“定亲”型故事中“月老”形象传承的文化根基

Cultural Groundings for the Transmission of the “Moon Man” Figure in the Tale of the “Predestined Wife”(ATU 930A)

在广义的文化语境下,中国"月老"型故事中的月老形象在两千年的岁月中如何传承和变异?何以至今仍被人们口口相传?故事中的元素是如何随着它们与文化核心价值的关系变化而变化的?只有当外来故事中的关键元素与本土文化有相似的特征,方能满足本土观众的需求,并融入本土;反过来,这些关键因素又深化了故事中隐含的信仰和价值观,而且故事的改变预示了我们日常生活中文化整合的前奏。

Focusing on the'Moon Man'(or matchmaker)in the tale'Predestined Wife'(ATU 930A)in Chinese examples,this article applies the historic-geographic method in a broad cultural context by exploring how the Moon Man figure in the tale has been transmitted and transformed over the past two millennia and is still alive in oral tradition,and how elements in tales rise and fall because of their relations to the fundamental values in the culture.This author argues that any key element in an'imported'tale must have familiar characteristics enabling it to adapt to the local audience and take root and,in turn,strengthen hidden beliefs and values,and that the transformation or migration of tales is the precursor of cultural integration that continues in our everyday practices.