论族群文化变迁的形式和原因

On the Forms and Causes of Ethnic Cultural Changes

文化变迁是指文化出现的各种变化。据此,研究文化变迁的重点,就是对文化变迁的形式和原因做出说明。对整体性文化变迁的研究,最适合从族群文化的层面展开。族群文化变迁有量变和质变这两种基本形式。前者是指族群文化所包含的具象文化的种类数量的增加和减少。一般来说,增加意味着族群文化的进化,减少意味着族群文化的退化。后者是指族群文化所包含的具象文化从一种性状变为另一种性状。一般来说,变得好用意味着族群文化的进化,变得不好用意味着族群文化的退化。族群文化之所以发生变迁,以往学界有进化论、传播论和功能论的解释,但全都具有片面性。实际上,族群文化发生变迁,应该是由两个层面的原因共同导致的。创造、传播、变革、建设和强制是族群文化发生变迁的表层原因,人的需求及其变化则是深层原因。

Cultural change refers to the various changes of culture.Therefore,the focus of the study of cultural change is to explain the forms of and reasons for cultural change.The study of the overall cultural change is most suitable to be carried out from the level of ethnic culture.There are two basic forms of ethnic cultural change:quantitative change and qualitative change.The former refers to the increase and decrease in the number of types of concrete culture contained in the ethnic culture.Generally speaking,increase means the evolution of ethnic culture,while decrease means the degradation of ethnic culture.The latter means that the concrete culture contained in the ethnic culture changes from one trait to another.Generally speaking,becoming easy to use means the evolution of ethnic culture,while becoming difficult to use means the degradation of ethnic culture.There used to be theories of evolution,communication and function to explain the change of ethnic culture,but all of them are one-sided.Creation,dissemination,transformation,construction and compulsion are the surface causes of ethnic culture change while human needs and their changes are the deep causes.