后羿神话新解

A New Interpretation of the Myth of Hou Yi

20世纪中国神话学研究存在两大弊病 :一是在进化论理论支配下视神话为人类早期历史的写影 ,视神话创作为野蛮人的专利品 ;二是神话解释上滥用清儒开创的音韵训诂之学。我们认为研究中国神话理应用中国文化来解释中国神话 ,而把域外文化仅作为启发和参考。语音文字不可不注意 ,但应禁绝无边无际的任意通转。只有这样 ,中国神话学研究才能走上健康发展的道路。战国时期形成的“羿杀凿齿”、“羿射十日”神话及汉代出现的“嫦娥奔月”神话都是几个文化因素在新的历史条件下人为综合而成的 ,根本不存在一个“神话历史化”的过程 ,支配 2

Prevailing in the world of mythological study in the 20th century China are two malpractices: under the domination of the theory of evolution, mythology being regarded as a mirror of early human history and the production of mythology as the distinctive work of the barbarians, and the approach of prosodic exegesis established by the scholars in the Qing Dynasty being used indiscriminately in interpreting mythology. It is thought that, in research of Chinese mythology, Chinese mythology should be interpreted based on Chinese culture while foreign culture can serve only as means of insight and reference. Only by doing so, can the study of Chinese mythology be conducted into a sound way of advancement. For example, the myths that 'Yi killed the monster' and 'Yi shot down the ten suns with his arrows' were composed in the Period of Warring Kingdoms while that that 'Chang'er flew to the moon' did not appear till the Han Dynasty. They all resulted from some intentional synthesization of several cultural elements under the new historical circumstance. The supposed process of 'historicized mythology' is groundless. Therefore, the theory and approach of mythical study by the 20th century mythology researchers need to be reconsidered.