象征是艺术研究中的一个常常引起争论的问题。一般说来,人们已经公认象征艺术是人类的一种古老的艺术形式,并且至今仍在人类的艺术活动中占据着重要的地位。但是,象征的本质和规律是什么?人们对此却众说纷纭。概括起来,我国理论界大致有三种看法:一是指一种艺术技巧,与“隐喻”含义相近;二是指一种创作方法或文学流派,与“现实主义”、“浪漫主义”相对举;三是作为一种哲学概念,指的是人与世界 Symbolism is a frequently debated issue of artistic research. In general, it has been recognized that symbolism is an ancient art form of mankind, and still occupies an important place in human artistic activities. However, what is the essence and law of symbolism? To sum up, there are basically three kinds of views in our country’s theoritical circles: one refers to one kind of artistic skill, which is similar to the meaning of “metaphor”; two refers to a creative method or school of literary genres, as opposed to “realism” and “romanticism” Third, as a philosophical concept, it refers to people and the world