Abstract: This paper focuses on San Juan de la Cruz (Saint John of the Cross, 1542-1591), the canonical poet of the Spanish Golden Age and one of the most outstanding figures in the world history of mysticism. Ineffability, the core characteristics of mystical experience and mysticism in general, is frequently affirmed by San Juan de la Cruz in his writing. However, the Carmelite saint-poet, rather than sealing his mouth, engages in lyrical utterances and indulges in ravishing verbal beauty, to which the canonization of his works would attribute. By leveraging the cross-cultural perspective of “the eternal Tao” and “the indeterminate language” in Chinese classics, this study attempts to investigate San Juan de la Cruz's enterprise of speaking the unspeakable, an enterprise premised upon the dynamic interaction of language and silence, and constructed through literary devices of paradox, periphrasis, ambiguity, and absurdness.

Key words: San Juan de la Cruz, mysticism, ineffability

摘要： 圣十字若望（1542-1591）是西班牙黄金世纪的经典诗人,同时也是世界神秘主义历史上最杰出的人物之一。不可言说性是神秘主义及神秘经验的核心特征,这位加尔默罗会的圣徒诗人也在作品中多次肯定这一点,但他并未保持缄默,不但言说,且言说得如此之美,其言说的结果成为文学史上的经典。本文尝试结合中国古典资源中的“恒道”与“卮言”,探讨圣十字若望作品在言与默的张力与互动中,如何借吊诡语、迂回语、模棱语、荒唐语实现不可言说的言说。

关键词: 圣十字若望, 神秘主义, 不可言说