作为符号的仪式与节庆:文化史家的跨学科研究路径

The Rituals and Festivals as Symbols: The Interdisciplinary Path of Cultural Historians

仪式和节庆是人类生活中较为正式的行为方式和习俗。欧美文化史家充分借鉴人类学、社会学、民俗学等学科的研究视角和理论方法,重视仪式、节庆活动的符号学意义,是对实证主义历史研究的有益补充。时至今日,仪式和节庆已经成为史学研究中一个不可或缺的组成部分,该项研究也堪称跨学科研究的典型一例。历史学家的主要任务在于从各个历史时期的仪式与节庆活动中找出"变与不变"的要素,借以分析这一时期政治、社会、文化的演进与发展。这是历史学者从事该项研究的主要学术意义。

Rituals and festivals are often treated as formal ways of behavior and customs in the human life. Cultural historians fully borrow research perspectives and theoretical methods of anthropology, sociology, folklore and other disciplines, and attach great importance to the semiotic meaning of rituals and festivals, which functions as a useful complement to positivist historiog-raphy. Rituals and festivals have become indispensable parts of historical research by now. This kind of study also is one of the typical case of interdisciplinary research. Historians＇ main task is to find the elements of change and status quo from ceremonial and festival activities in specific periods, so as to analyze the characteristics of the evolution of the politics, economy and socie-ty. This is the key point of its academic significance.