近二十年來，華文文學的研究已經成為一門方興未艾的新學科，「世界華文文學」這一學術名詞越來越引人注目而成為一項熱門的課題，對於該名詞的定義和界定更是在學術界眾聲喧嘩，各抒己見。本文通過梳理瘂弦散見於報刊雜誌的文章、演講和訪談，探討詩人、編輯家瘂弦的世界華文文學理念，闡述他所推崇的「世界華文文學一盤棋」的文學想像，甄別他對華文文學的敘述與華語語系文學論以及北美、臺灣、大陸各方學者論述的相同和相異之處，闡述他對世界華文文學及其理論建樹的篳路藍縷的貢獻。

The past twenty years have witnessed a rising new discipline that is developing rapidly, namely Studies of Literature in Chinese. Another term, ＂World Literature in Chinese＂, has attracted so much critical attention that it has turned into a heated subject. By examining Ya Xian's articles, lectures and interviews published in newspapers and magazines, this essay aims at probing poet and editor Ya Xian's concept of world literature in Chinese, describing his much promoted literary imagination of ＂a grand unit of world literature in Chinese＂. Further, this essay compares Ya Xian's view on this literature in Chinese with that of Sinophone theory, as well as that of scholars from North America, Taiwan and mainland China, inspecting similarities and differences in their discourses, with the purpose to defying Ya Xian's contribution to this subject and to its construction of theory.