“情节单元”释义——兼论俄国李福清教授之“母题”说

On "Motif" and its Translation

"Motif"一词,用作研究民间故事之术语时,指故事中最小之完整叙事单元,胡适将之音译为"母题"。本文讨论中国文学之表意特性及母题之易被误解为 "主题",而改以"情节单元"

As a literary term, a'motif 'is the smallest element in a tale having a power to persist in tradition.This paper discusses its Chinese translation by Dr. Hu Shih, the probable misunderstanding of the translation, and the coordinate term instead.