網民抗議 孔廟將撤下莫言題字

After a wave of criticism online, administrators of the Confucius Temple in Beijing said they plan to replace a plaque bearing an inscription by Mo Yan, who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in wooden plaque features the characters “Qian Long Shi Jing,” or Stone Classics of Qian Long, and is the marker for an exhibition hall housing stone tablets engraved with excerpts from Confucian classics during the reign of the 18th-century emperor Qian Long. Three smaller characters indicate that the inscription is by Mr. Mo.

在網上出現一波批評聲音之後，北京孔廟的管理人員表示，他們將替換由2012年諾貝爾文學獎得主莫言題寫的額匾。這塊木匾上的漢字為“乾隆石經”，懸掛該牌匾的大廳裡儲存著18世紀乾隆皇帝統治時期留下的刻有儒家經典文字的石碑。額匾落款的三個小字寫著“莫言題”。

The plaque was installed in 2013, but a photograph and a scathing comment posted online this month set off a debate about the propriety of placing an inscription by a writer best known for his earthy tales of rural life in such a hallowed venue. Just as jarring to traditionalists is the fact that the characters were written left to right, instead of right to left, as is the norm in classical Chinese.

這塊額匾於2013年開始懸掛，不過，本月在網上出現的一張照片和一條犀利的評論引發了爭論。爭議之處在於，在這樣一處聖地懸掛以創作通俗農村故事出名的作家的題字是否恰當。同樣令恪守傳統的人士不滿的是，這幾個漢字是從左往右寫的，而中國古代的慣常寫法是從右往左。

In a comment posted on Sina Weibo on May 10, Ren Zhong, a researcher at the Confucius Institutes of Renmin University and the director of Rujia Net, a website devoted to Confucianism, wrote: “It is shocking that a plaque carved with Mo Yan’s writing has been displayed as the name plaque for the hall.” He also objected to the left-to-right order of the characters.

人民大學孔子研究院研究員任重於5月10日在新浪微博上釋出了一條評論，其中寫道：北京孔廟“在大廳門上懸掛莫言題寫的牌匾，令人吃驚。”此外，他還譴責了這些題字從左往右的書寫順序。任重同時在儒家網擔任主編，而這是一家致力於研究儒學的網站。

The comment was reposted more than 400 times and attracted coverage in the state news media. Although modern Chinese writing usually runs left to right, many Weibo users criticized that usage at the temple, one of the most important Confucian institutions in China, as a sign of disrespect.

這條帖子被轉發了超過400次，官方新聞媒體也對其進行了報道。儘管當代中國書法的書寫順序通常是從左往右，但許多微博使用者批評，孔廟是中國最重要的儒學機構之一，這樣的寫法用在那裡是一種不敬。

“Wrong direction,” one commenter wrote under the name Mr. Li Eating Chestnuts With His Wife. “Are we abandoning our traditional culture now?”

“方向錯了，”一名叫做“李公子攜眷吃栗子”的使用者寫道。“是連文化傳統都不要了嗎？”

They also questioned whether being awarded a Nobel Prize qualified a writer to be honored in a place dedicated to ancient Chinese learning.

他們還質疑，一名作家獲了諾貝爾獎，是否就有資格為專事古經研習的地方題字？

“The Nobel Prize is just a product representing Western culture,” one commenter wrote. “A Chinese who was awarded but refused the prize would be more qualified to provide the inscription.”

“諾獎可是西方文化產物，”一名使用者寫道。“若以後有一國人得獎而拒之，應該比莫言更有資格為匾額提字。”

In an interview, Chu Hung-lam, director of the Confucius Institute of Hong Kong, agreed that the plaque was at odds with convention. “It is kind of inappropriate for traditional buildings, although on rare occasions it does appear,” he said of the direction in which the inscription was engraved. “Traditionally, inscriptions run from right to left.”

香港孔子學院院長朱鴻林(Chu Hung-lam)在採訪中表示，他也認為這塊額匾不合常規。“對於傳統建築而言，這有些不協調，儘管少數情況下的確會出現，”談到題字方向時，他說。“傳統上，題字是從右向左的。”

The Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, which oversees the management of the temple and other cultural sites in the city, said that Mr. Mo had been invited to provide an inscription because of his literary accomplishments.

負責管理北京地區廟宇等文化古蹟的北京市文物局稱，之所以邀請莫言題字，是因為他取得的文學成就。

“We wanted to honor Mo Yan for his achievement as the first Chinese laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature,” the administration’s publicity department wrote in an email late Friday. “We also wanted to emphasize the importance of promoting traditional Chinese culture in modern society.”

“這一舉措，是為了表達對中國歷史上第一位諾貝爾文學獎得主莫言先生的禮遇，”文物局宣傳部週五晚些時候在電子郵件中稱。“也藉此喚醒觀眾對中國文化特別是傳統文化的推崇和重視，做到古為今用。”

As for the decision to reverse the traditional order of the characters, it said: “In order to show that we are keeping up with modern developments, we followed the modern writing style and carved the inscription from left to right.”

至於顛倒傳統書寫方向的決定，郵件說：“秉著尊重傳統，與時俱進的原則，我們遵從現代書寫方式，題寫了該匾額。”

After considering “suggestions from Internet users” and “with the agreement of Mo Yan,” however, the temple’s administrators have decided to replace the plaque with characters in the more traditional order. They did not say when this would happen.

然而，在考慮“網民的意願及合理性建議”和“徵求莫言先生的意見”之後，孔廟的管理方決定用更符合傳統順序的題字來替換這塊額匾。不過，他們並未披露將何時採取行動。