西方世界的中国“歌谣运动”

The Chinese “Ballad Campaign” in the Western World

以《中国评论》为中心的中国民俗搜集活动堪称西方世界的中国"歌谣运动":活动始于民俗及民间文学资料征集,以报刊为媒介扩散影响,继而引起广泛关注,并由社会各界共同参与,其中"歌谣"地位卓然,成果显著。更重要的是,它真正开启了西方现代中国民俗学研究,第一次用明确的学科眼光审视中国民俗。面对歌谣及其他民俗形式,中西心态的差异可以从"民间"和"街头"意义的错落中约略窥见。"民间"预设了上下层级,有"民间"便有"庙堂",有"民众"便有"眼光向下""到民间去"的"我们"。"街头"却展示了另一种构图:所有人位属同一平面,在同一条喧嚣的街上,没有层级,或者说没有内部的上下层级,因为"我们"始终是群体外泾渭分明的他者。西方这些早期起步于街头的中国民俗研究,或许资料性大于学理性,开风气多过立典范,在当下价值有限,但这段历史却是我们不应该遗忘的。

The collecting of Chinese folklore launched by The China Reviewis kind of Chinese "Ballad Campaign" in the western world:It began with the gathering of folklore materials,caused wide public concern through the press and involved all sections of society,the result of which was that "ballad" played a significant role and related studies got the most remarkable achievements.More importantly,it has actually started the modern Chinese folkloristics in the western world by examining Chinese folklore from a specific standpoint of folklore as a discipline for the first time.Facing ballads and other folklore genres,the discrepancy in the mindset of Chinese and western researchers can be represented by words like "folk" and "street"."Folk" assumes a dual structure of high and low,which means there is "folk" and "court",and there are also "folk people" and "we" who are "going to the people".However,"street"demonstrates a different scene:everyone is in the same street and there are neither high nor low levels especially internal levels.That’s because "we" are the others outside the whole group all the time.As for these Chinese folklore studies which originated from the street by westerners,their value may be placed more on material collecting than rational analyzing,or in challenging the established practice instead of founding new paradigms.Despite that they are of limited value nowadays,the history itself should never be forgotten.