民俗学是一门国学——中山大学民俗学会的工作计划与早期民俗学者对学科的认识

Folkloristics as a Study of Sinology:Work Plans of the Folklore Society of Sun Yat-sen University and the Discipline Recognition of Early Folklorists

对于一个新兴的学科来说,初始的学术取向往往决定着学科的未来走向,初始的研究成绩则影响着学科的基础范式。从中国现代民俗学早期发展时期中山大学民俗学会的四份工作计划可以看出,不同民俗学倡导者对于民俗学的理解以及工作计划相去甚远。以何思敬为代表的西学主张和以杨成志为代表的人类学取向最后都没能成为中国现代民俗学的道路选择,究其最重要的原因,是因其实践成绩和原创精神的不足。何思敬只有学术主张,没有实际成绩,因而也就没有可供后人仿照的学术范本;杨成志借助他山之石,没有原创的理论和方法,其学术成就最后也只能被归入他山。早期民俗学者具有示范意义的学术成绩主要体现在顾颉刚等人的国学研究上,正是这一研究范式,成为后代民俗学者立足的根本和不断再出发的学术原点。学术史一再告诉我们:任何漂亮的学术主张都是纸上谈兵,唯有原创的学术成绩才是我们不断精进的立足根本。

For an emerging discipline,the initial academic orientation often determines its future direction,and the initial research achievements can affect its basic paradigm.The four work plans of the Folklore Society of Sun Yatsen University in the early development of modern Chinese folkloristics reveal that different folklore advocates have different folkloristic understandings and work plans.The most important reason that Western learning orientation represented by He Sijing and the anthropological orientation represented by Yang Chengzhi didn'st become the choices of modern Chinese folkloristics is their lack of practical achievements and original spirit.He Sijing had academic proposition,but no practical achievements that can serve as the model for future generation to imitate;Yang Chengzhi learned from other disciplines but was short of original theory and method,and his academic achievements can only be classified into other disciplines.The exemplary academic achievements of early folklorists are mainly manifested in Gu Jiegang and others'sstudies of ancient Chinese civilization,which becomes the foundation and the academic re-starting point of the later generation.Academic history has repeatedly told us that beautiful academic proposition is just empty talk,and only the original academic achievements can be the fundamentals for our continuous improvement.