嘉音 | 把整个世界作为异乡的人是完美的 Treating the entire world as foreign land
怀着怎样的胸襟来理解我们的世界？
中学部中文组
郑涵宁老师
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亲爱的嘉人们：
见信愉快。我是海嘉中学部的中文老师郑涵宁。在这里提笔向海嘉社区的成员写信还是有些忐忑的，毕竟海嘉是一个大社区，成员组成又很多元，写什么话题能够引起最广泛的共鸣确实需要多些思考。思来想去，才有了下面这些内容。
由于疫情的原因，不仅我们的日常生活受到了不小的影响，整个世界仿佛都变了一番样子。我们从各种媒体渠道了解疫情的信息，媒体也通过他们的叙述传达给我们除了必要的信息外，或多或少的一些情绪。我们要不要相信媒体为我们建构出来的“现实”呢？这不禁让我思考，我们到底要怀着怎样的胸襟来理解我们的世界。
Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts
written by Hugh of Saint-Victor
想跟大家分享一段话。来自十二世纪的一名学者，叫Hugo 或者“Hugh of Saint-Victor”。他在他的一本著作《Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts》中写下了下面这段关于“故乡与异乡”的话：
“The man who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner; he to whom every soil is as his native one is already strong; but he is perfect to whom the entire world is as a foreign land. ”
中文翻译的意思是“那个发现他的家乡甜美的人还是一位稚嫩的初业行人；把所有土地当作故土的人，他已经是强大的。但是，把整个世界作为异乡的人，他是完美的。”
不知道你们读到这一段话，有没有一些触动。我还记得我当时的印象，真犹如“醍醐灌顶”一般。如果你的爱局限于你的故乡，那还是“稚嫩的”；如果你的爱已经延伸到了所有的土地，那么可称之为“强大”了；而要到“完美”的层次，需要熄灭“爱”。
这些话有点抽象，举一个旅游的例子好了。你们在旅行途中有没有见过那种“横挑鼻子竖挑眼”的人呢？他们到了一个与自己的国家风俗大不相同的地方，无心感受眼前的一切，反而一直念叨自己的国家如何好，条件如何优越。这样的表现，还停留在“稚嫩”的层次，因为他正如泰戈尔说的，“因为太阳流眼泪而错过繁星”了。你们应该也见过那种一看就去过很多地方的人吧，他们对世界如数家珍，到了哪里都能够很快适应。这就是第二层次了，这样的表现，很是强大。
可是，依照Hugh的说法，他们还不是“完美”，真正的完美是仍保有一双随时发现新义的眼睛，不管看待自己的故土还是异乡，都仍有“新奇感”。这种“亲密和疏离的结合（爱德华 萨义德）”才是完美的境界。
当然，上面的这个通俗易懂的例子是为了帮助大家理解字面意思。这段话在我们如何看待自己和别国的文化上，有什么启示呢？
对本国文化：
当我们说我们热爱自己的本国文化的时候，我们的爱具体指向什么？是山川大地，还是民风民俗？是文化艺术，还是仅仅是因为我们的先人一直生于斯长于斯？那我们表现我们的“爱”的方式要靠什么体现出来？在网络上给别人贴标签或者攻击他人的行为，算是“爱国”吗？
对别国文化：
你能想象出来，对世界的每一片土地都犹如“故土”是什么样子吗？有哪些因素阻挠了我们，诸如语言的，文化的，或是意识形态的等等？而一个人要具备怎样的素质才能做到对待异乡如故乡一般呢？
最后，如果我们能够对本国和别国文化都做到“亲密与疏离的结合”，我们能够获得什么？
如果上面的话引发了你的思考，或者你有想要分享的经历，欢迎留言。
祝，
好
郑涵宁
2020年春
Iris Zheng
Chinese teacher in MSHS
Dear BIBA family,
I hope this letter finds you well. This is Iris, and I am a Chinese teacher of MSHS. It is such an honor to write to such a large and diverse community. Thus, it took me quite some time to decide the topic of this letter. I sincerely hope the following message resonates with you.
Our lives have experienced huge changes due to the Covid-19 virus. The world also appeared to be strange than it was to us. We understand current situations from various media, however, we also gained something more than that. Emotions. Should we believe the reality the media constructed? What kind of mindset do we actually need to understand the world of this era?
Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts
written by Hugh of Saint-Victor
I would like to share a quote from a 12-century scholar Hugo or Hugh of Saint Victor. In his crucial work Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts, he wrote:
“The man who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner; he to whom every soil is as his native one is already strong; but he is perfect to whom the entire world is as a foreign land. ”
When I first read this quote, I was deeply touched. I was far away from my sweet homeland and was experiencing cultural clash of two very different culture. At the very beginning, I gained the opportunity of reflecting my own culture and noticing how different the other culture is to mine. I cannot help but focused on the differences. Then after I understood the other culture better, I felt I have “fit in” the foreign soil. That’s the stage I started to feel despite all the differences, such as languages, customs, nations, races, the “tags”, we are more same than different as human being.
This quote inspires us to think how we treat our own culture and those of others.
Toward our own culture:
When we say that we love a place what are we talking about specifically? Is it a geography? A cultural tradition? A way of behaving? A scenery? A list of items that historically have been eaten and enjoyed by those who have preceded you in living in such a place? Or is it an ideology? How should we demonstrate the love we hold so deeply? Is tagging or attacking other people online an appropriate way?
Toward other culture:
Can you imagine being a person who feels at home in every place? How could someone feel this way? Wouldn’t cultural or linguistic or ideological differences prevent a person from feeling comfortable? What characteristics would a person have to have to be at home in all places?
Lastly, if we are able to treat all culture with “the same combination of intimacy and distance (Edward Said)”, what possibly could the advantage be? What would be gained?
If you have any thought and experience you would like to share, please leave a comment.
Yours truly,
Iris
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