猴子、大米与樱花——关于大贯惠美子的历史象征主义

Monkey, Rice and Cherry blossoms-Historical symbolism of Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney

大贯惠美子教授是世界著名的人类学家,在她的诸多学术研究中,给予“物”的象征意义以极大的关注。她主张从历史中“物”象征意义的变迁入手,通过“物”的一词多义、政治势力的渗入与象征的非具体化等方面进行叙述。首先,她重点阐释了猴子、大米、樱花三个“物”在日本历史中的象征意义变迁。以此为基础,她在跨文化的视角下分析了“物”象征意义的变迁过程如何被国家利用,并通过表述集体自我的形式将文化与政治的民族主义建构为爱国主义,从而意识到在象征意义的政治化过程中,非具体化的象征有着独特的作用。她运用了制造日本天皇神秘感的例子,揭示了不可见的和无法听到的政治权力如何以一种“具体”的象征呈现。

Professor Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney is a world-famous anthropologist.In her academic researches,she pays high attention to the symbolic meaning of“things”.She advocates starting from the historic change of the symbolic meaning of“things”,especially from the polysemy of the“things”,the infiltration of political forces and the non-externalization of symbols.First of all,she focuses on the symbolic changes of the three“things”in Japanese history:monkey,rice and cherry blossom.Then,she analyses how the symbolic meaning of“things”is used by the state under the cross-cultural perspectives,constructing the cultural and political nationalism as the patriotism through the collective self.After that,she realizes that in the process of the politicization of the symbolism,the symbol of the“Non-externalization”has a special role.She uses the example of creating the mystery of the Japanese emperor to show how invisible and inaudible political power can be presented as an“Externalization”symbol.