构建21世纪中国的马克思主义文艺理论,有两个问题需要界定:一是它与经典马克思主义尤其是马克思主义创始人理论之间的关系;二是构建这一理论形态的理论起点。一就第一个问题而言,我们不妨借鉴一下马克思主义创始人对待西方经典文艺作品的做法。马克思在致斐迪南·拉萨尔的信中指出,法国剧作 There are two problems to be defined in building the Marxist theory of literature and art in China in the 21st century: one is its relationship with the theory of classical Marxism, especially the founder of Marxism; and the other is the theoretical starting point for the construction of this theoretical form. As far as the first question is concerned, we may wish to draw lessons from the practices of the founder of Marxism in treating classic Western literary and artistic works. In his letter to Ferdinand Lassalle, Marx pointed out that the French play