The Man in the Moone and the Moon-writing in Seventeenth-century England

Abstract

Abstract: Copernican Revolution and the Great Geographical Discoveries sparked a revival of the moon-writing tradition in early modern Europe. In The Man in the Moone (1638), the first moon-voyage work and arguably the first science fiction in English literature, Bishop Francis Godwin explores the question of “how the world becomes modern” through Domingo Gonsales' “St Helena-Moon-China” voyage. Reading against the debates over science and religion, Christian and pagan civilization, domestic and international politics of seventeenth-century England, from the perspectives of Copernican Revolution, the Great Geographical Discoveries and Utopia literature, the paper intends to investigate how The Man in the Moone participates in the debate over discourses of literature, science, theology and politics. In so doing, it attempts to explore the intellectual significance of the revival of moon-writing tradition in early modern Europe.

Key words: The Man in the Moone, moon-writing, science fiction

摘要： 天文学革命和地理大发现引发了早期现代欧洲月亮书写传统的复兴。在英语文学史上第一部月亮旅行作品、且常被视为英语文学史上第一部科幻小说的《月中人》中,戈德温主教以主人公冈萨雷斯的“圣赫勒拿岛—月球—中国”之旅,对英格兰乃至整个欧洲的基督教世界如何步入现代这一问题进行了探讨。本文试图将《月中人》置于17世纪英格兰的月亮书写所涉及的科学与神学之争、基督教文明与异教文明之争、英国的内政外交之困等一系列冲突中,从天文学革命、新世界探险和乌托邦文学等角度切入,探讨《月中人》如何参与彼时的文学、科学、神学以及政治等话语的构建或论争,尝试挖掘月亮书写传统在早期现代的复兴所具备的思想史意义。

关键词: 《月中人》, 月亮书写, 科幻小说

Wang Xiao. The Man in the Moone and the Moon-writing in Seventeenth-century England[J]. Comparative Literature in China, 2024, 0(3): 236-253.

王骁. 《月中人》与17世纪英格兰的月亮书写[J]. 中国比较文学, 2024, 0(3): 236-253.

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