钟敬文与民间文艺学学科理论体系建设——兼论《民间文艺学的建设》一文的学术价值

Zhong Jingwen and the Construction of the Theoretical System of Folk Literature and Arts:The Academic Value of the Article The Construction of Folk Literature and Arts

钟敬文先生的《民间文艺学的建设》一文不仅提出了“民间文艺学”这一学科概念,而且致力于民间文艺学理论研究领域的框定、本体的辨析、方法论的择取,全面阐述了为何建设和如何建设民间文艺学这两个基本问题,令人信服地论证了建立民间文艺学的必要性、可能性和合理性。然而,由于该文是钟先生年轻时的作品,发表时间距现在久远,便被贴上不成熟及没有创意的标签;殊不知民间文艺学完整的理论体系正是由这篇宏文构筑起来的。该文有五个组成部分,亦可归之为系统论、本体论、主体论和方法论。“系统的民间文艺学”是全文论述的焦点,所绘制的学科理论体系的“构图”已臻完备;民间文艺本体的声音还原及民众主体性的张扬,给口头性与集体性注入了充满学术和政治张力的内涵;民间文学的生活属性为各学科提供了开阔的研究视域,而历史主义和实证主义则是钟先生力主并践行的方法论范式。“四论”涵盖了民间文艺学理论体系的基本面,奠定了一门崭新学科理论体系的发展基调,透示出钟先生远大的前瞻性视野和广阔的胸襟。在中国民间文艺学发展史上,该文堪称纲领性文献,其无可替代的地位和应该生发出的影响力是其他任何一篇文章所不可比拟的。

The article“The Construction of Folk Literature and Arts”not only puts forward the concept of the discipline of folk literature and art,but also devotes itself to defining the theoretical research field,identifying the ontology,selecting the methodology,comprehensively expounding the two basic issues of why and how to build,and convincingly arguing the possibility,necessity,and rationality of establishing folk literature and arts.However,as the masterpiece was written by Mr.Zhong Jingwen when he was young and published long ago,it was criticized for being immature and uncreative.Actually,this outstanding article which is divided into five components—which also can be classified as system theory,ontology,subject theory,and methodology-constructs the entire theoretical framework for folklore literature.The“systematic folk literature”is the focus of the entire discussion,and the“composition”of the discipline's theoretical system has been completed;the restoration of the voice of the folklore ontology and the promotion of the people's subjectivity inject a connotation full of academic and political tension into orality and collectivity;the living nature of folk literature provides an open field of study for all disciplines,while historicism and positivism are the methodological paradigms that Mr.Zhong Jingwen advocates and practices.The“four discourses”covers the basic aspects of the theoretical system of folklore literature and arts and establishes the framework for the growth of a theoretical framework for a completely new field,revealing Mr.Zhong's expansive perspective and open-mindedness.This article is a programmatic document with an unmatched status and impact in the development of Chinese folklore literature,which is unparalleled by any other article.