“口述世系”与“口述家谱”略论

On “Oral Lineage”and “Oral Genealogy”

世系虽然可以被记忆、口述并反复传播,但无论在理论上还是在资料的品质上,口述的世系或对世系的口述都具有不稳定和"宗支世系"不完整的特征。由于现存"口述世系"大多是对文献记载内容的分析结果,既无法获得直接的存在证明,功能上也起不到"收族"的作用,因此,将其确定为谱学史上的一个独立阶段,显然并不恰当。

Lineage can be memorized,orally narrated and repeatedly disseminated,but the oral lineage is characterized by instability in terms of theory and the data quality. The existing'oral lineage'is the outcome of the analysis of the recorded literature,so its credibility and function are more limited. Therefore,the paper concludes that regarding the oral lineage as an independent stage of genealogy is not appropriate.