博大精深。這番思想盛景揭示了一個關(guān)鍵真相：我們的傳統(tǒng)從不是僵化單一的教條。那些看似對立的學(xué)說，曾在鮮活的交融中共存共生。我們由此明白，我們引以為傲的中華文明，從誕生之初便擁有容納諸子百家的廣闊胸襟。</p><p class="ql-block"> </p><p class="ql-block">這份覺醒，孕育出真正的文化自信。當(dāng)我們了解到，稷下先生秉持“不治而議論”的準(zhǔn)則，在權(quán)勢面前堅(jiān)守思想獨(dú)立，以道義對抗強(qiáng)權(quán)，不卑不亢，便會由衷敬佩中國文人的風(fēng)骨。書中，孟子勸諫齊王施行仁政，荀子以冷峻理性剖析人性、絕不諂媚權(quán)貴，無數(shù)稷下先生在論辯中只向真理低頭。我們由此懂得：中國知識分子最可貴的精神傳統(tǒng)，早在兩千多年前便已鑄就。</p><p class="ql-block"> （朱蕓影，復(fù)旦大學(xué)英語語言文學(xué)博士）</p>