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再谈日本人的耻感文化 Further on the Japanese Shame Culture 林巍 Lin Win 的确，日本人有一种特殊的耻感，中国人恐怕难以完全理解。因特殊条件，我与日本人接触较多，也在日本生活过，故对此有着别样的体会与认识。 Indeed, the Japanese have a peculiar sense of shame, which may be hard for the Chinese to understand. Conveniently, since I have had a lot of contact with them and lived in Japan for some time, I therefore have some first-hand knowledge and insight about it. 在日本时，邻居告诉我一件事：她朋友的丈夫在二次世界大战时曾在日本政府任职，日本投降时，他们在一个广场上聆听喇叭中传来的天皇宣读投降书，这时四座的人群中枪声断续响起，是不断有人自杀。她回到家，之后丈夫也回来了，她很惊诧地问他：“人家都就义了，你怎么还没有自杀？” Once in Japan, my Japanese neighbor told me a story: her friend’s husband used to be a civil servant in the Japanese government during World War II. On the Japanese surrender day, a crowd sat in the square, listening on tweeters to the Declaration of Surrender read by the Emperor. Then gunfire intermittently broke out as suicides were committed by people in the crowd. She then went back home, only to find out that her husband had returned as well. With great surprise, she asked him, “You saw others killing themselves for a good cause on the spot, but why haven’t you?” 由此耻感，也衍生出了日本人的相关性格。突出的一个是他们认真、细致甚至是极端的工作态度，另一个则是讲求“义理”与“人情”，这些与他们的要面子是相辅相成的。 Out of this shame, specific Japanese characteristics are nurtured. Most notably, their work attitude of seriousness, meticulousness, total focus and their beliefs in giri and ninjo, which could be seen as the other side of their face-saving. 前者上次已叙，这里主要谈下后者。“义理”和“人情”二词虽都来自汉语，但其含义不尽相同。“义理”是指根据社会规范对某些特殊关系的人所应尽到的义务；“人情”则是一种更加普世的由己推人的情绪和感觉。“义理”是一种相互间的纽带，一种高尚的道德情操；失去了“义理”也便失去了别人对你的信任和尊重。“义理”和“人情”在一般情况下是不矛盾的，而一旦发生冲突，后者要服从前者。然而，这与其说是道德感，不如说是耻辱感的威力。 Since their work attitude has been previously discussed, their beliefs are to be touched upon here. The two phrases giri and ninjo, although originally borrowed from Chinese, have quite different connotations. Giri refers to the obligation to act according to the dictates of society in relation to a special group of people, while ninjo is a concept of more universal value, sympathy and affection toward others. Giri is a natural bond among the Japanese people and an indication of high moral worth, which should not be lost if you wish to maintain the trust and respect of other people. The two concepts generally do not contradict one another. However, should a conflict arise the Japanese are inclined to value giri over ninjo. The phenomenon, in my view, has less to do with morality than with a sense of shame. 对于日本人的耻感文化，学术界已有很多研究。如从文化属性上分类，西方的基督教信仰是一种“罪感文化”，依靠自我反省；而日本的集体主义是一种“耻感文化”，注重外界压力。 The Japanese shame culture has long aroused interest in the academic field, where a cultural dichotomy is defined – Christian belief in the West is deemed to be a guilt culture based on a person’s internal moral standard; while collectivism in Japan is a shame culture which relies heavily on external sanction. 我的体会是，在日本的日常生活中，两种文化其实是难以截然分开的；问题可能要复杂得多，值得深入研究，因为其影响是多方面的，包括语言及表达方式等等。 In my experience, however, the division between the two cultures is hardly so clearly cut since the issue may be more complicated than people expected and far-reaching implications could be explored, including their reflections in the language and expressions. （林巍 译） |
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