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从所历所为讲述新疆和平解放过程

台灣的問題從來不是台灣的問題而已，而台獨的問題歸根究底是中國的問題。

阿拉伯世界发生了被称之为“茉莉花革命”的一连串事件。西方世界在关切阿拉伯世界的同时，似乎并没有忘记中国。实际上，从媒体聚焦的深度和力度来看，对中国的关切甚至甚于对阿拉伯世界的关切。为什么会这样？ 　　人们那么关切中国，但没有一个一致的理由。不同的人对中国的关注出于不同的背景。一些人关注的是这样一种假设：阿拉伯世界所发生的事，已经对外在世界产生了很大的影响，如果中国发生了类似的情况，会产生怎样的外在影响呢？无疑，较之阿拉伯世界，中国在世界事务上的影响更大。中国现在已经是世界经济体的内在一部分，甚至是世界经济发展的其中一个最大的驱动力。在中国事务上，外在世界越来越多的国家和人不再是旁观者，而是利益相关者。出于对自己利益的关怀，他们来关心中国的发展。从这个角度来看，这些人并不希望中国发生类似阿拉伯世界的事情。 　　不过，也的确有些人希望中国发生类似的事情，并且要尽力推动这样的事情发生。在上世纪90年代苏联东欧剧变之后，很多人一直在关切中国，期待着类似的事情发生在中国。前些年，每当有国家发生“颜色革命”的时候，他们都会把中国带入其思考的空间。一些人甚至总是在预测中国什么时候会发生类似的事情。在这个群体中，不同的人也有不同的动机：一些人希望中国的政治变革和民主化，一些人对现状极度不满，一些人恐惧于中国的继续崛起。 中国有不同的制度背景 　　不过，中国不是阿拉伯世界。如果光从一些社会现象来看，中国和阿拉伯世界的确有一些相似的地方，例如社会不公平问题、收入差异、腐败、大学生失业或就业不足等等。（应当说，所有这些现象都值得中国关注。如果不能解决这些问题，中国就会面临不稳定的严峻挑战。）但是，做这样简单的比较，并不能回答为什么中国不是阿拉伯世界。要回答“中国为什么不是”的问题，就要看中国本身所具有的制度性因素。中国和阿拉伯世界存在一些类似的社会现象，但因为中国和阿拉伯世界具有不同的制度背景，因此尽管有类似的社会现象，它们所能导向的结果是很不相同的。 　　首先应当指出的是，那些相信中国会步阿拉伯世界后尘的人，大都是从简单的意识形态来看问题。这个意识形态的核心就是民主，并且是西方式的多党制民主。民主先发生在西方，也早就成为西方意识形态领域的核心。西方社会在很多方面都特别强调“多元”，例如经济多元、社会多元、宗教多元和文化多元等等，但就是在政治制度问题上只容许“单元”，就是单线的历史发展观，即所有政治制度都必然走向西方式民主。早就有学者宣称西方式民主是“历史的终结”，尽管历史的现实并非如此。客观地看，现实世界上所存在的众多政治制度，并不能用简单的“民主”与“专制”或“非民主”所能概括的。那种把世界简单地划分为“民主”和“专制”，并且进一步简单地认为“专制”必然向“民主”发展的理论，已经远远不能解释现实世界了。 　　西方过度地从西方的观点来看中国，也希望中国朝着西方所期望的方向发展。这导致了很多人忽视中国本身到底在怎样发展，以及发展出了什么样的制度。决定中国命运的正是中国本身的发展，和其所发展出来的制度模式，而非外力。要理解中国为什么不是阿拉伯世界，就是要看这些方面，而不是从任何西方的概念和理论。 　　说到中国和阿拉伯世界的不同，很多人都会强调中国在过去30多年的高速经济发展和其关联的社会发展。这些因素当然很重要，但更为重要的是政治制度因素。阿拉伯世界也曾经有很不错的经济发展成就，一些社会远较中国富裕，但是其政治制度僵硬不变，很难适应变化了的社会经济的发展，最终导致今日的局面。一些相信中国会阿拉伯世界化的人，其错误也就在于把中国的政治制度，和阿拉伯世界的政治制度等同起来。这其中一个主要的原因就是上面提到的，这些人简单地把世界划分会（西方式）“民主”和“专制”两个阵营。实际上，正是中国的政治制度使得中国和阿拉伯世界区分开来，也使得中国不会出现阿拉伯世界所出现的情况。 　　很显然，如果从西方多党民主的角度来看，中国的政治制度没有实质性的变化。应当指出的是，正是从这一西方观点出发，很多观察家并不认为中国改革开放以来有过任何有意义的政治改革。 中国政治制度的巨大变化 　　事实上又怎样呢？改革开放以来，中国的政治制度发生了巨大的变化，只不过是这些变化并不是西方式的。不管人们评价如何，正是这些政治制度上的变化，使得中国有能力适应和消化社会经济变革，以及转型所带来的各种变化。 　　那么，中国到底是一种什么样的政治制度呢？官方的意识形态，并不能帮助人们获得有关中国政治制度实质性的知识，一切要从中国政治制度的实际行为出发。因为政党制度是中国政治制度的核心，人们又进而要从认识这一政党制度入手。 　　简单地说，中国已经演变成为一个一党主导下的开放型政党制度。 　　第一是开放。开放最重要。任何一个政治制度，如果不开放，就必然表现为排他性和封闭性。只有开放，政治才具有包容性。政治上的开放性，在西方是通过外部多元主义，即多党政治来实现。理论上说，每一种利益都能够找到能够代表其利益的政党。在中国，因为没有多党政治，依靠的是内部多元主义来实现。内部多元主义表明政党的开放性。社会上产生了不同的利益，执政党就向它们开放，把他们吸纳到政权里面，通过利益的协调来实现利益代表。 　　中共多年来致力于从一个革命性政党转型成为执政党。在革命期间，政党要强调依靠一些特定的阶级和阶层，但作为执政党，其必须依靠所有的阶级和阶层，才能拥有最广泛的社会基础。中共的转型不可说不快。上个世纪90年代，随着民营企业的崛起，成功地解决了民营企业家加入执政党、进入政治过程的问题。面临迅速崛起的社会组织和新兴社会力量，执政党现在又开始强调社会管理，致力于通过吸纳更多的社会力量来扩展执政的基础。随着社会基础的扩大，党内民主的需求也日益增长。这就是为什么这些年来执政党在不断强调党内民主重要性，并寻找多种形式的党内民主的原因。 　　这种内部多元主义基础上的政治开放性，其有效性并不比其它任何制度低。阿拉伯世界基本上既无外部多元主义，也无内部多元主义，多数政权表现为封闭性，有一个家族（君主政权）或者少数几个家族长期垄断政权，统治国家。即使在民主国家，例如英国、美国和日本，国家政权也经常被几个政治大家族所垄断。从统计学角度来看，从社会底层进入政治领域的人数，中国远远超过民主国家。共产党统治不是家族统治，这使得共产党更具有群众性。 　　第二，同样重要的是中国解决了精英阶层更替问题。在很大程度上说，西方民主的本质是通过定期的选举，解决政治精英的变更。在民主政治产生之前，暴力往往在政权更替过程中扮演最重要的角色。这种情形也在中国传统社会存在数千年，所谓的“革命”就是“改朝换代”的意思。改革开放以来，尽管中国拒绝走西方式的民主道路，但已经发展出非常有效的精英更替制度。 　　这要归功于邓小平。邓小平确立了两种相关的制度，一是领导人退出制度，即退休制度；二是人才录用制度，从社会的各个领域录用人才。现在这个制度从基层到最高领导层已经高度制度化。更为重要的是，因为年龄的限制（即任何一个领导人一旦到了规定的年龄，就必须从相应的职位上退下来），各个阶层精英更替的速度，是没有其它任何一个制度所能比拟的，包括民主制度。尽管年龄规定的“一刀切”制度在外界看来，甚至已经到了不合情理的程度，但的确产生了诸多积极的政治效果。 　　这个体制的优势是很显然的。首先，它避免了个人专制。可以从两个层面来理解。一是内部多元主义所形成的“党内民主”，或者党内集体领导制度。中共党内高层之间的制衡，远比民主国家的多。例如在美国，一旦当选总统，其经常拥有“帝王般”的权力。而中国领导层中，在强人政治时代过去之后，再也难出现这种“帝王般”的权力者了。二是限任制。现在一般上，领导层包括总书记、国家主席、总理和其它重要职位，至多是两个任期，即十年。这和西方的总统制并没有什么区别。很显然，限任制是对个人专制的一种有效制度制约。就是说，中国尽管没有西方式民主，但也找到了同样的甚至更有效的方式，来保证不会出现个人专制。但在阿拉伯世界，普遍的现象就是个人专制，无论是君主制国家还是具有现代政党制度的国家。当一个人或者一个家族统治一个国家数十年的时候，就会弊端丛生，令社会不可忍受。 中国政治制度具强大动员能力 　　其次，中国的政治体制使得政治更新异常地迅速，政治能够有效反映代际变化，因此也是利益的变化。较之其它任何政体，中国政治体系的一个显著现象就是官员流动速度非常之快。每年都有数以万计的官员离开其任职的岗位，也有同样多的官员进入这些岗位。这种快速的流动尽管也出现了一些弊端，但不可否认的是它能够更加有效地反映时代的变化。 　　第三，中国的政治制度具有强大的政策动员能力，从而促成政策的及时变化。从理论上说，多党制国家的政策变化的阻力应当比一党制的为少，因为政策可以随着政党的轮替而变化。但事实上则不然。越来越多的民主国家，无论是西方发达的民主还是发展中国家的民主，反对党不再是传统意义上的“忠诚”的反对党，而是为了反对而反对。在这样的情况下，具有实质性意义的政策变化变得非常困难。 　　中国则不然。如果西方式民主更多地表现为政权轮替，中国更多地表现为政策“轮替”。尽管中国社会经常抱怨执政党政策变化缓慢，但较之其它政体，中国的政策变革速度还是相当地快。只不过，在民主国家，人们可以互相推卸责任，而在中国，执政党具有不可推卸的责任。从1980年代到1990年代再到本世纪，中国实现了数次重大的政策转型。看不到执政党的政策动员能力，就很难理解中国这些年来的巨大变化。 　　当然，这并不是说，中国的制度不存在问题。相反，中国的制度面临很多非常严峻的挑战。想说明的一点是，包括西方式民主制度在内，所有制度都在面临挑战。任何一个制度，如果不能随着社会经济的变化而变化，就会发生危机。没有一个制度是终极的，可以终结世界历史。所有制度都要在变化中求生存和发展。 　　尽管中国的政治制度已经发生了很大的变化，但在很多方面仍然有巨大的改进和改善空间。但是要认识中国，并不能用任何西方的或者其它别的概念和理论来理解中国，用西方或者其它的价值来评判中国。如果这样，既无助于理解已经发生的变化，更无助于看到所存在问题的本质，要谈解决问题更不可能了。这一最简单不过的道理，却往往被人们有意无意地漠视。 　　作者为国大东亚所所长，文章仅代表个人看法

BARTLEBY, THE SCRIVENER.A STORY OF WALL-STREET.I am a rather elderly man. The nature of my avocations for the last thirty years has brought me into more than ordinary contact with what would seem an interesting and somewhat singular set of men, of whom as yet nothing that I know of has ever been written:—I mean the law-copyists or scriveners. I have known very many of them, professionally and privately, and if I pleased, could relate divers histories, at which good-natured gentlemen might smile, and sentimental souls might weep. But I waive the biographies of all other scriveners for a few passages in the life of Bartleby, who was a scrivener of the strangest I ever saw or heard of. While of other law-copyists I might write the complete life, of Bartleby nothing of that sort can be done. I believe that no materials exist for a full and satisfactory biography of this man. It is an irreparable loss to literature. Bartleby was one of those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable, except from the original sources, and in his case those are very small. What my own astonished eyes saw of Bartleby, that is all I know of him, except, indeed, one vague report which will appear in the sequel.Ere introducing the scrivener, as he first appeared to me, it is fit I make some mention of myself, my employees, my business, my chambers, and general surroundings; because some such description is indispensable to an adequate understanding of the chief character about to be presented.Imprimis: I am a man who, from his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best. Hence, though I belong to a profession proverbially energetic and nervous, even to turbulence, at times, yet nothing of that sort have I ever suffered to invade my peace. I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but in the cool tranquility of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men's bonds and mortgages and title-deeds. All who know me, consider me an eminently safe man. The late John Jacob Astor, a personage little given to poetic enthusiasm, had no hesitation in pronouncing my first grand point to be prudence; my next, method. I do not speak it in vanity, but simply record the fact, that I was not unemployed in my profession by the late John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I love to repeat, for it hath a rounded and orbicular sound to it, and rings like unto bullion. I will freely add, that I was not insensible to the late John Jacob Astor's good opinion.Some time prior to the period at which this little history begins, my avocations had been largely increased. The good old office, now extinct in the State of New York, of a Master in Chancery, had been conferred upon me. It was not a very arduous office, but very pleasantly remunerative. I seldom lose my temper; much more seldom indulge in dangerous indignation at wrongs and outrages; but I must be permitted to be rash here and declare, that I consider the sudden and violent abrogation of the office of Master in Chancery, by the new Constitution, as a—premature act; inasmuch as I had counted upon a life-lease of the profits, whereas I only received those of a few short years. But this is by the way.My chambers were up stairs at No.—Wall-street. At one end they looked upon the white wall of the interior of a spacious sky-light shaft, penetrating the building from top to bottom. This view might have been considered rather tame than otherwise, deficient in what landscape painters call "life." But if so, the view from the other end of my chambers offered, at least, a contrast, if nothing more. In that direction my windows commanded an unobstructed view of a lofty brick wall, black by age and everlasting shade; which wall required no spy-glass to bring out its lurking beauties, but for the benefit of all near-sighted spectators, was pushed up to within ten feet of my window panes. Owing to the great height of the surrounding buildings, and my chambers being on the second floor, the interval between this wall and mine not a little resembled a huge square cistern.At the period just preceding the advent of Bartleby, I had two persons as copyists in my employment, and a promising lad as an office-boy. First, Turkey; second, Nippers; third, Ginger Nut. These may seem names, the like of which are not usually found in the Directory. In truth they were nicknames, mutually conferred upon each other by my three clerks, and were deemed expressive of their respective persons or characters. Turkey was a short, pursy Englishman of about my own age, that is, somewhere not far from sixty. In the morning, one might say, his face was of a fine florid hue, but after twelve o'clock, meridian—his dinner hour—it blazed like a grate full of Christmas coals; and continued blazing—but, as it were, with a gradual wane—till 6 o'clock, P.M. or thereabouts, after which I saw no more of the proprietor of the face, which gaining its meridian with the sun, seemed to set with it, to rise, culminate, and decline the following day, with the like regularity and undiminished glory. There are many singular coincidences I have known in the course of my life, not the least among which was the fact, that exactly when Turkey displayed his fullest beams from his red and radiant countenance, just then, too, at that critical moment, began the daily period when I considered his business capacities as seriously disturbed for the remainder of the twenty-four hours. Not that he was absolutely idle, or averse to business then; far from it. The difficulty was, he was apt to be altogether too energetic. There was a strange, inflamed, flurried, flighty recklessness of activity about him. He would be incautious in dipping his pen into his inkstand. All his blots upon my documents, were dropped there after twelve o'clock, meridian. Indeed, not only would he be reckless and sadly given to making blots in the afternoon, but some days he went further, and was rather noisy. At such times, too, his face flamed with augmented blazonry, as if cannel coal had been heaped on anthracite. He made an unpleasant racket with his chair; spilled his sand-box; in mending his pens, impatiently split them all to pieces, and threw them on the floor in a sudden passion; stood up and leaned over his table, boxing his papers about in a most indecorous manner, very sad to behold in an elderly man like him. Nevertheless, as he was in many ways a most valuable person to me, and all the time before twelve o'clock, meridian, was the quickest, steadiest creature too, accomplishing a great deal of work in a style not easy to be matched—for these reasons, I was willing to overlook his eccentricities, though indeed, occasionally, I remonstrated with him. I did this very gently, however, because, though the civilest, nay, the blandest and most reverential of men in the morning, yet in the afternoon he was disposed, upon provocation, to be slightly rash with his tongue, in fact, insolent. Now, valuing his morning services as I did, and resolved not to lose them; yet, at the same time made uncomfortable by his inflamed ways after twelve o'clock; and being a man of peace, unwilling by my admonitions to call forth unseemly retorts from him; I took upon me, one Saturday noon (he was always worse on Saturdays), to hint to him, very kindly, that perhaps now that he was growing old, it might be well to abridge his labors; in short, he need not come to my chambers after twelve o'clock, but, dinner over, had best go home to his lodgings and rest himself till teatime. But no; he insisted upon his afternoon devotions. His countenance became intolerably fervid, as he oratorically assured me—gesticulating with a long ruler at the other end of the room—that if his services in the morning were useful, how indispensable, then, in the afternoon?"With submission, sir," said Turkey on this occasion, "I consider myself your right-hand man. In the morning I but marshal and deploy my columns; but in the afternoon I put myself at their head, and gallantly charge the foe, thus!"—and he made a violent thrust with the ruler."But the blots, Turkey," intimated I."True,—but, with submission, sir, behold these hairs! I am getting old. Surely, sir, a blot or two of a warm afternoon is not to be severely urged against gray hairs. Old age—even if it blot the page—is honorable. With submission, sir, we both are getting old."This appeal to my fellow-feeling was hardly to be resisted. At all events, I saw that go he would not. So I made up my mind to let him stay, resolving, nevertheless, to see to it, that during the afternoon he had to do with my less important papers.Nippers, the second on my list, was a whiskered, sallow, and, upon the whole, rather piratical-looking young man of about five and twenty. I always deemed him the victim of two evil powers—ambition and indigestion. The ambition was evinced by a certain impatience of the duties of a mere copyist, an unwarrantable usurpation of strictly professional affairs, such as the original drawing up of legal documents. The indigestion seemed betokened in an occasional nervous testiness and grinning irritability, causing the teeth to audibly grind together over mistakes committed in copying; unnecessary maledictions, hissed, rather than spoken, in the heat of business; and especially by a continual discontent with the height of the table where he worked. Though of a very ingenious mechanical turn, Nippers could never get this table to suit him. He put chips under it, blocks of various sorts, bits of pasteboard, and at last went so far as to attempt an exquisite adjustment by final pieces of folded blotting paper. But no invention would answer. If, for the sake of easing his back, he brought the table lid at a sharp angle well up towards his chin, and wrote there like a man using the steep roof of a Dutch house for his desk:—then he declared that it stopped the circulation in his arms. If now he lowered the table to his waistbands, and stooped over it in writing, then there was a sore aching in his back. In short, the truth of the matter was, Nippers knew not what he wanted. Or, if he wanted any thing, it was to be rid of a scrivener's table altogether. Among the manifestations of his diseased ambition was a fondness he had for receiving visits from certain ambiguous-looking fellows in seedy coats, whom he called his clients. Indeed I was aware that not only was he, at times, considerable of a ward-politician, but he occasionally did a little business at the Justices' courts, and was not unknown on the steps of the Tombs. I have good reason to believe, however, that one individual who called upon him at my chambers, and who, with a grand air, he insisted was his client, was no other than a dun, and the alleged title-deed, a bill. But with all his failings, and the annoyances he caused me, Nippers, like his compatriot Turkey, was a very useful man to me; wrote a neat, swift hand; and, when he chose, was not deficient in a gentlemanly sort of deportment. Added to this, he always dressed in a gentlemanly sort of way; and so, incidentally, reflected credit upon my chambers. Whereas with respect to Turkey, I had much ado to keep him from being a reproach to me. His clothes were apt to look oily and smell of eating-houses. He wore his pantaloons very loose and baggy in summer. His coats were execrable; his hat not to be handled. But while the hat was a thing of indifference to me, inasmuch as his natural civility and deference, as a dependent Englishman, always led him to doff it the moment he entered the room, yet his coat was another matter. Concerning his coats, I reasoned with him; but with no effect. The truth was, I suppose, that a man of so small an income, could not afford to sport such a lustrous face and a lustrous coat at one and the same time. As Nippers once observed, Turkey's money went chiefly for red ink. One winter day I presented Turkey with a highly-respectable looking coat of my own, a padded gray coat, of a most comfortable warmth, and which buttoned straight up from the knee to the neck. I thought Turkey would appreciate the favor, and abate his rashness and obstreperousness of afternoons. But no. I verily believe that buttoning himself up in so downy and blanket-like a coat had a pernicious effect upon him; upon the same principle that too much oats are bad for horses. In fact, precisely as a rash, restive horse is said to feel his oats, so Turkey felt his coat. It made him insolent. He was a man whom prosperity harmed.Though concerning the self-indulgent habits of Turkey I had my own private surmises, yet touching Nippers I was well persuaded that whatever might by his faults in other respects, he was, at least, a temperate young man. But indeed, nature herself seemed to have been his vintner, and at his birth charged him so thoroughly with an irritable, brandy-like disposition, that all subsequent potations were needless. When I consider how, amid the stillness of my chambers, Nippers would sometimes impatiently rise from his seat, and stooping over his table, spread his arms wide apart, seize the whole desk, and move it, and jerk it, with a grim, grinding motion on the floor, as if the table were a perverse voluntary agent, intent on thwarting and vexing him; I plainly perceive that for Nippers, brandy and water were altogether superfluous.It was fortunate for me that, owing to its peculiar cause—indigestion—the irritability and consequent nervousness of Nippers, were mainly observable in the morning, while in the afternoon he was comparatively mild. So that Turkey's paroxysms only coming on about twelve o'clock, I never had to do with their eccentricities at one time. Their fits relieved each other like guards. When Nippers' was on, Turkey's was off; and vice versa. This was a good natural arrangement under the circumstances.Ginger Nut, the third on my list, was a lad some twelve years old. His father was a carman, ambitious of seeing his son on the bench instead of a cart, before he died. So he sent him to my office as student at law, errand boy, and cleaner and sweeper, at the rate of one dollar a week. He had a little desk to himself, but he did not use it much. Upon inspection, the drawer exhibited a great array of the shells of various sorts of nuts. Indeed, to this quick-witted youth the whole noble science of the law was contained in a nut-shell. Not the least among the employments of Ginger Nut, as well as one which he discharged with the most alacrity, was his duty as cake and apple purveyor for Turkey and Nippers. Copying law papers being proverbially dry, husky sort of business, my two scriveners were fain to moisten their mouths very often with Spitzenbergs to be had at the numerous stalls nigh the Custom House and Post Office. Also, they sent Ginger Nut very frequently for that peculiar cake—small, flat, round, and very spicy—after which he had been named by them. Of a cold morning when business was but dull, Turkey would gobble up scores of these cakes, as if they were mere wafers—indeed they sell them at the rate of six or eight for a penny—the scrape of his pen blending with the crunching of the crisp particles in his mouth. Of all the fiery afternoon blunders and flurried rashnesses of Turkey, was his once moistening a ginger-cake between his lips, and clapping it on to a mortgage for a seal. I came within an ace of dismissing him then. But he mollified me by making an oriental bow, and saying—"With submission, sir, it was generous of me to find you in stationery on my own account."Now my original business—that of a conveyancer and title hunter, and drawer-up of recondite documents of all sorts—was considerably increased by receiving the master's office. There was now great work for scriveners. Not only must I push the clerks already with me, but I must have additional help. In answer to my advertisement, a motionless young man one morning, stood upon my office threshold, the door being open, for it was summer. I can see that figure now—pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby.After a few words touching his qualifications, I engaged him, glad to have among my corps of copyists a man of so singularly sedate an aspect, which I thought might operate beneficially upon the flighty temper of Turkey, and the fiery one of Nippers.I should have stated before that ground glass folding-doors divided my premises into two parts, one of which was occupied by my scriveners, the other by myself. According to my humor I threw open these doors, or closed them. I resolved to assign Bartleby a corner by the folding-doors, but on my side of them, so as to have this quiet man within easy call, in case any trifling thing was to be done. I placed his desk close up to a small side-window in that part of the room, a window which originally had afforded a lateral view of certain grimy back-yards and bricks, but which, owing to subsequent erections, commanded at present no view at all, though it gave some light. Within three feet of the panes was a wall, and the light came down from far above, between two lofty buildings, as from a very small opening in a dome. Still further to a satisfactory arrangement, I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice. And thus, in a manner, privacy and society were conjoined.At first Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sun-light and by candle-light. I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically.It is, of course, an indispensable part of a scrivener's business to verify the accuracy of his copy, word by word. Where there are two or more scriveners in an office, they assist each other in this examination, one reading from the copy, the other holding the original. It is a very dull, wearisome, and lethargic affair. I can readily imagine that to some sanguine temperaments it would be altogether intolerable. For example, I cannot credit that the mettlesome poet Byron would have contentedly sat down with Bartleby to examine a law document of, say five hundred pages, closely written in a crimpy hand.Now and then, in the haste of business, it had been my habit to assist in comparing some brief document myself, calling Turkey or Nippers for this purpose. One object I had in placing Bartleby so handy to me behind the screen, was to avail myself of his services on such trivial occasions. It was on the third day, I think, of his being with me, and before any necessity had arisen for having his own writing examined, that, being much hurried to complete a small affair I had in hand, I abruptly called to Bartleby. In my haste and natural expectancy of instant compliance, I sat with my head bent over the original on my desk, and my right hand sideways, and somewhat nervously extended with the copy, so that immediately upon emerging from his retreat, Bartleby might snatch it and proceed to business without the least delay.In this very attitude did I sit when I called to him, rapidly stating what it was I wanted him to do—namely, to examine a small paper with me. Imagine my surprise, nay, my consternation, when without moving from his privacy, Bartleby in a singularly mild, firm voice, replied, "I would prefer not to."I sat awhile in perfect silence, rallying my stunned faculties. Immediately it occurred to me that my ears had deceived me, or Bartleby had entirely misunderstood my meaning. I repeated my request in the clearest tone I could assume. But in quite as clear a one came the previous reply, "I would prefer not to.""Prefer not to," echoed I, rising in high excitement, and crossing the room with a stride. "What do you mean? Are you moon-struck? I want you to help me compare this sheet here—take it," and I thrust it towards him."I would prefer not to," said he.I looked at him steadfastly. His face was leanly composed; his gray eye dimly calm. Not a wrinkle of agitation rippled him. Had there been the least uneasiness, anger, impatience or impertinence in his manner; in other words, had there been any thing ordinarily human about him, doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises. But as it was, I should have as soon thought of turning my pale plaster-of-paris bust of Cicero out of doors. I stood gazing at him awhile, as he went on with his own writing, and then reseated myself at my desk. This is very strange, thought I. What had one best do? But my business hurried me. I concluded to forget the matter for the present, reserving it for my future leisure. So calling Nippers from the other room, the paper was speedily examined.A few days after this, Bartleby concluded four lengthy documents, being quadruplicates of a week's testimony taken before me in my High Court of Chancery. It became necessary to examine them. It was an important suit, and great accuracy was imperative. Having all things arranged I called Turkey, Nippers and Ginger Nut from the next room, meaning to place the four copies in the hands of my four clerks, while I should read from the original. Accordingly Turkey, Nippers and Ginger Nut had taken their seats in a row, each with his document in hand, when I called to Bartleby to join this interesting group."Bartleby! quick, I am waiting."I heard a slow scrape of his chair legs on the uncarpeted floor, and soon he appeared standing at the entrance of his hermitage."What is wanted?" said he mildly."The copies, the copies," said I hurriedly. "We are going to examine them. There"—and I held towards him the fourth quadruplicate."I would prefer not to," he said, and gently disappeared behind the screen.For a few moments I was turned into a pillar of salt, standing at the head of my seated column of clerks. Recovering myself, I advanced towards the screen, and demanded the reason for such extraordinary conduct."Why do you refuse?""I would prefer not to."With any other man I should have flown outright into a dreadful passion, scorned all further words, and thrust him ignominiously from my presence. But there was something about Bartleby that not only strangely disarmed me, but in a wonderful manner touched and disconcerted me. I began to reason with him."These are your own copies we are about to examine. It is labor saving to you, because one examination will answer for your four papers. It is common usage. Every copyist is bound to help examine his copy. Is it not so? Will you not speak? Answer!""I prefer not to," he replied in a flute-like tone. It seemed to me that while I had been addressing him, he carefully revolved every statement that I made; fully comprehended the meaning; could not gainsay the irresistible conclusions; but, at the same time, some paramount consideration prevailed with him to reply as he did."You are decided, then, not to comply with my request—a request made according to common usage and common sense?"He briefly gave me to understand that on that point my judgment was sound. Yes: his decision was irreversible.It is not seldom the case that when a man is browbeaten in some unprecedented and violently unreasonable way, he begins to stagger in his own plainest faith. He begins, as it were, vaguely to surmise that, wonderful as it may be, all the justice and all the reason is on the other side. Accordingly, if any disinterested persons are present, he turns to them for some reinforcement for his own faltering mind."Turkey," said I, "what do you think of this? Am I not right?""With submission, sir," said Turkey, with his blandest tone, "I think that you are.""Nippers," said I, "what do you think of it?""I think I should kick him out of the office."(The reader of nice perceptions will here perceive that, it being morning, Turkey's answer is couched in polite and tranquil terms, but Nippers replies in ill-tempered ones. Or, to repeat a previous sentence, Nippers' ugly mood was on duty and Turkey's off.)"Ginger Nut," said I, willing to enlist the smallest suffrage in my behalf, "what do you think of it?""I think, sir, he's a little luny," replied Ginger Nut with a grin."You hear what they say," said I, turning towards the screen, "come forth and do your duty."But he vouchsafed no reply. I pondered a moment in sore perplexity. But once more business hurried me. I determined again to postpone the consideration of this dilemma to my future leisure. With a little trouble we made out to examine the papers without Bartleby, though at every page or two, Turkey deferentially dropped his opinion that this proceeding was quite out of the common; while Nippers, twitching in his chair with a dyspeptic nervousness, ground out between his set teeth occasional hissing maledictions against the stubborn oaf behind the screen. And for his (Nippers') part, this was the first and the last time he would do another man's business without pay.Meanwhile Bartleby sat in his hermitage, oblivious to every thing but his own peculiar business there.Some days passed, the scrivener being employed upon another lengthy work. His late remarkable conduct led me to regard his ways narrowly. I observed that he never went to dinner; indeed that he never went any where. As yet I had never of my personal knowledge known him to be outside of my office. He was a perpetual sentry in the corner. At about eleven o'clock though, in the morning, I noticed that Ginger Nut would advance toward the opening in Bartleby's screen, as if silently beckoned thither by a gesture invisible to me where I sat. The boy would then leave the office jingling a few pence, and reappear with a handful of ginger-nuts which he delivered in the hermitage, receiving two of the cakes for his trouble.He lives, then, on ginger-nuts, thought I; never eats a dinner, properly speaking; he must be a vegetarian then; but no; he never eats even vegetables, he eats nothing but ginger-nuts. My mind then ran on in reveries concerning the probable effects upon the human constitution of living entirely on ginger-nuts. Ginger-nuts are so called because they contain ginger as one of their peculiar constituents, and the final flavoring one. Now what was ginger? A hot, spicy thing. Was Bartleby hot and spicy? Not at all. Ginger, then, had no effect upon Bartleby. Probably he preferred it should have none.Nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance. If the individual so resisted be of a not inhumane temper, and the resisting one perfectly harmless in his passivity; then, in the better moods of the former, he will endeavor charitably to construe to his imagination what proves impossible to be solved by his judgment. Even so, for the most part, I regarded Bartleby and his ways. Poor fellow! thought I, he means no mischief; it is plain he intends no insolence; his aspect sufficiently evinces that his eccentricities are involuntary. He is useful to me. I can get along with him. If I turn him away, the chances are he will fall in with some less indulgent employer, and then he will be rudely treated, and perhaps driven forth miserably to starve. Yes. Here I can cheaply purchase a delicious self-approval. To befriend Bartleby; to humor him in his strange willfulness, will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience. But this mood was not invariable with me. The passiveness of Bartleby sometimes irritated me. I felt strangely goaded on to encounter him in new opposition, to elicit some angry spark from him answerable to my own. But indeed I might as well have essayed to strike fire with my knuckles against a bit of Windsor soap. But one afternoon the evil impulse in me mastered me, and the following little scene ensued:"Bartleby," said I, "when those papers are all copied, I will compare them with you.""I would prefer not to.""How? Surely you do not mean to persist in that mulish vagary?"No answer.I threw open the folding-doors near by, and turning upon Turkey andNippers, exclaimed in an excited manner—"He says, a second time, he won't examine his papers. What do you think of it, Turkey?"It was afternoon, be it remembered. Turkey sat glowing like a brass boiler, his bald head steaming, his hands reeling among his blotted papers."Think of it?" roared Turkey; "I think I'll just step behind his screen, and black his eyes for him!"So saying, Turkey rose to his feet and threw his arms into a pugilistic position. He was hurrying away to make good his promise, when I detained him, alarmed at the effect of incautiously rousing Turkey's combativeness after dinner."Sit down, Turkey," said I, "and hear what Nippers has to say. What do you think of it, Nippers? Would I not be justified in immediately dismissing Bartleby?""Excuse me, that is for you to decide, sir. I think his conduct quite unusual, and indeed unjust, as regards Turkey and myself. But it may only be a passing whim.""Ah," exclaimed I, "you have strangely changed your mind then—you speak very gently of him now.""All beer," cried Turkey; "gentleness is effects of beer—Nippers and I dined together to-day. You see how gentle I am, sir. Shall I go and black his eyes?""You refer to Bartleby, I suppose. No, not to-day, Turkey," I replied; "pray, put up your fists."I closed the doors, and again advanced towards Bartleby. I felt additional incentives tempting me to my fate. I burned to be rebelled against again. I remembered that Bartleby never left the office."Bartleby," said I, "Ginger Nut is away; just step round to the Post Office, won't you? (it was but a three minute walk,) and see if there is any thing for me.""I would prefer not to.""You will not?""I prefer not."I staggered to my desk, and sat there in a deep study. My blind inveteracy returned. Was there any other thing in which I could procure myself to be ignominiously repulsed by this lean, penniless wight?—my hired clerk? What added thing is there, perfectly reasonable, that he will be sure to refuse to do?"Bartleby!"No answer."Bartleby," in a louder tone.No answer."Bartleby," I roared.Like a very ghost, agreeably to the laws of magical invocation, at the third summons, he appeared at the entrance of his hermitage."Go to the next room, and tell Nippers to come to me.""I prefer not to," he respectfully and slowly said, and mildly disappeared."Very good, Bartleby," said I, in a quiet sort of serenely severe self-possessed tone, intimating the unalterable purpose of some terrible retribution very close at hand. At the moment I half intended something of the kind. But upon the whole, as it was drawing towards my dinner-hour, I thought it best to put on my hat and walk home for the day, suffering much from perplexity and distress of mind.Shall I acknowledge it? The conclusion of this whole business was, that it soon became a fixed fact of my chambers, that a pale young scrivener, by the name of Bartleby, and a desk there; that he copied for me at the usual rate of four cents a folio (one hundred words); but he was permanently exempt from examining the work done by him, that duty being transferred to Turkey and Nippers, one of compliment doubtless to their superior acuteness; moreover, said Bartleby was never on any account to be dispatched on the most trivial errand of any sort; and that even if entreated to take upon him such a matter, it was generally understood that he would prefer not to—in other words, that he would refuse pointblank.As days passed on, I became considerably reconciled to Bartleby. His steadiness, his freedom from all dissipation, his incessant industry (except when he chose to throw himself into a standing revery behind his screen), his great, stillness, his unalterableness of demeanor under all circumstances, made him a valuable acquisition. One prime thing was this,—he was always there;—first in the morning, continually through the day, and the last at night. I had a singular confidence in his honesty. I felt my most precious papers perfectly safe in his hands. Sometimes to be sure I could not, for the very soul of me, avoid falling into sudden spasmodic passions with him. For it was exceeding difficult to bear in mind all the time those strange peculiarities, privileges, and unheard of exemptions, forming the tacit stipulations on Bartleby's part under which he remained in my office. Now and then, in the eagerness of dispatching pressing business, I would inadvertently summon Bartleby, in a short, rapid tone, to put his finger, say, on the incipient tie of a bit of red tape with which I was about compressing some papers. Of course, from behind the screen the usual answer, "I prefer not to," was sure to come; and then, how could a human creature with the common infirmities of our nature, refrain from bitterly exclaiming upon such perverseness—such unreasonableness. However, every added repulse of this sort which I received only tended to lessen the probability of my repeating the inadvertence.Here it must be said, that according to the custom of most legal gentlemen occupying chambers in densely-populated law buildings, there were several keys to my door. One was kept by a woman residing in the attic, which person weekly scrubbed and daily swept and dusted my apartments. Another was kept by Turkey for convenience sake. The third I sometimes carried in my own pocket. The fourth I knew not who had.Now, one Sunday morning I happened to go to Trinity Church, to hear a celebrated preacher, and finding myself rather early on the ground, I thought I would walk around to my chambers for a while. Luckily I had my key with me; but upon applying it to the lock, I found it resisted by something inserted from the inside. Quite surprised, I called out; when to my consternation a key was turned from within; and thrusting his lean visage at me, and holding the door ajar, the apparition of Bartleby appeared, in his shirt sleeves, and otherwise in a strangely tattered dishabille, saying quietly that he was sorry, but he was deeply engaged just then, and—preferred not admitting me at present. In a brief word or two, he moreover added, that perhaps I had better walk round the block two or three times, and by that time he would probably have concluded his affairs.Now, the utterly unsurmised appearance of Bartleby, tenanting my law-chambers of a Sunday morning, with his cadaverously gentlemanly nonchalance, yet withal firm and self-possessed, had such a strange effect upon me, that incontinently I slunk away from my own door, and did as desired. But not without sundry twinges of impotent rebellion against the mild effrontery of this unaccountable scrivener. Indeed, it was his wonderful mildness chiefly, which not only disarmed me, but unmanned me, as it were. For I consider that one, for the time, is a sort of unmanned when he tranquilly permits his hired clerk to dictate to him, and order him away from his own premises. Furthermore, I was full of uneasiness as to what Bartleby could possibly be doing in my office in his shirt sleeves, and in an otherwise dismantled condition of a Sunday morning. Was any thing amiss going on? Nay, that was out of the question. It was not to be thought of for a moment that Bartleby was an immoral person. But what could he be doing there?—copying? Nay again, whatever might be his eccentricities, Bartleby was an eminently decorous person. He would be the last man to sit down to his desk in any state approaching to nudity. Besides, it was Sunday; and there was something about Bartleby that forbade the supposition that he would by any secular occupation violate the proprieties of the day.Nevertheless, my mind was not pacified; and full of a restless curiosity, at last I returned to the door. Without hindrance I inserted my key, opened it, and entered. Bartleby was not to be seen. I looked round anxiously, peeped behind his screen; but it was very plain that he was gone. Upon more closely examining the place, I surmised that for an indefinite period Bartleby must have ate, dressed, and slept in my office, and that too without plate, mirror, or bed. The cushioned seat of a rickety old sofa in one corner bore the faint impress of a lean, reclining form. Rolled away under his desk, I found a blanket; under the empty grate, a blacking box and brush; on a chair, a tin basin, with soap and a ragged towel; in a newspaper a few crumbs of ginger-nuts and a morsel of cheese. Yes, thought I, it is evident enough that Bartleby has been making his home here, keeping bachelor's hall all by himself. Immediately then the thought came sweeping across me, What miserable friendlessness and loneliness are here revealed! His poverty is great; but his solitude, how horrible! Think of it. Of a Sunday, Wall-street is deserted as Petra; and every night of every day it is an emptiness. This building too, which of week-days hums with industry and life, at nightfall echoes with sheer vacancy, and all through Sunday is forlorn. And here Bartleby makes his home; sole spectator of a solitude which he has seen all populous—a sort of innocent and transformed Marius brooding among the ruins of Carthage!For the first time in my life a feeling of overpowering stinging melancholy seized me. Before, I had never experienced aught but a not-unpleasing sadness. The bond of a common humanity now drew me irresistibly to gloom. A fraternal melancholy! For both I and Bartleby were sons of Adam. I remembered the bright silks and sparkling faces I had seen that day, in gala trim, swan-like sailing down the Mississippi of Broadway; and I contrasted them with the pallid copyist, and thought to myself, Ah, happiness courts the light, so we deem the world is gay; but misery hides aloof, so we deem that misery there is none. These sad fancyings—chimeras, doubtless, of a sick and silly brain—led on to other and more special thoughts, concerning the eccentricities of Bartleby. Presentiments of strange discoveries hovered round me. The scrivener's pale form appeared to me laid out, among uncaring strangers, in its shivering winding sheet.Suddenly I was attracted by Bartleby's closed desk, the key in open sight left in the lock.I mean no mischief, seek the gratification of no heartless curiosity, thought I; besides, the desk is mine, and its contents too, so I will make bold to look within. Every thing was methodically arranged, the papers smoothly placed. The pigeon holes were deep, and removing the files of documents, I groped into their recesses. Presently I felt something there, and dragged it out. It was an old bandanna handkerchief, heavy and knotted. I opened it, and saw it was a savings' bank.I now recalled all the quiet mysteries which I had noted in the man. I remembered that he never spoke but to answer; that though at intervals he had considerable time to himself, yet I had never seen him reading—no, not even a newspaper; that for long periods he would stand looking out, at his pale window behind the screen, upon the dead brick wall; I was quite sure he never visited any refectory or eating house; while his pale face clearly indicated that he never drank beer like Turkey, or tea and coffee even, like other men; that he never went any where in particular that I could learn; never went out for a walk, unless indeed that was the case at present; that he had declined telling who he was, or whence he came, or whether he had any relatives in the world; that though so thin and pale, he never complained of ill health. And more than all, I remembered a certain unconscious air of pallid—how shall I call it?—of pallid haughtiness, say, or rather an austere reserve about him, which had positively awed me into my tame compliance with his eccentricities, when I had feared to ask him to do the slightest incidental thing for me, even though I might know, from his long-continued motionlessness, that behind his screen he must be standing in one of those dead-wall reveries of his.Revolving all these things, and coupling them with the recently discovered fact that he made my office his constant abiding place and home, and not forgetful of his morbid moodiness; revolving all these things, a prudential feeling began to steal over me. My first emotions had been those of pure melancholy and sincerest pity; but just in proportion as the forlornness of Bartleby grew and grew to my imagination, did that same melancholy merge into fear, that pity into repulsion. So true it is, and so terrible too, that up to a certain point the thought or sight of misery enlists our best affections; but, in certain special cases, beyond that point it does not. They err who would assert that invariably this is owing to the inherent selfishness of the human heart. It rather proceeds from a certain hopelessness of remedying excessive and organic ill. To a sensitive being, pity is not seldom pain. And when at last it is perceived that such pity cannot lead to effectual succor, common sense bids the soul rid of it. What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder. I might give alms to his body; but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach.I did not accomplish the purpose of going to Trinity Church that morning. Somehow, the things I had seen disqualified me for the time from church-going. I walked homeward, thinking what I would do with Bartleby. Finally, I resolved upon this;—I would put certain calm questions to him the next morning, touching his history, etc., and if he declined to answer them openly and unreservedly (and I supposed he would prefer not), then to give him a twenty dollar bill over and above whatever I might owe him, and tell him his services were no longer required; but that if in any other way I could assist him, I would be happy to do so, especially if he desired to return to his native place, wherever that might be, I would willingly help to defray the expenses. Moreover, if, after reaching home, he found himself at any time in want of aid, a letter from him would be sure of a reply.The next morning came."Bartleby," said I, gently calling to him behind his screen.No reply."Bartleby," said I, in a still gentler tone, "come here; I am not going to ask you to do any thing you would prefer not to do—I simply wish to speak to you."Upon this he noiselessly slid into view."Will you tell me, Bartleby, where you were born?""I would prefer not to.""Will you tell me any thing about yourself?""I would prefer not to.""But what reasonable objection can you have to speak to me? I feel friendly towards you."He did not look at me while I spoke, but kept his glance fixed upon my bust of Cicero, which as I then sat, was directly behind me, some six inches above my head."What is your answer, Bartleby?" said I, after waiting a considerable time for a reply, during which his countenance remained immovable, only there was the faintest conceivable tremor of the white attenuated mouth."At present I prefer to give no answer," he said, and retired into his hermitage.It was rather weak in me I confess, but his manner on this occasion nettled me. Not only did there seem to lurk in it a certain calm disdain, but his perverseness seemed ungrateful, considering the undeniable good usage and indulgence he had received from me.Again I sat ruminating what I should do. Mortified as I was at his behavior, and resolved as I had been to dismiss him when I entered my offices, nevertheless I strangely felt something superstitious knocking at my heart, and forbidding me to carry out my purpose, and denouncing me for a villain if I dared to breathe one bitter word against this forlornest of mankind. At last, familiarly drawing my chair behind his screen, I sat down and said: "Bartleby, never mind then about revealing your history; but let me entreat you, as a friend, to comply as far as may be with the usages of this office. Say now you will help to examine papers to-morrow or next day: in short, say now that in a day or two you will begin to be a little reasonable:—say so, Bartleby.""At present I would prefer not to be a little reasonable," was his mildly cadaverous reply.Just then the folding-doors opened, and Nippers approached. He seemed suffering from an unusually bad night's rest, induced by severer indigestion then common. He overheard those final words of Bartleby."Prefer not, eh?" gritted Nippers—"I'd prefer him, if I were you, sir," addressing me—"I'd prefer him; I'd give him preferences, the stubborn mule! What is it, sir, pray, that he prefers not to do now?"Bartleby moved not a limb."Mr. Nippers," said I, "I'd prefer that you would withdraw for the present."Somehow, of late I had got into the way of involuntarily using this word "prefer" upon all sorts of not exactly suitable occasions. And I trembled to think that my contact with the scrivener had already and seriously affected me in a mental way. And what further and deeper aberration might it not yet produce? This apprehension had not been without efficacy in determining me to summary means.As Nippers, looking very sour and sulky, was departing, Turkey blandly and deferentially approached."With submission, sir," said he, "yesterday I was thinking about Bartleby here, and I think that if he would but prefer to take a quart of good ale every day, it would do much towards mending him, and enabling him to assist in examining his papers.""So you have got the word too," said I, slightly excited."With submission, what word, sir," asked Turkey, respectfully crowding himself into the contracted space behind the screen, and by so doing, making me jostle the scrivener. "What word, sir?""I would prefer to be left alone here," said Bartleby, as if offended at being mobbed in his privacy."That's the word, Turkey," said I—"that's it.""Oh, prefer? oh yes—queer word. I never use it myself. But, sir, asI was saying, if he would but prefer—""Turkey," interrupted I, "you will please withdraw.""Oh certainly, sir, if you prefer that I should."As he opened the folding-door to retire, Nippers at his desk caught a glimpse of me, and asked whether I would prefer to have a certain paper copied on blue paper or white. He did not in the least roguishly accent the word prefer. It was plain that it involuntarily rolled form his tongue. I thought to myself, surely I must get rid of a demented man, who already has in some degree turned the tongues, if not the heads of myself and clerks. But I thought it prudent not to break the dismission at once.The next day I noticed that Bartleby did nothing but stand at his window in his dead-wall revery. Upon asking him why he did not write, he said that he had decided upon doing no more writing."Why, how now? what next?" exclaimed I, "do no more writing?""No more.""And what is the reason?""Do you not see the reason for yourself," he indifferently replied.I looked steadfastly at him, and perceived that his eyes looked dull and glazed. Instantly it occurred to me, that his unexampled diligence in copying by his dim window for the first few weeks of his stay with me might have temporarily impaired his vision.I was touched. I said something in condolence with him. I hinted that of course he did wisely in abstaining from writing for a while; and urged him to embrace that opportunity of taking wholesome exercise in the open air. This, however, he did not do. A few days after this, my other clerks being absent, and being in a great hurry to dispatch certain letters by the mail, I thought that, having nothing else earthly to do, Bartleby would surely be less inflexible than usual, and carry these letters to the post-office. But he blankly declined. So, much to my inconvenience, I went myself.Still added days went by. Whether Bartleby's eyes improved or not, I could not say. To all appearance, I thought they did. But when I asked him if they did, he vouchsafed no answer. At all events, he would do no copying. At last, in reply to my urgings, he informed me that he had permanently given up copying."What!" exclaimed I; "suppose your eyes should get entirely well—better than ever before—would you not copy then?""I have given up copying," he answered, and slid aside.He remained as ever, a fixture in my chamber. Nay—if that were possible—he became still more of a fixture than before. What was to be done? He would do nothing in the office: why should he stay there? In plain fact, he had now become a millstone to me, not only useless as a necklace, but afflictive to bear. Yet I was sorry for him. I speak less than truth when I say that, on his own account, he occasioned me uneasiness. If he would but have named a single relative or friend, I would instantly have written, and urged their taking the poor fellow away to some convenient retreat. But he seemed alone, absolutely alone in the universe. A bit of wreck in the mid Atlantic. At length, necessities connected with my business tyrannized over all other considerations. Decently as I could, I told Bartleby that in six days' time he must unconditionally leave the office. I warned him to take measures, in the interval, for procuring some other abode. I offered to assist him in this endeavor, if he himself would but take the first step towards a removal. "And when you finally quit me, Bartleby," added I, "I shall see that you go not away entirely unprovided. Six days from this hour, remember."At the expiration of that period, I peeped behind the screen, and lo!Bartleby was there.I buttoned up my coat, balanced myself; advanced slowly towards him, touched his shoulder, and said, "The time has come; you must quit this place; I am sorry for you; here is money; but you must go.""I would prefer not," he replied, with his back still towards me."You must."He remained silent.Now I had an unbounded confidence in this man's common honesty. He had frequently restored to me sixpences and shillings carelessly dropped upon the floor, for I am apt to be very reckless in such shirt-button affairs. The proceeding then which followed will not be deemed extraordinary."Bartleby," said I, "I owe you twelve dollars on account; here are thirty-two; the odd twenty are yours.—Will you take it?" and I handed the bills towards him.But he made no motion."I will leave them here then," putting them under a weight on the table. Then taking my hat and cane and going to the door I tranquilly turned and added—"After you have removed your things from these offices, Bartleby, you will of course lock the door—since every one is now gone for the day but you—and if you please, slip your key underneath the mat, so that I may have it in the morning. I shall not see you again; so good-bye to you. If hereafter in your new place of abode I can be of any service to you, do not fail to advise me by letter. Good-bye, Bartleby, and fare you well."But he answered not a word; like the last column of some ruined temple, he remained standing mute and solitary in the middle of the otherwise deserted room.As I walked home in a pensive mood, my vanity got the better of my pity. I could not but highly plume myself on my masterly management in getting rid of Bartleby. Masterly I call it, and such it must appear to any dispassionate thinker. The beauty of my procedure seemed to consist in its perfect quietness. There was no vulgar bullying, no bravado of any sort, no choleric hectoring, and striding to and fro across the apartment, jerking out vehement commands for Bartleby to bundle himself off with his beggarly traps. Nothing of the kind. Without loudly bidding Bartleby depart—as an inferior genius might have done—I assumed the ground that depart he must; and upon that assumption built all I had to say. The more I thought over my procedure, the more I was charmed with it. Nevertheless, next morning, upon awakening, I had my doubts,—I had somehow slept off the fumes of vanity. One of the coolest and wisest hours a man has, is just after he awakes in the morning. My procedure seemed as sagacious as ever.—but only in theory. How it would prove in practice—there was the rub. It was truly a beautiful thought to have assumed Bartleby's departure; but, after all, that assumption was simply my own, and none of Bartleby's. The great point was, not whether I had assumed that he would quit me, but whether he would prefer so to do. He was more a man of preferences than assumptions.After breakfast, I walked down town, arguing the probabilities pro and con. One moment I thought it would prove a miserable failure, and Bartleby would be found all alive at my office as usual; the next moment it seemed certain that I should see his chair empty. And so I kept veering about. At the corner of Broadway and Canal-street, I saw quite an excited group of people standing in earnest conversation."I'll take odds he doesn't," said a voice as I passed."Doesn't go?—done!" said I, "put up your money."I was instinctively putting my hand in my pocket to produce my own, when I remembered that this was an election day. The words I had overheard bore no reference to Bartleby, but to the success or non-success of some candidate for the mayoralty. In my intent frame of mind, I had, as it were, imagined that all Broadway shared in my excitement, and were debating the same question with me. I passed on, very thankful that the uproar of the street screened my momentary absent-mindedness.As I had intended, I was earlier than usual at my office door. I stood listening for a moment. All was still. He must be gone. I tried the knob. The door was locked. Yes, my procedure had worked to a charm; he indeed must be vanished. Yet a certain melancholy mixed with this: I was almost sorry for my brilliant success. I was fumbling under the door mat for the key, which Bartleby was to have left there for me, when accidentally my knee knocked against a panel, producing a summoning sound, and in response a voice came to me from within—"Not yet; I am occupied."It was Bartleby.I was thunderstruck. For an instant I stood like the man who, pipe in mouth, was killed one cloudless afternoon long ago in Virginia, by a summer lightning; at his own warm open window he was killed, and remained leaning out there upon the dreamy afternoon, till some one touched him, when he fell."Not gone!" I murmured at last. But again obeying that wondrous ascendancy which the inscrutable scrivener had over me, and from which ascendancy, for all my chafing, I could not completely escape, I slowly went down stairs and out into the street, and while walking round the block, considered what I should next do in this unheard-of perplexity. Turn the man out by an actual thrusting I could not; to drive him away by calling him hard names would not do; calling in the police was an unpleasant idea; and yet, permit him to enjoy his cadaverous triumph over me,—this too I could not think of. What was to be done? or, if nothing could be done, was there any thing further that I could assume in the matter? Yes, as before I had prospectively assumed that Bartleby would depart, so now I might retrospectively assume that departed he was. In the legitimate carrying out of this assumption, I might enter my office in a great hurry, and pretending not to see Bartleby at all, walk straight against him as if he were air. Such a proceeding would in a singular degree have the appearance of a home-thrust. It was hardly possible that Bartleby could withstand such an application of the doctrine of assumptions. But upon second thoughts the success of the plan seemed rather dubious. I resolved to argue the matter over with him again."Bartleby," said I, entering the office, with a quietly severe expression, "I am seriously displeased. I am pained, Bartleby. I had thought better of you. I had imagined you of such a gentlemanly organization, that in any delicate dilemma a slight hint would have suffice—in short, an assumption. But it appears I am deceived. Why," I added, unaffectedly starting, "you have not even touched that money yet," pointing to it, just where I had left it the evening previous.He answered nothing."Will you, or will you not, quit me?" I now demanded in a sudden passion, advancing close to him."I would prefer not to quit you," he replied, gently emphasizing the not."What earthly right have you to stay here? Do you pay any rent? Do you pay my taxes? Or is this property yours?"He answered nothing."Are you ready to go on and write now? Are your eyes recovered? Could you copy a small paper for me this morning? or help examine a few lines? or step round to the post-office? In a word, will you do any thing at all, to give a coloring to your refusal to depart the premises?"He silently retired into his hermitage.I was now in such a state of nervous resentment that I thought it but prudent to check myself at present from further demonstrations. Bartleby and I were alone. I remembered the tragedy of the unfortunate Adams and the still more unfortunate Colt in the solitary office of the latter; and how poor Colt, being dreadfully incensed by Adams, and imprudently permitting himself to get wildly excited, was at unawares hurried into his fatal act—an act which certainly no man could possibly deplore more than the actor himself. Often it had occurred to me in my ponderings upon the subject, that had that altercation taken place in the public street, or at a private residence, it would not have terminated as it did. It was the circumstance of being alone in a solitary office, up stairs, of a building entirely unhallowed by humanizing domestic associations—an uncarpeted office, doubtless, of a dusty, haggard sort of appearance;—this it must have been, which greatly helped to enhance the irritable desperation of the hapless Colt.But when this old Adam of resentment rose in me and tempted me concerning Bartleby, I grappled him and threw him. How? Why, simply by recalling the divine injunction: "A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another." Yes, this it was that saved me. Aside from higher considerations, charity often operates as a vastly wise and prudent principle—a great safeguard to its possessor. Men have committed murder for jealousy's sake, and anger's sake, and hatred's sake, and selfishness' sake, and spiritual pride's sake; but no man that ever I heard of, ever committed a diabolical murder for sweet charity's sake. Mere self-interest, then, if no better motive can be enlisted, should, especially with high-tempered men, prompt all beings to charity and philanthropy. At any rate, upon the occasion in question, I strove to drown my exasperated feelings towards the scrivener by benevolently construing his conduct. Poor fellow, poor fellow! thought I, he don't mean any thing; and besides, he has seen hard times, and ought to be indulged.I endeavored also immediately to occupy myself, and at the same time to comfort my despondency. I tried to fancy that in the course of the morning, at such time as might prove agreeable to him. Bartleby, of his own free accord, would emerge from his hermitage, and take up some decided line of march in the direction of the door. But no. Half-past twelve o'clock came; Turkey began to glow in the face, overturn his inkstand, and become generally obstreperous; Nippers abated down into quietude and courtesy; Ginger Nut munched his noon apple; and Bartleby remained standing at his window in one of his profoundest dead-wall reveries. Will it be credited? Ought I to acknowledge it? That afternoon I left the office without saying one further word to him.Some days now passed, during which, at leisure intervals I looked a little into "Edwards on the Will," and "Priestly on Necessity." Under the circumstances, those books induced a salutary feeling. Gradually I slid into the persuasion that these troubles of mine touching the scrivener, had been all predestinated from eternity, and Bartleby was billeted upon me for some mysterious purpose of an all-wise Providence, which it was not for a mere mortal like me to fathom. Yes, Bartleby, stay there behind your screen, thought I; I shall persecute you no more; you are harmless and noiseless as any of these old chairs; in short, I never feel so private as when I know you are here. At last I see it, I feel it; I penetrate to the predestinated purpose of my life. I am content. Others may have loftier parts to enact; but my mission in this world, Bartleby, is to furnish you with office-room for such period as you may see fit to remain.I believe that this wise and blessed frame of mind would have continued with me, had it not been for the unsolicited and uncharitable remarks obtruded upon me by my professional friends who visited the rooms. But thus it often is, that the constant friction of illiberal minds wears out at last the best resolves of the more generous. Though to be sure, when I reflected upon it, it was not strange that people entering my office should be struck by the peculiar aspect of the unaccountable Bartleby, and so be tempted to throw out some sinister observations concerning him. Sometimes an attorney having business with me, and calling at my office and finding no one but the scrivener there, would undertake to obtain some sort of precise information from him touching my whereabouts; but without heeding his idle talk, Bartleby would remain standing immovable in the middle of the room. So after contemplating him in that position for a time, the attorney would depart, no wiser than he came.Also, when a Reference was going on, and the room full of lawyers and witnesses and business was driving fast; some deeply occupied legal gentleman present, seeing Bartleby wholly unemployed, would request him to run round to his (the legal gentleman's) office and fetch some papers for him. Thereupon, Bartleby would tranquilly decline, and yet remain idle as before. Then the lawyer would give a great stare, and turn to me. And what could I say? At last I was made aware that all through the circle of my professional acquaintance, a whisper of wonder was running round, having reference to the strange creature I kept at my office. This worried me very much. And as the idea came upon me of his possibly turning out a long-lived man, and keep occupying my chambers, and denying my authority; and perplexing my visitors; and scandalizing my professional reputation; and casting a general gloom over the premises; keeping soul and body together to the last upon his savings (for doubtless he spent but half a dime a day), and in the end perhaps outlive me, and claim possession of my office by right of his perpetual occupancy: as all these dark anticipations crowded upon me more and more, and my friends continually intruded their relentless remarks upon the apparition in my room; a great change was wrought in me. I resolved to gather all my faculties together, and for ever rid me of this intolerable incubus.Ere revolving any complicated project, however, adapted to this end, I first simply suggested to Bartleby the propriety of his permanent departure. In a calm and serious tone, I commended the idea to his careful and mature consideration. But having taken three days to meditate upon it, he apprised me that his original determination remained the same in short, that he still preferred to abide with me.What shall I do? I now said to myself, buttoning up my coat to the last button. What shall I do? what ought I to do? what does conscience say I should do with this man, or rather ghost. Rid myself of him, I must; go, he shall. But how? You will not thrust him, the poor, pale, passive mortal,—you will not thrust such a helpless creature out of your door? you will not dishonor yourself by such cruelty? No, I will not, I cannot do that. Rather would I let him live and die here, and then mason up his remains in the wall. What then will you do? For all your coaxing, he will not budge. Bribes he leaves under your own paperweight on your table; in short, it is quite plain that he prefers to cling to you.Then something severe, something unusual must be done. What! surely you will not have him collared by a constable, and commit his innocent pallor to the common jail? And upon what ground could you procure such a thing to be done?—a vagrant, is he? What! he a vagrant, a wanderer, who refuses to budge? It is because he will not be a vagrant, then, that you seek to count him as a vagrant. That is too absurd. No visible means of support: there I have him. Wrong again: for indubitably he does support himself, and that is the only unanswerable proof that any man can show of his possessing the means so to do. No more then. Since he will not quit me, I must quit him. I will change my offices; I will move elsewhere; and give him fair notice, that if I find him on my new premises I will then proceed against him as a common trespasser.Acting accordingly, next day I thus addressed him: "I find these chambers too far from the City Hall; the air is unwholesome. In a word, I propose to remove my offices next week, and shall no longer require your services. I tell you this now, in order that you may seek another place."He made no reply, and nothing more was said.On the appointed day I engaged carts and men, proceeded to my chambers, and having but little furniture, every thing was removed in a few hours. Throughout, the scrivener remained standing behind the screen, which I directed to be removed the last thing. It was withdrawn; and being folded up like a huge folio, left him the motionless occupant of a naked room. I stood in the entry watching him a moment, while something from within me upbraided me.I re-entered, with my hand in my pocket—and—and my heart in my mouth."Good-bye, Bartleby; I am going—good-bye, and God some way bless you; and take that," slipping something in his hand. But it dropped upon the floor, and then,—strange to say—I tore myself from him whom I had so longed to be rid of.Established in my new quarters, for a day or two I kept the door locked, and started at every footfall in the passages. When I returned to my rooms after any little absence, I would pause at the threshold for an instant, and attentively listen, ere applying my key. But these fears were needless. Bartleby never came nigh me.I thought all was going well, when a perturbed looking stranger visited me, inquiring whether I was the person who had recently occupied rooms at No.—Wall-street.Full of forebodings, I replied that I was."Then sir," said the stranger, who proved a lawyer, "you are responsible for the man you left there. He refuses to do any copying; he refuses to do any thing; he says he prefers not to; and he refuses to quit the premises.""I am very sorry, sir," said I, with assumed tranquility, but an inward tremor, "but, really, the man you allude to is nothing to me—he is no relation or apprentice of mine, that you should hold me responsible for him.""In mercy's name, who is he?""I certainly cannot inform you. I know nothing about him. Formerly I employed him as a copyist; but he has done nothing for me now for some time past.""I shall settle him then,—good morning, sir."Several days passed, and I heard nothing more; and though I often felt a charitable prompting to call at the place and see poor Bartleby, yet a certain squeamishness of I know not what withheld me.All is over with him, by this time, thought I at last, when through another week no further intelligence reached me. But coming to my room the day after, I found several persons waiting at my door in a high state of nervous excitement."That's the man—here he comes," cried the foremost one, whom I recognized as the lawyer who had previously called upon me alone."You must take him away, sir, at once," cried a portly person among them, advancing upon me, and whom I knew to be the landlord of No.—Wall-street. "These gentlemen, my tenants, cannot stand it any longer; Mr. B—" pointing to the lawyer, "has turned him out of his room, and he now persists in haunting the building generally, sitting upon the banisters of the stairs by day, and sleeping in the entry by night. Every body is concerned; clients are leaving the offices; some fears are entertained of a mob; something you must do, and that without delay."Aghast at this torrent, I fell back before it, and would fain have locked myself in my new quarters. In vain I persisted that Bartleby was nothing to me—no more than to any one else. In vain:—I was the last person known to have any thing to do with him, and they held me to the terrible account. Fearful then of being exposed in the papers (as one person present obscurely threatened) I considered the matter, and at length said, that if the lawyer would give me a confidential interview with the scrivener, in his (the lawyer's) own room, I would that afternoon strive my best to rid them of the nuisance they complained of.Going up stairs to my old haunt, there was Bartleby silently sitting upon the banister at the landing."What are you doing here, Bartleby?" said I."Sitting upon the banister," he mildly replied.I motioned him into the lawyer's room, who then left us."Bartleby," said I, "are you aware that you are the cause of great tribulation to me, by persisting in occupying the entry after being dismissed from the office?"No answer."Now one of two things must take place. Either you must do something, or something must be done to you. Now what sort of business would you like to engage in? Would you like to re-engage in copying for some one?""No; I would prefer not to make any change.""Would you like a clerkship in a dry-goods store?""There is too much confinement about that. No, I would not like a clerkship; but I am not particular.""Too much confinement," I cried, "why you keep yourself confined all the time!""I would prefer not to take a clerkship," he rejoined, as if to settle that little item at once."How would a bar-tender's business suit you? There is no trying of the eyesight in that.""I would not like it at all; though, as I said before, I am not particular."His unwonted wordiness inspirited me. I returned to the charge."Well then, would you like to travel through the country collecting bills for the merchants? That would improve your health.""No, I would prefer to be doing something else.""How then would going as a companion to Europe, to entertain some young gentleman with your conversation,—how would that suit you?""Not at all. It does not strike me that there is any thing definite about that. I like to be stationary. But I am not particular.""Stationary you shall be then," I cried, now losing all patience, and for the first time in all my exasperating connection with him fairly flying into a passion. "If you do not go away from these premises before night, I shall feel bound—indeed I am bound—to—to—to quit the premises myself!" I rather absurdly concluded, knowing not with what possible threat to try to frighten his immobility into compliance. Despairing of all further efforts, I was precipitately leaving him, when a final thought occurred to me—one which had not been wholly unindulged before."Bartleby," said I, in the kindest tone I could assume under such exciting circumstances, "will you go home with me now—not to my office, but my dwelling—and remain there till we can conclude upon some convenient arrangement for you at our leisure? Come, let us start now, right away.""No: at present I would prefer not to make any change at all."I answered nothing; but effectually dodging every one by the suddenness and rapidity of my flight, rushed from the building, ran up Wall-street towards Broadway, and jumping into the first omnibus was soon removed from pursuit. As soon as tranquility returned I distinctly perceived that I had now done all that I possibly could, both in respect to the demands of the landlord and his tenants, and with regard to my own desire and sense of duty, to benefit Bartleby, and shield him from rude persecution. I now strove to be entirely care-free and quiescent; and my conscience justified me in the attempt; though indeed it was not so successful as I could have wished. So fearful was I of being again hunted out by the incensed landlord and his exasperated tenants, that, surrendering my business to Nippers, for a few days I drove about the upper part of the town and through the suburbs, in my rockaway; crossed over to Jersey City and Hoboken, and paid fugitive visits to Manhattanville and Astoria. In fact I almost lived in my rockaway for the time.When again I entered my office, lo, a note from the landlord lay upon the desk. I opened it with trembling hands. It informed me that the writer had sent to the police, and had Bartleby removed to the Tombs as a vagrant. Moreover, since I knew more about him than any one else, he wished me to appear at that place, and make a suitable statement of the facts. These tidings had a conflicting effect upon me. At first I was indignant; but at last almost approved. The landlord's energetic, summary disposition had led him to adopt a procedure which I do not think I would have decided upon myself; and yet as a last resort, under such peculiar circumstances, it seemed the only plan.As I afterwards learned, the poor scrivener, when told that he must be conducted to the Tombs, offered not the slightest obstacle, but in his pale unmoving way, silently acquiesced.Some of the compassionate and curious bystanders joined the party; and headed by one of the constables arm in arm with Bartleby, the silent procession filed its way through all the noise, and heat, and joy of the roaring thoroughfares at noon.The same day I received the note I went to the Tombs, or to speak more properly, the Halls of Justice. Seeking the right officer, I stated the purpose of my call, and was informed that the individual I described was indeed within. I then assured the functionary that Bartleby was a perfectly honest man, and greatly to be compassionated, however unaccountably eccentric. I narrated all I knew, and closed by suggesting the idea of letting him remain in as indulgent confinement as possible till something less harsh might be done—though indeed I hardly knew what. At all events, if nothing else could be decided upon, the alms-house must receive him. I then begged to have an interview.Being under no disgraceful charge, and quite serene and harmless in all his ways, they had permitted him freely to wander about the prison, and especially in the inclosed grass-platted yard thereof. And so I found him there, standing all alone in the quietest of the yards, his face towards a high wall, while all around, from the narrow slits of the jail windows, I thought I saw peering out upon him the eyes of murderers and thieves."Bartleby!""I know you," he said, without looking round,—"and I want nothing to say to you.""It was not I that brought you here, Bartleby," said I, keenly pained at his implied suspicion. "And to you, this should not be so vile a place. Nothing reproachful attaches to you by being here. And see, it is not so sad a place as one might think. Look, there is the sky, and here is the grass.""I know where I am," he replied, but would say nothing more, and so I left him.As I entered the corridor again, a broad meat-like man, in an apron, accosted me, and jerking his thumb over his shoulder said—"Is that your friend?""Yes.""Does he want to starve? If he does, let him live on the prison fare, that's all.""Who are you?" asked I, not knowing what to make of such an unofficially speaking person in such a place."I am the grub-man. Such gentlemen as have friends here, hire me to provide them with something good to eat.""Is this so?" said I, turning to the turnkey.He said it was."Well then," said I, slipping some silver into the grub-man's hands (for so they called him). "I want you to give particular attention to my friend there; let him have the best dinner you can get. And you must be as polite to him as possible.""Introduce me, will you?" said the grub-man, looking at me with an expression which seem to say he was all impatience for an opportunity to give a specimen of his breeding.Thinking it would prove of benefit to the scrivener, I acquiesced; and asking the grub-man his name, went up with him to Bartleby."Bartleby, this is Mr. Cutlets; you will find him very useful to you.""Your sarvant, sir, your sarvant," said the grub-man, making a low salutation behind his apron. "Hope you find it pleasant here, sir;—spacious grounds—cool apartments, sir—hope you'll stay with us some time—try to make it agreeable. May Mrs. Cutlets and I have the pleasure of your company to dinner, sir, in Mrs. Cutlets' private room?""I prefer not to dine to-day," said Bartleby, turning away. "It would disagree with me; I am unused to dinners." So saying he slowly moved to the other side of the inclosure, and took up a position fronting the dead-wall."How's this?" said the grub-man, addressing me with a stare of astonishment. "He's odd, aint he?""I think he is a little deranged," said I, sadly."Deranged? deranged is it? Well now, upon my word, I thought that friend of yourn was a gentleman forger; they are always pale and genteel-like, them forgers. I can't pity'em—can't help it, sir. Did you know Monroe Edwards?" he added touchingly, and paused. Then, laying his hand pityingly on my shoulder, sighed, "he died of consumption at Sing-Sing. So you weren't acquainted with Monroe?""No, I was never socially acquainted with any forgers. But I cannot stop longer. Look to my friend yonder. You will not lose by it. I will see you again."Some few days after this, I again obtained admission to the Tombs, and went through the corridors in quest of Bartleby; but without finding him."I saw him coming from his cell not long ago," said a turnkey, "may be he's gone to loiter in the yards."So I went in that direction."Are you looking for the silent man?" said another turnkey passing me. "Yonder he lies—sleeping in the yard there. 'Tis not twenty minutes since I saw him lie down."The yard was entirely quiet. It was not accessible to the common prisoners. The surrounding walls, of amazing thickness, kept off all sounds behind them. The Egyptian character of the masonry weighed upon me with its gloom. But a soft imprisoned turf grew under foot. The heart of the eternal pyramids, it seemed, wherein, by some strange magic, through the clefts, grass-seed, dropped by birds, had sprung.Strangely huddled at the base of the wall, his knees drawn up, and lying on his side, his head touching the cold stones, I saw the wasted Bartleby. But nothing stirred. I paused; then went close up to him; stooped over, and saw that his dim eyes were open; otherwise he seemed profoundly sleeping. Something prompted me to touch him. I felt his hand, when a tingling shiver ran up my arm and down my spine to my feet.The round face of the grub-man peered upon me now. "His dinner is ready. Won't he dine to-day, either? Or does he live without dining?""Lives without dining," said I, and closed his eyes."Eh!—He's asleep, aint he?""With kings and counselors," murmured I.* * * * * * * *There would seem little need for proceeding further in this history. Imagination will readily supply the meager recital of poor Bartleby's interment. But ere parting with the reader, let me say, that if this little narrative has sufficiently interested him, to awaken curiosity as to who Bartleby was, and what manner of life he led prior to the present narrator's making his acquaintance, I can only reply, that in such curiosity I fully share, but am wholly unable to gratify it. Yet here I hardly know whether I should divulge one little item of rumor, which came to my ear a few months after the scrivener's decease. Upon what basis it rested, I could never ascertain; and hence, how true it is I cannot now tell. But inasmuch as this vague report has not been without certain strange suggestive interest to me, however sad, it may prove the same with some others; and so I will briefly mention it. The report was this: that Bartleby had been a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letter Office at Washington, from which he had been suddenly removed by a change in the administration. When I think over this rumor, I cannot adequately express the emotions which seize me. Dead letters! does it not sound like dead men? Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitted to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letters, and assorting them for the flames? For by the cart-load they are annually burned. Sometimes from out the folded paper the pale clerk takes a ring:—the finger it was meant for, perhaps, moulders in the grave; a bank-note sent in swiftest charity:—he whom it would relieve, nor eats nor hungers any more; pardon for those who died despairing; hope for those who died unhoping; good tidings for those who died stifled by unrelieved calamities. On errands of life, these letters speed to death.Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity! End of Project Gutenberg's Bartleby, The Scrivener, by Herman Melville*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARTLEBY, THE SCRIVENER ***This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net 

我们不同意於龙女士的，最终还是在於她虽然在区域间说话，但并没有促进区域间的对话，反而以一种吊诡的修辞，增设了区域间的壁垒。

　半年在海南,为海南省文联主席的职务尽责；半年在湖南汨罗乡下,和三亩地里的动植物相处,韩少功的生活,被分成了这“著名”的两块。在讲座和专访中,他也从文学说到自己的生活,说到全中国的“大师焦虑症”和“文化大跃进”。

齐泽克说，庄子梦蝶的例子说明了一个拉康原理："只有在梦中， 我们才接近令人警醒之真，就是说，接近我们真实的欲望。"可是，我们不能简单地倒过来说，因为幻象支撑现实，故现实生活不过是一场梦。拉康的观点是与此相反的，在晚年他已经意识到，在象征化的过程中，"永远存在一个抵抗性的硬核和剩余，它不能被还原为一种普遍的幻觉之镜射（illusory mirroring）的游戏"。

本文初稿曾刊《燕京学报》第十六期。其后获见英法所藏若干新材料，用将旧稿整理重写一过。一九四○年五月向达谨记于昆明。

1872年12月24日，《申报》第一次报道"Christmas"时只说它是"耶稣诞日"，在次年的报道中则称之为"西国冬至"。20世纪20年代以后，"圣诞节"才成为较为固定的中文节名。吴承仕认为，"圣诞节"这三个字是染着中国这个弱小民族的血写成的，换言之，耶稣圣诞节也象征着中华民族所遭受的压迫。

从世界历史来看，改制共和的问题非常复杂，即便要思考这个问题也非常艰难。媒体人喜欢用未经审视的"普世价值"口号唤醒人民，由于一些博士或教授也成了媒体人，这类似是而非的口号也笼罩着我们的大学课堂。在座各位谁都不会否认，大学与传媒不同，大学要讲究学理地思考。

本文是为《现代中国思想的兴起》日文本（简本）所写的序言，该书即将由岩波书店出版。

2011年9月21日，凤凰网对话上海大学文化研究系教授王晓明。1993年6月，尚在华东师范大学中文系任教的王晓明教授，在《上海文学》发表《文学和人文精神的危机》，随之在全国引起一场持续三年的"人文精神大讨论"。时隔20年，王晓明重新探讨今日中国人精神危机与社会群体焦虑。今天，中国经济发展迅速，GDP不断增加，人们物质生活实现了一定程度的富足，然而国人并不幸福，也并未在精神上得到满足。反而呈现出群体痛苦、压抑、迷茫、焦躁、极端，与此同时，社会也陷入诚信缺失、道德败坏、缺乏底线的危机。社会焦虑背后深层原因是什么？在王晓明看来，这不是新的问题，早在上世纪90年代初就已经埋下伏笔，只是当时被发展经济和增加物质财富的理想暂时掩盖。当摆脱贫困的焦虑摆脱，这种焦虑便开始显现。王晓明分析对现在对未来的不确定，日益拉大的贫富差距，官场、大学与传媒风气日下对社会风气的破坏，都是社会焦虑产生的原因，当"社会上制度和人心两个层面，都不再发挥使社会成为有机体的作用，人与人之间只是利益的平衡"，社会焦虑相伴而来。如何从根本上摆脱社会群体焦虑？王晓明提出从制度和人心两个方面入手。一方面政治改革要推进，但还应该找回社会的精神基础、精神认同。 对话嘉宾：王晓明，上海大学文化研究系教授、博士生导师、中国当代文化研究中心主任。"人文精神大讨论"发起者。著有《刺丛里的求索》、《无法直面的人生》、《半张脸的神话》、《在思想与文学之间》、《近视与远望》等。对话主持：陈芳 袁训会 焦虑是因为社会普遍没有方向主持人：目前中国处在社会转型期，经济发展迅速，但国人却日益表现出群体焦虑，无论是官员还是民众，无论是富人还是穷人。当下中国人的焦虑感来自哪里？因为什么而焦虑？王晓明：主要是对中国的现实和未来没有信心。不知道社会以后会怎么样，因此也就不知道自己究竟该怎么过日子。中国现在有非常多的人，程度不同地处在这种状态里，即便按照流行风气鼓励的那样，天天对自己说：管他呢，过好自己的小日子就行了，他实际上还是心里不踏实，许多事情都不敢深想：这样的人一多，群体的焦虑就出现了。那些有钱有权的人，可以逃到外国去，实际上许多人已经将子女送出去了，但普通老百姓没办法，只能生活在这个不知道明天后天大后天会怎么样的中国的现实中。朝野上下，如此大面积地丧失对未来的确信，没有方向，不知道国家应该往哪里走，这种情况，辛亥以来好像是第一次吧。辛亥革命之后，曾有一段时间大家很失望，鲁迅说，民国以后我还是当奴隶，而且是奴隶的奴隶。但很快就有了各种新的思路--其中不少是辛亥革命以前就有了基础，到这时候发扬光大的：三民主义、社会主义、马克思列宁主义，等等等等。各路人马也都照着自己理想的方向奋斗。1927年国民政府统一全国，1949年中共领导建立中华人民共和国，都是有明确的奋斗目标，也都能不同程度地聚成社会共识。1979年前后，政治民主、文化开放、经济发展、摆脱贫困...... 各种不同层面的要求汇聚到"改革"二字下面，形成新一轮社会共识。即便1989年之后，政治改革不行了，许多理想不能谈了，大家都转向经济发展、冰箱彩电汽车房子了，好歹也还算有一个大致的方向，尽管它是那么狭隘、靠不住。主持人：今天，我们在物质上实现了一定的富裕，人们生活也得到了很大的改善，为什么老百姓却更加焦虑？王晓明：今天大多数人的物质生活，跟二十年前相比确实有较大改善，当然，也同时丧失了很多别的东西--这个今天先不讲，但也正因为这样，原先被掩盖的事情就暴露出来了：1980年代，当那个包含许多层面的"改革"不断受挫、令人沮丧的时候，我们今天共同困惑的这个"不知道该往哪儿去"的问题，其实就已经形成了，只不过当时大家看不到。1989年以后被动地形成的那个全民都盯着物质生活看的局面，更把这个问题给盖住了。但今天，物质贫困的压力稍一缓解，那个大问题就露出来了。这不是新的问题，只是今天被大家普遍感觉到了而已。 巨大的贫富差距也是社会焦虑的重要原因主持人：中国这100年，一直在追求一个强国梦。今天，中国在某种程度上实现了富强，但普通国民并没有随着生活水平的改善而充分享受到国家崛起的成果和荣誉感，深层原因是什么？王晓明：这要稍微多说两句。首先，辛亥革命前后中国人的理想是很大的，绝非只是国家的富强，在当时许多人的思想里，国家富强只是第一步，接下来更重要的，是把中国建设成为一个文明的社会，而且这个文明的中国要发挥作用，让世界也变得文明起来。当时那种帝国主义列强肆意压迫弱小国家的局面，是中国现代知识分子不能接受的，他们把这个看成是"野蛮世界"，希望以后强大了的中国，能推动整个世界，脱离这种"野蛮"状态。其次，他们当时讲的"富强"，也绝非只是指钱多。作为一个完整的目标，"富强"必定包括许多不能用GDP或者"经济总量"来代表的方面，比如科技创新力、国民素质、政治清明、社会凝聚力...... 照这样的标准来看，中国今天是不是已经"富强"了，我觉得不见得。我们现在能说的，只是GDP的总数值很高、钱很多。可在晚清时候，中国被列强欺负得一塌糊涂，那时的中国钱也不少，GDP也不低，至少比日本高许多啊！   再次，我们今天虽然钱是多了，但社会财富的分配太倾斜了，几乎各方面都是赢家通吃。这三点是互相关联，而且关联得很紧密的，今天社会之所以弄得如此赢家通吃，那种凡事都从物质功利着眼、将社会和国家目标缩小为只是GDP、"经济总量"的政治和思想风气，就是一个非常重要的原因。主持人：不换寡而患不均，对普通人来说，最直接的感受是不平衡，不公平，这也可能是焦虑的重要原因。王晓明：对，中国的经济走到今天，不同阶层之间的贫富差距，对社会人心的刺激，的确是越来越大于单个阶层的收入的今昔对比。这些年有许多不同的数据，汇总起来看，少数人占有这么大比例的财富，早的不说，至少1949年以来，现在是最严重的时候吧。这结果，就是几乎每个人--当然，那些挥金如土的新富人可以除外--都觉得自己的经济压力很大。尤其是人数众多的较低收入的群体，尽管其中许多人的收入也有提高，但这个提高的喜悦，远远赶不上他们发现那些有钱人捞得太多太多时的愤怒。中国的社会腐败是从官场蔓延出来的主持人：记得您曾说过，当人们把眼光转向现实社会之后，很自然地会引发对制度性因素的关注，比如政府的责任，宪政问题，产权问题和经济体制，您觉得这几个因素对社会群体焦虑有着怎样的影响？王晓明：当我们理解社会的时候，"制度"通常和"人心"相对而言。就中国来说，成文的制度固然重要，但各种"不成文法"往往更起作用。在许多时候，这两者之间差别很大，比如今天，如果单看宪法，许多条文都很好，没有问题，如果这些条文所规定的制度能够有效运作，许多严重的问题是不应该出现的。可这些问题就是出现了，这就说明，我们的现实其实是按照另外一些规则在运行的，写在纸上的多半是虚文，实际生活中碰到的那些不成文法，才是真正的制度所在。身为中国人，我们对这些都很清楚，即便一个小学生，他也明白，广播里的声音和黑板报上的文字，与班级里的实际情况是两回事。为什么在一套看上去还行的成文制度的框架里，实际上却形成了另一套在许多方面简直是与成文相反的不成文法？一旦如此深究"制度"，就必然要碰到人和"人心"的问题了......主持人：在您这里，人心是比较重要的概念。人心是怎么一步一步变坏？王晓明：对中国的"人心"影响最大的，当然是官场。秦以后，中国基本上都是中央集权，皇权也就因此具有道德象征的功能，朝廷里的风气，通常对整个社会人心有极大影响。今天也是一样，年轻人为了考公务员打破头，虽说对政府的民怨日多，一般人实际上还是将官场看得很重的，官场风气对社会风气的引领作用，实际上依然很大。官员不撒谎，社会有诚信。如果弄到一看见政府文告、官员说话，大家就本能地怀疑他没说实话，一定是在为了政绩、官位而掩盖事实、歪曲真相，那中国社会要建设诚信的风气，恐怕也就很难了。从这个意义上说，今天中国的社会腐败，首先是从官场蔓延出来的。第二个重要因素就是教育。"青春年华"本身就是一种向善的力量，如果我们的学校教育搞得好，不是两眼向钱看，而是开阔学生的视野和胸襟，那就能帮助青年人在精神上打下一个比较好的底子，即便社会上风气很坏，他踏上社会后难免受影响，但他心里也会有抵抗，至少能变得慢一点。可现在，非常糟糕，大学里的风气几乎和社会上一样，也开口闭口就是钱......第三是传媒。我们今天许多传媒的不成器，有体制束缚和官场风气污染的原因，也有市场化和商业化方面的原因：广告大客户影响甚至操控媒体的力量，现在是越来越大了。如果官场、学校和传媒，都在往这样的方向上去影响社会，中国的"人心"当然要出问题了。主持人：人心变坏与市场经济有没有关系，市场经济一定会导致道德的滑坡吗？王晓明：社会发展到一定程度，就会有市场，几千来年，人类一直有很大一部分生活是跟市场有关的，但并不因此就一定人心败坏。资本主义兴起以后，情况有所不同，资本主义兴起之前的市场，通常范围比较小，许多市场行为，也不都是为了资本增值，能稳定地维持生计，就可以了。但资本主义不同，它是要不断扩大再生产的，它的逻辑是一切都应该拿来为资本增值服务，它更大力推广那种"经济应该永远不断增长"的迷信...... 一旦这些东西扩散到全世界，被大家广泛接受，无论是不是民选政府，都将"发展经济"列为第一目标，无论当老师还是当医生，都觉得人活着就是要多挣钱，那就确实会在很大程度上影响人心，让人越来越短视和狭隘。但即便如此，如果政府、学校、传媒、宗教等等，能从不同的方面制衡这种资本主义市场的扩张，那社会和人心还是能保持大体平衡，不会全变成名利场。我们现在的问题是，中国特色的资本主义市场的逻辑在中国太肆无忌惮了，官场、学校、传媒，都不同程度地按照这个市场的逻辑来运转。我有时甚至觉得，从实质上看，一些官场或准官场的市场化，是比其他地方更彻底的。如果官员之间、师生之间、传媒人和受众之间，社会的各个方面，都是利益交换，几乎没有别的约束，就一个资本主义的市场独大，"人心"怎么可能会好？主持人：孙立平教授针对中国当下情况，提出过中国社会正在加速走向溃败，您怎么看社会溃败论，您觉得当下对中国社会威胁最大的是什么？王晓明：辛亥革命之前，有人曾经用这么两个词形容中国未来可能的状况：一个是"瓦解"，中国被掰成几块，但每一块本身大体还完整，还能提起来；另外一个叫"鱼烂"，这是更糟了，腐烂的鱼是提不起来的，提任何一块，整条都会散掉。当时许多人最担心的，就是这个鱼烂。孙先生讲的"溃败"，我觉得跟"鱼烂"的意思差不多，是指在制度和人心两个层面，都不再存在所谓"有机体"，实际上都是一盘散沙，除了短暂的利益平衡，没有别的关系能将大家联起来。人与人、群体与群体、阶层与阶层......没有共同的追求，没有认同感，没有共同关心的问题，甚至不觉得有共同的利益！到这一步，真是问题大了。 变革寄希望于政治制度改革与重振人心主持人：社会群体焦虑加剧，民众试图去改变，或改良或激进，但都遭到非常强大的阻力。阻力来自哪里？您曾讲过中国现在有一个新的阶级在快速崛起，掌握着特别多的经济资源，同时又染指政治和文化资源，这股力量对人们的焦虑和社会的破坏是怎么样的？王晓明：怎样描述和分析这个新的阶级，是今天中国社会科学的一大课题。有人用"官家资产阶级"之类的概念，意思是官僚与新资本家的混合，这大体不错，但还可以补充一点，就是一部分文化人--通常都有教授头衔--也参与其中，分一杯羹。所谓赢家通吃，主要就是这个三合一的新阶级在通吃。你说的抵制社会改革的阻力，主要也是来自这个新阶级。主持人：怎么才能从根本上消除焦虑并重塑人心？王晓明：晚清时许多人也讨论过类似的问题。那时的中国危机深重，而危机的最主要的症状，就是"人心"坏了，消极放弃的情绪非常浓厚，可是，要改变中国，又只能从人入手，这似乎是一个悖论。怎么打破这个悖论？当时的知识分子和革命家提出了很多不同的方案，身体力行，今天回过头去看，你不能不佩服，就是靠了那些人的前仆后继，硬是打破了这个悖论，推翻满清、辛亥革命、新文化运动...... 为中国开出一个新局面！虽然此后的历史依然坎坷，新局面毕竟是开出来了。从某个角度看，今天似乎又遇到了当年那样的难题：如何打破"有什么用啊？""搞不好了！"的消极气氛，振奋人心，重启制度和整个社会的真正改革？和那时候一样，今天也有许多可选的方案，应该从各方面一齐努力。身为大学教师，我觉得学校教育特别重要，别的不说，几乎所有的官员，都是在中学和大学--小学更不必说--念过书的，学校课堂上的气氛、课本和黑板上的内容，都是对人有长远影响的。如今社会的上上下下，对学校教育的评价越来越低，学校里的人，也都怨声载道。可是，光这么抱怨，意思不大，如何在现有的政治条件下，在一间一间的教室里，一节课一节地教好课，一个一个学生地认真对待？这才是我们这些当教师的人，应该特别下力气去做的。当然应该持续地批评那些大的问题，但同时，也得一步一步实地去做，比如，当严厉指斥学校的"官本位"的时候，我们就该从自己开始，在走廊里遇见校长院长了，不要再像契诃夫笔下的小公务员那样，毕恭毕敬地称官衔："某校长"、"某院长"...... 这当然只是细节，但是，只有能落实为无数细节上的改进，总体的进步才能站稳。主持人：有一种观点认为中国30多年来的合法性就来源于高速的经济增长，每当社会焦虑加剧时，就拼命增长，并以维稳为重，但结果是越维稳越不稳，焦虑不断出现。您怎么看中国这种发展逻辑？政府应该怎么改变？王晓明：你说得对，这些年不断膨胀的社会大厦，确实是靠经济增长这一根大柱子维持着的，不是说完全没有别的支柱，但都很细，有的更差不多完全断了。这确实危险，因为经济不可能一直这么增长下去，更何况目前这种高能耗、高材耗、因此必然高污染的增长方式，社会和生态的成本都太高，后患很大。至于高压式的"维稳"，更只能有一时之效，如果以为这样就能长治久安，那是笑话了。从一些政策看，你会觉得中国现在没有什么真正的"发展"逻辑，实际上起作用的，好像是一种拖延和回避的逻辑：总是绕开难题，把其实已经很严重了的问题，尽可能往后推。这实际上还是短视，而短视是一定要付代价的，就好像生病一样，必须要治，拖延只会更麻烦。要说官场的风气坏，这种只图眼前--实质是个人或少数人的--安稳、置国家和社会的隐患、深患于不顾的心思，正是其中之一大端。因此，首先要改变的，是这一种不负责任的拖延苟安之心，这一条改了，才可能真正从大处和长远着眼，探索适合国情的长远之计。主持人：台湾通过宪政民主的方式来实现，您觉得这种路径对大陆有没有借鉴意义？王晓明：其实这也是晚清和辛亥前后多次争论过的一个老问题。当年孙中山改组国民党，原因之一，就是觉得在当时那种条件下，宋教仁他们指望的议会斗争、宪政民主的道路走不通。后来改走革命党-党军-党国这一条路，从效果上看，确实有效，中国翻天覆地。可是，革命胜利以后，革命党如何避免腐败堕落，成为反革命党，这方面的问题一直没有解决好。今天之所以重提宪政民主，主要也就是因为这个原因吧。目前来看，中国在这个事情上大概还要走一段艰难摸索的路，没有什么现成的方案。但有一点可以肯定，无论什么方案，政治改革必须要向前推进。当然，这里的"政治"，不只是说，要发展或创造一个民主的、能有效为人民服务的政治制度，还包括要建设一个可以给社会充当稳固的精神基础的、丰富的、有反思的公共价值认同。制度与人心，从来就是互相作用的，一头做不好，另外一头不可能做好。比方说，如果没有大批有理想、有责任心、肯苦干的官员，就是订出了再好的方案，也没有用。因此，制度改革和人心进步，必须齐头并进、互相促进，才能在比较深的社会层面上，扎实地推进政治进步。现在说起来都觉得问题一大堆，但我们也要看到事情的另外一面：其一，改革和进步都是被逼出来的，形势比人强，现在社会普遍焦虑，觉得问题已经摆在那里，拖延不过去，这本身就是一种很大的精神能量，其积极的一面不可小看。其二，这30年间，社会在经济以外的一些方面，也有不小的进步，比如互联网，和由此造成的新的公共舆论。有人说围观改变中国，如果不把这个改变理解得太窄，我觉得是有可能的。其三，现在的年轻人，多在社会经济和物质生活持续改善的环境中长大，昔日那种因为物质匮乏、政治斗争激烈而造成的人心之恶，在他们身上比较少，他们可能冷漠一点，软弱一些，但心肠应该比较良善，至少我年轻时常见的那种主动挖一个坑、陷害别人的事情，大概一般不会做。也许我这是不了解情况的乱说，我的意思是，在一些方面，年轻人比我们这一代人强。因此，我觉得对未来应该有信心。至少那种"有什么用啊？"的消极情绪，是没有什么道理的。今天我们所做的事情是不是有效，我们自己其实是无从判断的，那要以后的人才能定。鲁迅有一句话说得特别好：不能一定要有人给你打了保票，这才"雄赳赳地去革命"。尽管我们不知道结果会怎样，但只要认为应该做，就去做。甚至不妨反过来说：只要做了，就一定有用，哪怕眼下一时看不到。 2010年9月30日根据陈芳的录音整理稿改定

不想拍孩子们的马屁，很坦白地告诉他们：即使在三十年前，让很多中学生说出十本俄国文学、十本法国文学、十本美国文学，都不是怎么困难的。我这一说法显然让他们惊诧了，怀疑了，困惑了，一双双眼睛瞪得很大。三十年前？天啦，那不正是文化的禁锁和荒芜时期？不正是文革的十年浩劫？……有人露出一丝讪笑，那意思是：老师你别忽悠我们啦。

希望台湾批判的学术思想界能够认识自身的第三世界历史属性，期许中国大陆知识界不要丢弃第三世界的属性与思想资源，要保留第三世界想像的香火，扩大我们极为狭窄的知识对象，使得他者与自我能够更为开放、多元。

恩斯特·布洛赫的《希望的原理》中关于未来的观念与跨越式批判,即"通过康德解读马克思,透过马克思来解读康德"是相关的。这一批判的核心在于展现马克思对黑格尔哲学所实现的双重颠倒:不仅有经济基础与上层建筑的上下颠倒,同时还包括"事前"与"事后"的前后颠倒。正是后一颠倒使得康德的思想与马克思找到了共同点。康德的事前性思维对于理解马克思关于未来,即作为一种运动的共产主义具有重要的理论重构的意义。这种重构应对的是20世纪90年代末共产主义运动的失败以及各色西方马克思主义理论的破产:通过交换方式对生产方式的重构,重新使马克思历史唯物主义的理论富有生机。

袁加（艺术家、策展人），靳尚谊（中国美术家协会主席、中央美院教授），钟涵（中央美院教授），曹春生（中央美院教授），闻立鹏（中央美院教授），汪晖（清华大学教授），
高名潞（美术史家），袁运生（中央美院教授），王明贤（中国艺术研究院研究员），赵寻（中央美院人文学院），倪军（艺术家），孔冬梅，朱岩等人。

在布朗案过去近半个世纪后，耶鲁大学法学院教授杰克·巴尔金（Jack Balkin）自己当起了首席大法官，召集了包括凯斯·桑斯坦（Cass Sunstein）、布鲁斯·阿克曼（Bruce Ackerman）、约翰·哈特·伊利（John Hart Ely）和麦金农（Catharine A. MacKinnon）在内的八位顶尖宪法学者组成了一个模拟的最高法院。他们的任务只有一个：重写著名的布朗案判决。当九位大法官把各自撰写的意见汇集到一起时，人们却意外地发现与五十年前那份9比0全体一致的意见不同，在这其中居然出现了一份异议。而更加令人意外的是，这唯一的一份异议竟出自这个模拟最高法院中唯一的黑人教授——德里克·贝尔（Derrick Bell）。

这两则诗文分别是纪念毛泽东一百十五周年诞辰的书信体散文《点一柱心香，献一束鲜花》和清平调《戊子岁末有怀》。

修辞学在普通中国人心中似乎有关文学和语言，但中国春秋战国时期的修辞传统，与古希腊的修辞传统一致，关注的是口语交流，并集中关注政治法律问题。本文以知识谱系学的视角和方法，探求中国的修辞传统如何在不同的政治社会环境和权力关系中发生、衍生和演变，又如何在20世纪中国的社会变革中，重新创造了特别值得我们今天关注和珍视的，与以修辞格为中心的汉语修辞学形成反差的，关注政治法律社会公共议题，同时关注口语和文字交流的汉语修辞的实践传统。

中国在二十世纪五、六十年代全面推行的"改人、改戏、改制"的戏曲改革运动，作为一种综合性极强的社会政治文化现象，本文试图将它置于更为深广的历史文化背景中进行考察：晚清"戏曲改良运动"以降的中国近现代戏曲改革进程；中国共产党主导的从以"秧歌运动"为代表的"延安文艺"到"样板戏"所标志的"文化大革命"期间的文艺改造运动；以及这种改造的社会文化背景，即中国主流社会在"现代转型"中对于民间生活(如"游民文化")所包含的异质成分的消解过程。在此历史、文化和社会背景之下，"新中国"的戏改运动蕴含了极其丰富而复杂的内涵，既表现出种种鲜明的中国"本土"的政治文化意味，同时又承受着所谓全球"现代性"的深刻影响。因此，对于它的仔细考察和解读，应该有可能为破除"本土"与"全球化"的机械二元论、深入梳理并探究中国社会在二十世纪的巨变历史，作出一份试探性的努力。而在改人、改戏、改制的过程中，无论是艺人改造的国家体制化、剧目改编的政治意识形态化、还是传统戏曲的表演形式的现代艺术化，此间都纵横交错地涉及到所谓民间与官方、文艺与政治、自由与体制、异质与主流、生活实体与意识形态等等的关系，而它们之间的缠绕、冲突和联系都将在具体的"戏改"问题中得以呈现和阐明。引言：游民文化的消解与中国社会的现代转型中国历史劫乱频仍，民间社会鱼龙混杂，自古以来多的是游侠、游士，更不必说无家无业、闯荡江湖的"游民"。游民阶层的意识形态往往与官方的、正统的意识形态相偏移甚至相对立，所谓"伤道害德，败法惑世"，故而在主流意识形态中多遭排斥、贬抑和诋毁，却在民间颇有影响。中国民间社会所传承的"游民意识"，其主要特征在戏曲艺人们恍若"化外之民"般的江湖生涯中得以充分体现：如随世游移的无根性(自由度)、趋利避害的世俗性(功利心)、亦侠亦盗的反社会性(破解力)，等等。作为"游民文化"的一种典型的社会载体，更作为民间文化的重要组成部分，中国地方戏曲活动及艺人生活状态的发展和变迁，对于中国文化传统(所谓"大传统")在日常生活中的渗透与传承，对于民间社会的各种文化习俗("小传统")的酝酿和形成，进而对于民间文化如何以传播中介的形式推动各层次文化传统之间的彼此选择、改造、更新和转化，无论间接、直接，都有着人们远未能透解的深广意蕴。有鉴于此，近年来有学者一再地将"游民社会"、"游民意识"、"游民文化"等课题对于研究中国社会和文化的意义郑重表出，并断定此举无异于"发现一个中国"。然而，在这一令人惊诧和兴奋的"发现"之外，我觉得还应该看清游民阶层及其文化形态在"现代化"进程中不可抗拒地被"消解"的命数。远的且不说，集中来看建国初期所实施的游民改造工作，其明确的改造对象是从事"乞讨、诈骗、偷窃、抢劫、聚赌"等不正当职业、有"流氓思想"、"游惰习气"和不劳而获的"寄生虫"，而本属于游民范畴、且占很大比例的戏曲艺人就此被区别对待。总的说来，是通过将他们由"戏子"改造为"文艺工作者"，以便更有效地对民众进行"宣教"和"动员"，藉此重塑"人民"形象，重建社会统治秩序，逐步实现"民族－国家"的现代性目标。事实上，无论是强行扼灭游民现象的负面因素，还是精心改造其有利因素，这都属于新中国主流意识形态为清除障碍、推动"现代化"进程而必须完成的消化"游民"和消解"游民文化"的艰巨任务。而诸如此类在中国社会的"现代转型"中得以顺利进行的对于异质成分的消解工程，如五、六十年代大力推行的戏曲改革运动中有关艺人改造的问题，正是本文所要具体考察并深入探询的游民生活的现代变迁之一种。1949年的"解放"，在艺人们眼里不过是又一次的改朝换代。或许是戏里戏外见惯了兴亡成败、世道变迁，他们相信哪个时代都少不了看戏听曲找乐的，所以对"上面要改革旧戏"不见得多么起劲，"你有千方百计，我有一定之规"，心说这天底下唱戏卖艺的还不是照样凭本事吃饭?然而，新中国的戏曲改革运动如果没有艺人参与，其动力之薄弱而阻力之强劲可想而知。因为艺人是戏曲的直接掌握者，而中国戏曲在史料、剧目、表演艺术等方面素乏系统的文献资料，各地方剧种的艺术精华也都完整地保存在艺人身上，他们是活的历史、活的文化遗产、活的戏曲艺术，要改革戏曲当然得依靠他们，而要依靠就必须先改造他们。中国戏曲所具有的深厚的历史文化基础和群众基础，以及这种基础对于"新中国"通过戏曲改革而破除"旧文化"、建立"新文化"的重大意义，势必决定了戏曲艺人步入"新社会"后将彻底结束原先那种"化外之民"式的游世生涯。1951年5月5日，在总结各地戏曲改革经验的基础上，针对戏改工作中已经暴露出的许多问题和偏差，政务院发布了新中国戏改运动的纲领性文件〈关于戏曲改革工作的指示〉(简称"五五指示")，其中明确了艺人改造等问题："戏曲艺人在娱乐与教育人民的事业上负有重大责任，应在政治、文化及业务上加强学习，提高自己。各地文教机关应认真地举办艺人教育并注意从艺人中培养戏曲改革工作的干部。农村中流动的职业旧戏班社，不能集中训练者，可派戏曲改革工作干部至各班社轮流进行教育，并按照可能与需要帮助其排演新剧目。""旧戏班社中的某些不合理制度，如旧徒弟制、养女制、'经励科'制度等，严重地侵害人权与艺人福利，应有步骤地加以改革，这种改革必须主要依靠艺人群众的自觉自愿。戏曲工作应统一由各地文教主管机关领导。各省市应以条件较好的旧有剧团、剧场为基础，在企业化的原则下，采取公营、公私合营或私营公助的方式，建立示范性的剧团、剧场，有计划地、经常地演出新剧目，改进剧场管理，作为推进当地戏曲改革工作的据点。"于是，在诸如"爱护和尊重"、"团结和教育"、"争取和改造"等宣传口号的指引下，政府机关、戏改工作者和戏曲艺人之间在不断的冲突与磨合中开始了真正"史无前例"的协作与互动。由于政府是戏曲活动的唯一的投资者，又拥有绝对的管理权，这种双重利益机制无疑引导了人们随时随地配合政府部门的要求，并设法迎合国家主导的政治意识形态，最终实现了从艺人的思想观念、组织制度直到生活形式上都趋于"国有化"的改造目标。而在艺人改造过程中我们也不难看出，凡是在那些原属于"化外之民"式的自由被逐渐取消的地方，即通过政府行为对所谓"散漫的生活作风、浓厚的江湖义气、传统的宗派思想"等旧艺人作风问题实施矫正之时，共和国都曾许诺给人重获"新生"的光明和幸福。一、思想改造：道德"洗澡"、政治"洗礼"与素质提高刚"解放"时，由于各地新成立的"人民政府"纷纷给艺人发粮食、发棉衣，还设法照顾他们的生活，使得许多老艺人感恩不尽。但很快就有人指出了这里的问题："看到艺人没有饭吃，想法使他们吃饭，这是应该的，因而获得艺人的拥护。但是忘记叫他们做什么，变成了单纯的为艺人服务，忽视了使他们转变为工农兵服务的各种具体实践。这个糊涂思想在领导上延续了很久......"意识到这一点，艺人的全面改造问题也就不容延误了。根据当时推动戏改工作的宣传逻辑，要改造艺人，关键还在于"团结和教育"他们：如果不先"肃清"艺人中间的"旧思想旧作风"，就无法提高"阶级觉悟"、加强"政治素质"，也就不可能让他们以"主人翁"精神热爱国家和人民、愿意贡献力量于社会建设、从而主动投入文化事业之一的戏曲改革工作。其前提，就是"爱护和尊重"艺人：由于戏曲和艺人是"人民"所需要和爱好的，所以不尊重艺人就是"反人民之所好"，就是"不尊重人民"；又因旧戏和艺人中的"旧思想旧作风"是"人民"所憎恶的，对此决不能妥协，不能放弃改造的原则和立场，否则就是"反人民之所恶"，同样也是"不尊重人民"。而具体到如何"争取和改造"艺人，那便是通过举办艺人集训、上大课听报告、开座谈会等形式，将"政治启蒙"、"业务辅导"与艺人间的"自我教育"相结合，逐步完成诸如道德"洗澡"、政治"洗礼"和素质提高等方面的艺人改造工作。所谓道德"洗澡"，首先是发动艺人"诉苦"，控诉"旧社会"和"反动统治阶级"的罪恶，并在"自愿"前提下对"旧社会遗留在艺人身上的种种恶劣影响"开展批评和自我批评。由于事先反复强调艺人同属"受压迫受剥削"的"劳动人民"，即便是自身表现出的"不良习惯"和"不光彩"的经历(包括旧戏舞台上那些必须革除的"陋习"和"毒素")，也都是长期被压迫、被侮辱、被损害的历史烙印，而艺人本身却是无辜的、值得同情的。这就有效地解除了他们的思想包袱，愿意通过"回忆"、"诉苦"、"反省"、"思想鉴定"等方式来袒露和清除自身的"污垢"，以此表示洗心革面、脱胎换骨的决心。事实证明，"忆苦思甜"无疑是新中国安抚、教育和动员包括艺人在内的下层民众的一大成功法宝。1951年，在全国上下"镇压反革命"期间，各地人民政府纷纷以批斗和镇压"戏霸"来促进戏改的行动，更使艺人们扬眉吐气、众心归向，同时也见识到了新政权的巨大威力。新生的共和国根基未稳，此时也正需要这样激烈而强硬的举措：既可"杀一儆百"，取信于民；又能针对着各种"敌对势力"，发挥出其"天网恢恢、疏而不漏"的威慑力。但各地也常因行动"失之偏激"而影响教育效果，虽表面上看似"能收一时之效"，实际很容易"引起艺人的恐惧和痛苦"，以至于"有时连一时之效也不可得，反而引起艺人的反感"。至于政治"洗礼"，主要是利用艺人接受"忆苦思甜"教育后获得的"翻身感"来激发他们的"阶级觉悟"和爱国热情，特别是鼓励那种渴望洗刷耻辱、重新做人的念头，引导他们积极响应党的号召，随时随地投入到各项社会政治活动中去，并对给予自己"新生"的共产党和新社会充满感恩、信赖和期待。与此同时，政府也刻意地提高了艺人的政治地位，通过各种宣传教育使艺人明确了作为新中国的"文艺工作者"的光荣职责，那就是"为社会主义服务"、"为工农兵服务"。艺人们提高"政治觉悟"之后，尤其是过去被"剥削"的底包、班底，在政府鼓励下强烈要求改制，即尽快改掉戏班待遇中不民主、不平等的现象。其中最敏感的一个问题，就是主角和班底之间的收入悬殊问题。好在有些名艺人也意识到了这一点，因为参加演出在当时已提升为"投身革命事业"而不再是"谋生手段"，他们便主动提出，为了"革命"而降低薪金。艺人素质的提高，首当其冲的是设法矫正那种散漫无度的生活作风，特别是清除黄、赌、毒。但"破旧"还须"立新"，想要切实提高艺人素质，最有效的办法当属识字扫盲学文化。艺人的不识字不仅影响戏曲表演的改进，而且会妨碍他们对政策形势的及时了解和响应，以至于还象先前那样自外于主流社会生活，由此引发种种不规范、不安宁、不稳定因素。更何况，"文盲"的身份也有损于他们作为党和人民的"文艺工作者"的光辉形象，并有碍于他们充分胜任"思想教育工作者"和"人类灵魂工程师"的崇高职责。因而在1949年至1956年的群众性扫盲运动中，政府先后采取各种方式加强了艺人文化扫盲工作的计划性、合理性和实效性。但问题也随之而来：有的地方在学习内容上缺少重点，政治、业务、文化同时进行，份量太多，增加了艺人的思想负担，学习情绪怎么也提不起来，有的索性就对学习采取应付态度。为此各地又提出，艺人学习应以"业务学习"为主，通过业务学习联系到政治、文化学习。譬如，将新戏的唱词当作识字材料，边排边学边演，这样对艺人的实际帮助更大：既不耽误演出任务，又能进行政治教育，同时还可以提高学习的兴趣。事实证明，在共和国的戏改进程中，扫盲运动的确功不可没。如成都市的6个川剧团当时共有艺人552名，文盲比例高达85%，经过扫盲后，原本目不识丁的艺人也能认字400多个。这样不遗余力地动员艺人识字学文化，在当时主要是为了使之更好地承担起为社会主义、为工农兵服务的政治使命及其宣传任务，但扫盲运动对于戏曲界的意义和影响远过于此。艺人与文字("文化")的结合，其实是他们靠拢并汇入主流社会和主流文化的有效途径之一：当他们愿意通过识字而渐渐拥有所谓"文化"的时候，无意之中先已经否定了自身所处的自由散漫然而低级、杂乱、"没文化"的生存状况，同时也就开始脱离那个无知无畏的混沌天地，转而归依到此时此地的社会政治生活中来，这就为他们最终进入国家体制扳正了方向，同时也铺平了道路。通过建国初期大规模、全方位、连续性而又紧密联系现实问题的学习和改造，并随着各种新思想、新观念在艺人中间耳熟能详，大家逐渐消除了对新政权的疑虑和认为国家戏改工作与己无关的淡漠情绪，并在意识到身份与地位急剧上升的同时更提醒自己要珍惜前所未有的"政治生命"，"听党话、跟党走"，以实际行动站稳"革命立场"。二、体制改造：从私到公、由乱得治及其内在利益机制建国初实行的"新民主主义"社会制度，在经济方面上原是一种在国家计划经济前提下承认民间和私有经济合法性的多元经济结构。到了1952年底，中共中央的决策者们认为恢复经济的阶段性任务已经完成，公营经济也已取得主导地位，于是酝酿提出了由"新民主主义"向"社会主义"过渡时期的总路线。其目标就是国家的"社会主义工业化"，并逐步实现国家对农业、手工业和资本主义工商业的"社会主义改造"。而全国当时近2000个民间职业剧团作为一支"庞大的艺术宣传队伍"，为"充分发挥其积极作用"，中央要求"各级文化主管部门必须进一步加强领导和管理"。于是顺随着大势所趋，历来自负盈亏的民间私营戏曲班社也被划入由"私"到"公"的改造之列，其意图又在政策术语上频频转换，使"改造"变得一义多词，分别叫做"领导"、"管理"、"整顿"、"加强"、"帮助"等等，而最切实的做法就是从剧团的"登记"开始。上海市文化局率先于1951年颁布《关于私营职业戏曲剧团申请公助暂行办法》和《管理私营戏曲职业社团临时登记办法(草案)》。其中，无论是对申请登记或公助的资格审查、补助方式的具体执行、还是批准后必须遵行的规章制度，处处都显示着文化局作为政府机构实行其领导与管理职能时的绝对权威性。换言之，只有时刻留意、靠拢并服从政府的态度与要求才有可能获得补助，而且数目大小没有定规，全得由政府说了算。毫无疑问，以这样的经济利益刺激私营剧团唱新戏、改新制，远比苦口婆心的说服教育有效得多。于是，听不听政府的话，就不单是思想政治上进步与否的表现，而且和艺人们最为关心的实际经济利益紧密挂钩，其利害得失也就不言而喻。同样，登记也不仅仅是登记，国家对民间职业剧团采取普遍登记措施的目的，原就是对民间戏曲艺人实施全面领导和管理的第一步，藉此便可进行更为全面而彻底的管理：通过登记掌握剧团情况，通过登记管束和监督艺人活动，最要紧的是通过登记决定其能否演出的资格，而这也就关系到了剧团和艺人们能否生存的关键问题。与前面有关"私营公助"的鼓励性政策不同，这里更体现出政府权威应有的震慑作用：拥有政权便能管制，你要生存就得服从，此外别无选择。这里也始终未提"自愿"原则(象当年扫盲运动中实行的那样)，由于登记证明等同于演出资格，是否接受政府的领导与管理其实已没有选择的自由，因为接受者才有生存机会，而拒绝(当然是表现为"不合格"而被政府拒绝和放弃)则将丧失这种可能。于是政府潜在的对艺人们愿不愿办理登记(其实是接受管理)的考虑，就凭借着附加其上而无法剥离的各种利益权衡，迅速转化为艺人们对政府给不给登记、发不发证明、让不让演出的紧张心理，甚至不无"山雨欲来"式的惊惶和恐惧。加之其间正值经济改造(如"公私合营"、"农村合作社")，政治上也频频收紧(如"镇反"、"三反五反"、"肃反"运动)，整体的紧张局势令戏曲界人心惶惶，也使得那些有"政历"问题的私营业主和艺人们在言行上大为收敛。然而，从1951年始于上海等地的民间职业剧团登记工作，历经中央政府的统一号令及各地试点、补充发文与再三强调，一直到1955年底才告基本完成。此项工程之所以延续这么久，最主要的原因是其中牵涉到太多纠缠不清的戏改问题都想借"登记"来整顿和解决，结果欲速则不达。尽管从有关政策的不断补充和调整来看，中央政府确曾试图改进工作方法而将剧团整顿的压力控制在艺人们所能接受的程度，而且强调对于"在人民生活中有广大基础"、"并将在相当长时期内起其一定作用"的私营剧团应采取"积极保护、重点培植、逐步改造"的方针，但真正落实到基层戏改工作中就难免失去应有的制度保障，即使出台再慎重周密、再无懈可击的方针政策也会一步步"走样"。但历次政治运动的磨练以及广大艺人"政治觉悟"的提高，使得各民间职业剧团经过"登记"(整顿)后多少在业务上有所改观，剧团内部关系也得到了改善：除小部分仍由业主经营的剧团及一部分成员聚散无常的流动班社之外，大部分剧团已形成由艺人自己经营和管理的"共和班"式的制度，基本废除了内部的"剥削关系"，因而成为"社会主义改造"的成果之一，可同时也埋下了不少实际问题。通过"登记"等手段完成了对各地剧团的基本整顿之后，由于政府加大了对戏曲剧团的控制力度，许多人因故被遣散(或清除)而汇入流动艺人之列，又由于过去一向缺乏对流动艺人的关注(更无余力严加治理)，这就使艺人的流动更加混乱。而剧团之间长期存在的"挖角"现象，既妨碍了剧团组织的巩固，也在"名利诱导"下助长了艺人的流动思想。再加上"未经批准"、"擅自成立"的剧团的任意流动，而其中某些流动剧团"组织不健全"、"成员复杂"、"水平低劣"、"剧目混乱"，既不能满足群众要求也未必足以谋生，且多有"影响社会治安"、"扰乱社会秩序"的行为。为保证已登记的"现有剧团"的"合法权益"，政府对艺人中仍然盛行的"擅组"、"流动"、"挖角"等混乱局面进行了治理，特别是1954年至1958年间，各级政府就先后发文制止剧团的"盲目发展"和"无计划地流动"：严格控制剧团人员编制，各剧团不得采用无"离团证"或无介绍信的艺人参加工作；各地不得邀请无演出证明的民间职业剧团进行演出，流动戏曲艺人经过登记、审批才能发给"流动戏曲艺人登记证"，否则就得"参加劳动生产"。1954年12月，"为保护艺人的正当演出活动和保障剧团合法权益、使剧团与流动艺人之间的邀聘关系更趋于合理"，黑龙江联合辽宁、吉林等省就流动艺人的管理问题举行座谈，一致认为"继续坚持团结、教育的方针，克服盲目流动，以期达到争取和改造，而采取适当措施是必要的"，并联合发出〈关于加强对流动艺人管理的通知〉。此后，各地多有仿效。直至1958年6月，"为加强对流动戏曲艺人的领导管理和政治思想教育，保证其合法权益，使之更好地为工农兵服务，为社会主义建设服务，特经河北省、内蒙古自治区、山西省、北京市、辽宁省、吉林省、黑龙江等省市共同协商制定"，文化部颁发了〈关于流动戏曲艺人登记管理暂行办法(草案)〉。对于"盲目流动"的集中整治，当然就触及了更令人敏感的"挖角"问题，因为两者紧密相关。1958年和1960年，文化部为此一再发文制止，态度和措施也越来越强硬。在问题的定性上，认为演员个人的自由流动"实质上是保存资本主义的自由市场，发展资产阶级个人主义思想"；而"挖角"的错误性质更严重，"不论其原因、动机如何，实际是戏剧工作当中资本主义路线的一种表现形式，是一种与社会主义制度和社会主义道德绝不相容的自私自利、损人害己的行为"，"有时还会构成违法乱纪行为"，因此"必须坚决加以制止"。然而，在千方百计对艺人进行"社会主义改造"的过程中，人们有意无意地忽略了一些最基本的常识：戏曲演出的流动性、组班散班的随意性、艺人搭班的灵活性及其利益驱动，原本是传统戏班千百年来自然形成的活动特征。据史载，明清时各地戏班便多在定期举行的大型行业性集会("老郎会")上重新搭班、圆班、邀人或"偷人"(即"挖角")，同时让艺人们竞相演戏，各班主看戏挑人，合意则谈包银、签合同。搭班合同期为"一季"(半年)，等到上一季合同期满，各戏班便于约定日期互相"开门"，大伙儿自由调班和搭班，一切都由班主、艺人双方自愿。此风延至"解放"前夕，各地还有"经励科"、"戏牙行"等民间机构担负着类似的"人才交流"及协调功能。但在新中国戏改运动中，上述现象作为"资本主义的自由市场"显然被扼制，连不得不转为地下交易的"经励科"、"戏牙行"、"邀头"、"黄牛"等等也被陆续取缔，甚至"依法制裁"，因其"妨碍了党和政府文艺政策的贯彻，为资产阶级个人主义的文艺路线保留了阵地"。--这里的关键，还是牵涉到一个文艺领导权的问题。经过上述治理和改造，剧团和艺人终于由乱得治，逐步体制化、正规化、"革命化"，这就使政府从中开发出大量的文化资源和人力资源，全面投入意识形态宣传。各地剧团和艺人们被一次次地组织和动员起来，"紧跟形势"、"配合中心"，"以艺术为武器"展开各项社会政治活动：义演赈灾，劝募公债，提倡戒烟，宣传婚姻法，支援"抗美援朝"，宣传"土改"、"镇反"、"三反五反"、"肃反"、"整风"、"反右"等运动，歌颂"总路线"、"大跃进"、"农村公社"，上山下乡、巡回演出、参加农村"社会主义教育"等等。艺人群体规模庞大、数目可观、能量惊人，这些优势都在政治宣传中体现得淋漓尽致。很难想象，在中国五、六十年代特别是建国初期的社会政治文化的转型过程中，假如没有收编到这样一支指挥自如、训练有素、且能广泛深入民间的群众性"宣教"队伍，那么各项政策的上传下达还能否进行得如此顺利。而正是凭借着无与伦比的政治宣传和教化功能，艺人们才获得前所未有的"新生"和"荣耀"。三、卑微与荣耀：从具体个案看艺人的社会地位和权益1949年9月，袁雪芬作为戏曲界四位特邀代表(另有梅兰芳、周信芳、程砚秋)之一，赴京参加全国政协第一次会议。会议期间的每天早晨，服务员都给她送来一杯牛奶两个鸡蛋，并告知这是周恩来考虑到她生过肺病而特意关照的。1955年4月，文化部和文联、剧协联合在京举办"梅兰芳、周信芳舞台生活五十年纪念会"，部长沈雁冰授予两位荣誉奖状，欧阳予倩分别以〈真正的演员--美的创造者〉和〈战斗的表演艺术家--周信芳〉为题发言。梅兰芳致答词〈为着人民、为着祖国美好的未来，贡献出我们的一切〉："解放以后，我学习了毛主席〈在延安文艺座谈会上的讲话〉，才懂得了文艺应该首先为工农兵服务的道理。明确了这个方向，我觉得自己的艺术生命才找到了真正的归宿。......在这个阶段里，无论在政治上、艺术上，我都得到了前所未有的发展......"1956年11月，文化部和剧协在上海联合举办"盖叫天舞台生活六十年纪念会"和"盖叫天表演艺术座谈会"。田汉授予他荣誉奖状，并作了〈向卓越的表演艺术家盖叫天先生学习〉的发言，盖叫天在致答词中说道："生我者父母，知我者共产党!"1957年11月，程砚秋经周恩来、贺龙介绍入党，周恩来在志愿书上填写意见并亲笔写信抄送给他本人。程砚秋复信周恩来，深表感谢："你再三说，三十年没有介绍人入党了，请放心吧，我......不会使您失望的。"类似这样沐浴政府及领袖恩泽的经历，无论巨细点滴，都因刻骨铭心而成为了许多艺人艰难生命中的亮点，终其一生感念不已。而这样的一个个佳话、美谈，即便无缘亲历亲受，也会使更多的人感到温暖和安慰，就仿佛遥遥望见了各自在新社会的前途和希望。但是对于更多的艺人而言，原本无足轻重的卑微身份与国家赋予的崇高政治地位之间的矛盾冲突，常常会使之陷入某种尴尬的境遇。越剧名家尹桂芳及其"芳华剧团"的奉命离沪、支援福建就是一个令人唏嘘不已的实例。五十年代，随着国民经济的恢复和发展，上海许多工商业支援外地，大量工作人员及其家属先后移居各地。哪里有观众哪里就有舞台和生路，上海一些民间职业剧团纷纷到各地演出，其中不少就在当地落户，1950至1955年间就有13个越剧团分赴南京、天津、武汉、重庆、贵阳等地。1956至1959年间，上海市政府又相继组织了18个越剧团应邀支援外地，目的是"既促进剧种的发展和省市间文化交流，也使上海本地剧种、剧团的布局更加合理"。1959年１月，尹桂芳便受命率"芳华"离沪支援福建，改建为福州市越剧团。全市"尹迷"惊闻此变，极力设法挽留，当时主管该团的黄浦区政府每天收到大量的人民来信，要求区长"为民请命"，恳请上级部门留住"芳华"，更有甚者，扬言要以卧轨阻止尹桂芳乘火车离沪。尹桂芳感动至极，但是仍"以大局为重"、"支闽的信念绝不动摇"，为防止意外事情的发生，她决定提前一天秘密启程。不料出发当日，大批"尹迷"拥进月台阻拦，终未能如愿，双方痛哭而别。离沪赴闽之后，由于异地缺少越剧观众等原因，尹桂芳备尝"再度创业"的艰辛、冷遇和"文革"劫难，终以半瘫之身回到了上海的医院里，从此与舞台绝缘。作为越剧最有魅力的"尹派艺术"的创始人，她竟然没能留下一部完整的戏曲片录像。在这一事件背后，其实又提出了这样一个问题：既然都是以"为人民服务"为宗旨，那么当广大民众自发产生的对于文化娱乐及艺术享受的特殊爱好和权利，一旦和来势强硬的"国家号召"、"政府行为"、"组织命令"等等发生冲突时，在民众与政府这对立双方之间还有没有商量和协调的余地?另外，在即便同样是服务于人民和社会的不同方式上，艺人本身还能不能做出自由的选择和取舍?--事实已不言自明。然而在当时要求进步的人们眼里，政府号召和组织安排就是"绝对命令"，紧跟政治形势就是"参加革命"，而参加革命当然是人生的"最高目标"和"最大意义"。尤其对于痛感到今是昨非、而更需要国家庇护与社会肯定的艺人们来说，对"党和政府"的信任、忠诚与服从，已近乎是一种本能。而对于普通的戏曲艺人来说，曾经轰动全国的"常光华事件"倒是一起更为典型的个案，因为此事原本是艺人境遇中司空见惯的现象。1952年，安徽省级第一个国营剧团"地方戏实验剧场"(庐剧)建立。此前作为私营剧场时当地公安人员常常去看白戏，剧场的人还要敬烟敬茶；改为国营后废了老规矩，自然引起当地公安机关的不满。10月户口普查之际，某分局人员因侮辱女艺人被当场顶撞，便要抓走没有户口的演职员，并强行拘留了指责他们的剧场指导员、老艺人王祥珍。合肥市公安局副局长常光华骂王祥珍依仗"大机关"(指主管剧场的文化部门)、瞧不起公安局，说公安局有权封闭剧场，并下令将他关进大牢。后经上级出面放了人，但要双方都检讨而对常光华未作处理，民怨难平。此事引起华东行政委员会文化部的重视，并在1953年1月24日的《解放日报》上发表了调查报告，点名批评安徽省公安厅和省委宣传部在处理问题时表现出的"不认真"和"含糊态度"；同时发表短论指出，这是一个有关党纪国法、有关党和人民群众联系的重大原则性错误。最后安徽省委作了重新处理：将常光华开除党籍，并依法惩处。而据3月3日《安徽日报》登载的省委宣传部长的检讨，原本还仅是开除党籍和建议撤消行政职务，未作法律制裁，"直至华东局一再指示，一再坚持原则，省委才根据华东局指示的精神，建议政府将严重违法乱纪的常光华逮捕法办，这一错误才在华东局领导下得到了纠正，党的影响才得以挽回"。此事引发的强烈震动，是因为众人眼里最低贱、最卑微、最无权势而人尽可欺的普通艺人，竟然斗败了人见人怕的当地公安机关，而此前有谁会把欺负个把"戏子"当回事呢，更想不到因此会"犯法"。因而，周恩来在1952年底举行的全国第一届戏曲观摩演出大会闭幕典礼上的有关讲话，或许在其间为严肃处理此事提供了一个重要的政治砝码。他在这个长篇讲话的最后强调指出："旧社会中的一些统治者虽然也喜好戏曲，但是他们是玩弄戏曲、糟踏艺人，而我们是爱好艺术、尊重艺人。所以我们对那些作风上、品质上恶劣的戏改工作者，尽管是极少部分，我们一定要加以清除。以后如果有这样的戏改干部，你们可以向中央人民政府写信。......我们做戏曲改革工作的人，更应当尊重他们。只有这样，才能够达到毛主席所指示我们的'百花齐放、推陈出新'的方向。"据当年的文献记录，讲话中分别注有"鼓掌"、"热烈鼓掌，经久不息"等字样，可见此话切中了戏改工作的问题，也说到了广大艺人的痛处，深得民心且又大快人心。尤其是"你们可以向中央人民政府写信"，此话出自新中国总理之口而具有的强烈意味，无疑使闻者倍感幸福和振奋，因为这是所有经历着"解放"(各种意义上)的大震荡而不知所措的艺人们格外向往和需要的。这应当有别于中国老百姓自古以来对"明君"的依恋和信奉吧，可真要区分起来，恐怕也说不太清楚。"常光华事件"看起来的确是艺人赢了，是"党和政府"再一次为民作主讨回了公道，也足以平民愤了。然而细想之下，事情似乎又并非如此：赢得最后胜利的真是受欺辱的艺人吗?真是无辜的弱者依照法律而维护了社会正义和生命尊严?令人遗憾的是，在《解放日报》、《安徽日报》连篇累牍的报告和检讨中，除反复提及此事"对党和政府的危害"、"严重损害党和政府与人民群众的联系"、"在群众中造成难以挽回的恶劣影响"等等之外，寻遍字里行间竟没有一句向受害人真诚道歉的话。而更多的事实与陈述都已经表明，真正赢得胜利的其实是意在贯彻戏改政策的"党和政府"的威力，是强大的国家机器的威力：为了在"党和政府与人民群众的联系"这一"原则性"问题上"挽回党的影响"，竟然不惜破格动用了法律武器。不仅如此，或许还因此事关涉到中央戏改政策与地方权势之间的潜在对峙，故而决不能"丧失原则"，反而要坚持从严从重、"杀一儆百"?相形之下，倘若单看事情本身所涉及的几个艺人的荣辱得失的话，恐怕实在是无足轻重。即便是受害人在当时据理力争的话语，也不过是说"剧场是国家的，封闭了对国家是损失"，而丝毫不敢提及个人的权益。但不管怎样，这至少说明向来无助的艺人终于有了政府作靠山，再没有什么权势能与之匹敌，可以想象艺人们因此会对党和政府怀着怎样一种发自内心的感戴与归依。那么很显然，戏曲艺人与国家政权这轻、重两极之间的靠拢和结合，不只是通过政治意识形态作用下的"精神感召"，其间更有着非常具体而实际的利益维系。四、是非曲直：有关民营、国营和"组织制度"的争议事实上，新中国政府在建国之初的确是抱着实现"社会主义理想"这一社会改造目的，这可以说是为新政权及其意识形态融入到民间、凝聚起人心、并组织起相应的社会生活提供了最大的原动力。然而，随着意在为社会改造创造物质基础的工业化手段的推行，实施计划经济所必然导致的国家集权与官僚体制正在逐步强化和膨胀起来，由此产生了新的等级秩序。于是原有的社会主义理想，特别是平等观念，同新的等级制度的不平等形式发生了冲突；相信群众和群众运动的灵活性、自发性的革命意识，也渐渐让位于符合工业化要求的统一管理纪律、稳定社会秩序和追求经济合理性等方面的考虑......其总体趋势是走向合理化、制度化、系统化，以及与此相关的专业化、正规化等等。可直到五十年代中后期，工业化手段并没有带来预期的社会改造成果，反倒推迟了社会主义目标的真正实现。曾经使全国人民对新中国、对共产党寄予厚望与信赖的政府在社会平等及其他社会福利方面的承诺，此时也已部分地仪式化，或者说意识形态化了，某种程度上仅供民众望梅止渴。而种种压抑性的国家管理体制所带来的负面影响，却已经不可遏止地遍布于社会生活的方方面面，各种困惑与不满情绪在整个社会中积累、弥漫，寻求着宣泄的机会和路径。1956年适时推出的"双百方针"，最初的动机原是为了动员与激发一切社会力量投入到社会主义建设中去，其结果则使得各种想法迫不及待地鸣放出来，底下埋藏已久的矛盾和意见也得以公开表达。经过"三改"的深入及各种政治运动的训练而在表面上越来越循规蹈矩的戏曲界，也在政府号召和社会舆论的鼓动下，就国家对戏曲工作的领导和管理问题发表了意见。 问题之一"国营"与"民营"之争：谁更"优越"、更"革命"?　 "解放"后的戏曲剧团分"国营剧团"与"民间职业剧团"两种(简称"国营"与"民营")：前者是全民所有制(国家经营)的剧团，派有专门的行政与业务干部进行管理，演职员的薪金由国家负责，收支赔赚全由国家兜着；后者是集体所有制(艺人经营)的剧团，完全自给自足、自负盈亏，国家不给经济补贴。建国初期为推动各地戏改，一般是由政府出面在民间职业剧团中"择优"(实力强、觉悟高)改制成立"国营剧团"，并精心扶持为戏曲界的榜样，因而社会声誉相当好。最早的范例是在1950年，由戏改局马彦祥出面说服动员，终使李少春的"起社"与叶盛章的"金声社"合并为以李少春、叶盛章、袁世海担纲的"新中国实验剧团"(京剧界第一个共和班)，随即加入戏改局所属的京剧研究院，成为北京市第一个由民营转为国营的戏曲剧团。此后不久，又动员北京评剧界两大头牌--筱白玉霜(再雯社)和喜彩莲(莲社)并班，正式组成"新中华评剧工作团"。1951年，戏改局与艺术局合并，新中华评剧工作团也就改隶于中国戏曲研究院，更名中国评剧团，成为北京第一个国营评剧团(中国评剧院前身)。在首都戏改工作的带动下，上海等地也以那些有实力、有"觉悟"的旧戏曲班社为对象，先后改制和组建了各主要地方剧种的"国营"(或称"民办公助")剧团。到了"社会主义改造"高潮中，各民间职业剧团为积极响应政府号召，也纷纷申请转为"国营"。据1956年初的报道，北京26个民间职业剧团改为"民办公助"剧团，天津15个民间职业剧团和9个小型曲艺组织全部改为"国营"，上海69个民间职业剧团改为"(新)国营"剧团，舆论赞扬这些城市的戏曲剧团迈入了"新的阶段"。当然，各地在此高潮中批准为"国营"的剧团多半是名义上的，其性质仍为"民营"的集体所有制，后来都被统称为"新国营"，以区别于原本意义上的国营剧团。为什么会有这么多的"民营"剧团争改"国营"呢?在我看来，其原因不外乎这样几点：一、民营剧团如果没有政府舆论来撑腰，无论怎样自我改造都很难摆脱"封建戏班"的落后形象，这就很难立足于政治(道德)标准第一的"新社会"；二、剧团内部的底层艺人经过"政治启蒙"，真正"翻身做主人"，思想觉悟也逐步提高，对自身所受的不平等、不合理的待遇极为不满，再要维持原状已不太可能；三、国家管理体制以不可阻挡之势渗入到社会生活的方方面面，这给戏曲活动带来了越来越多的牵制和障碍，各班社自主生存的能力也随之越来越弱，此时倘能接受政府的管理也就有了保障；四、眼看着众多的私营企业接受了"社会主义改造"，艺人们意识到民营剧团的改造也是迟早问题，所谓"敬酒不吃吃罚酒"，那还不如尽快采取积极主动的姿态，或许能赢得政府的信任和相应的优惠待遇。识时务者为俊杰，一向闯荡江湖、见惯世面的戏曲艺人，自然更懂得如何趋利避害。于是就在艺人们的"热烈要求"之下，政府主管部门顺水推舟，一举收纳了大量的"新国营剧团"。与此同时，各地用于戏曲剧团的财政开支也因此大大增加。对于这一改制高潮背后的实际问题，中央决策者并非没有警觉。刘少奇当时就指出：戏曲改革不能乱改，民间职业剧团暂时不要改为国营，让它与国营剧团竞赛，看谁能得到人民的喜爱。虽说此后全国各地都传达了"关于民间职业剧团今后不再改为国营"的决定，但由于当时正处在"国营就是革命"的潮流中，这种声音没有能真正落实到位。再加上因"国营"与"民营"的待遇悬殊而产生的最为实际的利益驱动(或许这才是直接原因)，剧团争相申报国营的风气仍未能制止，以致造成了地方政府财政上的一大负担。1957年春,文化部发出〈关于严格控制将民间职业剧团转为国营和将业余剧团转为职业剧团的通知〉，指出"今后的方针，应当使国营剧团和民间职业剧团在艺术上和经营管理制度上相互学习；逐步消灭两者不平等的现象，使之都成为为群众服务的经济上能够自给的职业艺术团体"，同时仍肯定民营转国营的要求是"社会主义积极性"的表现。而鸣放期间各地戏曲界举行座谈征求意见时，问题大多仍集中在此：民营的抱怨政府待遇不公，重公轻私、重大轻小；国营的感叹剧团越来越"机关化"，管束多、负担重、效益差(甚至赔钱)，因而也是牢骚满腹；报刊杂志上还出现了大量争鸣文章，议论着国营和民营剧团谁更"优越"、更"革命"。尽管这场争议在局势急转为"反右"之后也就不了了之，但各方都已在试图摆事实、讲道理的过程中揭示出了不少具体问题。1957年5月，上海市文化局局长在政协会议上就如何克服文化领导部门的官僚主义、主观主义、宗派主义和按照文艺特点来改进工作发了言，其中特别谈到了"要克服上海戏剧事业中的主要矛盾就必须改变戏剧团体的所有制"的问题，因而他建议上海的剧团"一律改为民营"，并且"分区管理"；但戏曲界舆论哗然，有的国营剧团的艺人为改制后能多挣钱而兴奋，更多的艺人代表则普遍认为"改还民营"是"退步"、"不是繁荣戏剧事业的好办法"。大家虽然赞成剧团在经营方式上要改革，但希望"剧团仍然由政府来办(包括组织、领导、管理等)"，最好是"走不赔钱的国营的道路"。尽管如此，1958年初上海市还是宣布"将现有新国营剧团、民办公助剧团和民间职业剧团划归各区文化局(科)领导和管理"，到整风运动后期各区属剧团又进行"调整"，或解散合并、或支援外地或撤销，多余演职人员只能"转业"到工厂农村。同时，为确保重点和树立典型，1960年10月，文化部党组发出〈关于加强对重点艺术团体的领导管理的初步意见(草案)〉，开列了经中宣部批准的147个国营单位，要求这些团体通过创作、演出的示范和经验总结，带动更多的艺术团体。1962年文化部召开全国文化局长会议研讨戏曲剧团改变所有制问题，并在吸取各地试点经验后，于1963年向中央提交了〈关于专(市)县所属国营戏曲剧团改为集体经营剧团的请示报告〉，以及〈关于集体经营戏曲剧团的若干规定〉，理由便是"戏曲剧团发展过快，与当前的国家经济情况不相适应，同时也增加了地方的财政开支"，因而对剧团进行"调整精简"后"一律改为集体经营"，自负盈亏，国家不再给予经费补助。但在经济上果断"减负"(甩"包袱")的同时，政府对剧团的领导和管理制度并未出现相应的松动，甚至在控制力度上有增无减。值得注意的一个问题是，在"社会主义工业化"这一激进目标与建国初期的国家落后经济实力的双重制约下，政府在鼓励艺人改制、并重点扶持国营剧团带动戏改工作的同时，自1951年起就已明文提出戏曲剧团应采取"企业化"的经营方针，逐步达到自给；但这并未影响政府在"社会主义改造"进程中继续扩展"国营"剧团的规模和比例，而且以清除"资产阶级自由市场"和"资产阶级个人主义思想"为名加大力度控制剧团和艺人的活动自由，乃至削弱了戏曲界原有的经营活力。正是由于国家政权多方面的强势干预，在"工业化"的经济目标和"社会主义"的政治目标之间愈益明显地暴露出许多矛盾冲突：所有这一切"偏差"或"弊端"，都已成为了中国五、六十年代的社会实践留给我们的一份沉重的遗产。 问题之二"右派"和艺人的分歧：从"组织制度"看"社会化"与"国有化"问题 1957年的"红五月"，中共中央下达〈关于整风运动的指示〉(4月27日)之后，中央号召全国人民"向党提意见"、"帮助党整风"，要消除顾虑、大胆发言，于是整风和鸣放就在各地迅速铺开。而其间文化部发出的〈关于开放"禁戏"问题的通知〉(5月17日)，以及由此引发的一系列"开放"的声势，更使人们兴奋不已，同时感到责无旁贷，理应"知无不言、言无不尽"。然而九九归一，当所有鸣放意见从原本帮助党和政府"除三害"(主观主义、宗派主义、官僚主义)的主旨出发，最终竟指向了一切失误背后的中央集权与官僚体制，即中国共产党的领导权问题时，这种质疑显然超出了国家政权及其意识形态的许可范围，遂使全国的政治形势不能不在最高层指挥下急剧地逆转为"反右"。吴祖光，因此就成了政治漩涡里的祭祀品，和批判戏曲界"反党"言论的替罪羊。吴祖光的"反党"言论大致有这么几层意思：1　组织力量庞大，党的威信太高；2　组织和个人是对立的，组织力量过大会限制个人活力,一方面使人从"依靠组织"变成"依赖组织"，另一面则压制和埋没人才，妨碍文艺事业的发展；3　"组织制度"产生"等级制度"，而对中央的崇拜"迹近迷信"，必须"消灭"这种等级崇拜，只讲是非、不讲等级，只追求真理而不论什么上级和权位；4　作为行政领导的共产党既是政治领导、思想领导，实际也是艺术领导，"外行领导内行"，行政领导竟成了领导一切的万能；5　愚弄和脱离群众，虽也懂得"为人民服务"的道理，但"从不估计人民群众的需要"，"对群众喜爱的东西用无数清规戒律斩尽杀绝，把群众不喜爱的东西塞给群众作为对群众进行教育"；6　解放后的戏改工作是失败的，戏曲剧目大遭砍杀，老艺人"穷愁潦倒"，培养新人也成为空话，"社会主义优越性"更无从体现......总而言之，他认为"组织制度是愚蠢的"，建议它"趁早别领导艺术工作"，甚至在文章结语中这样写道："最后要说的一句话就是：既然我们的领导屡次说到行政命令不能领导文艺工作，那就该明确行政命令不领导文艺工作。"有关发言后来作为"反党"言论整理发表时，就被冠之以〈党"趁早别领导艺术工作"〉之名而更成了众矢之的。此前新凤霞曾极力反对丈夫在整风发言中向党提意见，她觉得自己在旧社会受尽苦难，多亏共产党救了她才翻了身，今天的领导方式尽管有问题，也比旧社会强多了，因而她听到这些意见就十分"反感"，甚至"害怕"。这种想法在艺人中似乎很具有普遍性，"反右"期间戏曲界大规模组织批判吴祖光时，艺人们也多以"亲身体会"证明了"党的领导"的必要性和绝对重要性，并无一例外地向党表忠心。梅兰芳也作为戏曲界的最高代表在《人民日报》发表批判文章，详尽地驳斥了各种"反党"言论。可叹吴祖光在"恃才傲物"、"借题发挥"之外，原本多少还有为戏曲界鸣不平之意，而对党和政府充满"感激"和"忠诚"的艺人们并不领情。当然，由于受政治高压和舆论影响，艺人们在表态时难免会言不由衷。可即便如此，这种认识分歧的内涵依然耐人寻味：一为知识分子，一为戏曲艺人，同样经历了"解放"后的社会变革，甚至面对同一现象同一事实，而各自认识问题的视角与态度毕竟有所不同。譬如，共产党运用"新旧对比"、"忆苦思甜"的感化模式打动了绝大多数的"劳苦大众"(包括艺人)，但这样的宣传逻辑不可能真正说服知识分子。同样是被国家"包"下来、"养"起来、甚至在更大程度上享受了"社会福利"的知识分子，通常认为这一切待遇是他们付出才华和智慧后理所应得的报偿，不能因此就要求大家都死心塌地服从组织(国家)；况且，并不是所有的人都觉得现在的生活比过去好。可要是站在曾经饱受欺压、而今翻身有靠的艺人角度来看，种种源自"翻身感"的切身体验先就使得这些新中国管理体制的所谓"受益者"心怀感恩，他们愿意相信国家管理艺人的"组织制度"无论如何也是一种保护弱者权益和保障社会福利的手段。至于知识分子发现、思考和提出的问题，对艺人们而言可能是既熟悉又陌生的，并且因为陌生(或许从未这样看问题)而隔膜，又因熟悉(自以为有关切身利益)而听了叫人忐忑不安。不难想见，任何对国家政策和管理体制的质疑，都会拨动人们对党对政府的信任度，随之动摇人们置身于现实生活状态的稳定感，而这一切恐怕都是习惯了忆苦思甜的戏曲艺人们所不愿接受的。再比如，对于文艺事业中"党的领导"所带来的后果与影响，以及戏改干部的工作得失，吴祖光们多持怀疑甚至否定态度，更多的艺人代表(如筱白玉霜)则反复强调了戏曲改革确实需要党派来的"新文艺工作者"同艺人合作，否则会"两败俱伤"，而且总是在提出大量意见后，仍期待着"文化主管部门"来帮助解决。其实，这里触及到一个长期困扰着新中国的重大问题，即"社会化"与"国有化"之间无法撇清的暧昧关系。其表现之一，就是社会主义理想中的民众平等要求，和国有化进程中形成的官僚体制及其特权等级形式之间，强烈对抗而又彼此纠缠的复杂关系。对于戏曲艺人而言，他们在新中国、新社会中的"翻身"、"平等"来之不易，说到底是党和政府给予的。既可予之、便可夺之，予夺之权显然都在国家手里。而且，所谓"国家"并不是抽象的，是由层层叠叠的官僚体制充斥和控制着，他们在相对的势力范围内拥有绝对的特权，这种特权无疑又是凌驾于公诸民众的所谓"平等"之上的。因此可见，"解放"后为全体社会成员提供一切依靠的强大的国家势力，其一端确实维系着政府慷慨施与民间的"平等体验"，而另一端则勾连着官僚体制的特权享受。然而，即使这种在特权之下极为有限、并且仅仅一度出现过的"平等体验"，也仍为国有化增添了合理合法的色彩。在人们眼里，国有化进程原本正是伴随着"劳苦大众"的翻身、平等而来，其间暴露的种种弊端似乎就成了实现社会化、追求社会平等所必须付出的一种"代价"：这种代价之真实与沉重，却大大抵消了民间若有若无、似是而非的"平等体验"。此外，国有化许诺给全体民众的社会平等及其他生存权利，一度在某种意义上提供了最基本的"保障"，这对原本一无所有的下层民众来说确实包含着物质与精神上的双重满足；而在相对就已处在较高阶层的知识分子那里，这种"保障"非但名存实亡，反倒带来了更多的束缚和压抑。于是，当有限的"平等体验"不足以承受这种"代价"时，高扬着身心自由与精神价值的知识分子便毫不留情地指出了国有化导致的负面影响，而铩羽已久的艺人们则大多仍处在小心翼翼的期待之中。这里的问题相当复杂，显然不能简单地归结为"面包"与"自由"的价值高低之争。 结　语从"戏子"到"文艺工作者"的这一改造历程，使戏曲艺人从拥有一定程度自主选择权的个体活动者，变成了由国家人事部门统一管理的组织体制中的一员。这种转变，表面看来是提高了戏曲艺人的社会地位和生活待遇；实则从长远来看，其内在的弊端比起这种名义上的"新生"和"荣耀"来，更将是一个对戏曲的生存发展性命攸关的问题。艺人们自古游世谋生，自娱娱人，戏曲界则是藏龙卧虎，奇招迭出，日久便形成一整套灵活的竞争、淘汰机制，有效地刺激着人们的创造力和积极性，任何奋斗的成功所带来的精神与物质满足都构成了戏曲兴盛、艺人辈出的压力和动力。然而，在一个高度国家化、体制化的戏曲团体中，这种压力和动力都被某种看似以"稳定"、"平等"、"保护弱者"为政策出发点的社会福利体制所淡化了：这一来，致使戏曲剧团和艺人的独立生存能力逐渐退化，随之也就遗忘和失落了真正属于他们的魅力和价值。"江湖生涯"，于是乎成为一种久远的记忆：自由放浪，恣肆纵横，如流水，如草根。