白蛇传的城市想象与文化记忆

On the Urban Imagination and Cultural Memory of Madam White Snake

白蛇传是中国家喻户晓的民间四大传说之一,一直以来,人们都认为民间故事与传说只是关于乡土民间的叙说。本文从这个"美丽的误会"入手,以白蛇传为例,揭示古老传说与城市文化之间千丝万缕的联系。白蛇传是一部关于城市的民间叙事作品,城市成为白蛇文化的重要载体。它在不断地演绎发展的过程中始终如一地承载着民众对于杭州这座城市的想象,这些对城市的想象和表达,同时也构成人们对这座城市的文化记忆。

Madam White Snake is one of the four widely known greatest Chinese folk legends. People have always regarded folk tales and legends to be narratives about rural folks. This paper, taking Madam White Snake as an example, starts from this ＂beautiful misunderstanding＂ to reveal the close relationship between old legends and urban culture. Madam White Snake is a folk narrative of the city and thus the city becomes the carrier of the tale＇s culture. The tale, throughout its history of evolution and development, carries consistently people＇s imagination of the city Hangzhou. Therefore, the imagination and expression at the same time constitutes people＇s cultural memory for this city.