多元民俗叙事:钟敬文与普罗普的对话——以“会唱歌的心”故事类型研究为个案

Diversity in Folkloristic Narratology:Oriental Approaches Represented by Zhong Jing-wen and Vladimir Propp

在世界故事类型研究中,"会唱歌的心"(singing bone)是一个重要的个案,在上世纪20年代,以芬兰学派为代表的一批经典民俗学学者围绕它建立了以西方文化观为中心的研究方法;与之相反,少数东方国家的学者提出了非西方文化中心的研究方法,包括钟敬文和普罗普。他们两人未曾谋面,但几乎同时提出了多元化的研究观点,并建立了符合自己国情的研究个案和故事分类方法。钟敬文的研究成果成为亚洲国家民俗学者研究民间故事类型的基础,普罗普的研究成果影响了法国结构主义和后芬兰学派的研究框架。这个故事类型至今是中国内地和新疆史诗《玛纳斯》民俗传承中的"活"传统。在今天强调多元化与一元化的区分并提倡维护多元文化的国际思潮中,对钟敬文和普罗普在这方面的著述加以综合研究,具有重要的历史价值和社会现实意义。

＂Singing Bone＂,a classical type of narrative pattern,appeared in The Types of the Folktale（1910）collected and edited by Antti Aarne.Together with other types of narratology,it became the point of departure from which folkloristic methodology was established by the Finnish School,and has been ethnocentric around the Western culture.However,a fewer folklorists in the Oriental countries,such as Professor ZHONG Jing-wen from China and Professor Vladimir Propp from Russia,conducted different approaches during the 1920 sby their own materials,which,eventually,built up a nonwestern centralized paradigm to meet their specific needs.In fact,not only did their works in the field of folkloristics create respective models with peculiarities,but also influenced some other key scholars in Asian and European counties.For example,ZHONG＇s research has laid a foundation for other Asian folklorists,whereas Propp＇s has influenced the research framework of the French Structuralism and the Finnish School after 1960s.Meanwhile,the pattern in the＂singing bone＂has been the＂living＂tradition of folklore and even been transmitted to both the inland China and the north-west part,such as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,e.g.the Epic Manas of Khalkhas.It is therefore of important historical and social significance to undertake further comprehensive research of their works to distinguish,protect and maintain the cultural diversities.