乡村故事与社区历史的建构——以东凤村陈氏为例兼论传统乡村社会的“历史记忆”

Village Legends and the Construction of Community History: Historical Memory of Traditional Rural Society as seen in the Chen Lineage of Dongfeng Village

广东潮州地区的东凤村原本是一个杂姓聚居的村落 ,后来逐渐演变为单姓陈氏村落。借助于实地调查所得之口述传说和族谱、方志等文献 ,再现东凤村宗族整合的历史过程和与之相关的庙宇活动方式 ,并由此讨论在乡村社会史研究中 ,理解口述传说和民间故事的若干方法论问题。如果可以将乡村故事视为乡民的“历史记忆” ,那是因为它们对于理解和解释现在我们所见到的乡村生活具有其独特的意义 ;乡村社会的格局和乡民的生活方式 ,自然又是在漫长的历史发展中逐渐积淀的结果 ,因而 ,对乡村故事的解析 ,实际上也可视为重新建构乡村历史的过程。“口述资料”和本地人的记述 ,有助于我们更深刻地理解乡村历史的“事实”和内在脉络。

Dongfeng Village, near Chaozhou in Guangdong province, was once a settlement shared by several lineages. In the course of its development, the lineages integrated into a single one, that of Chen. With the oral history collected from our fieldwork, the lineage pedigree and the local chronicles, we try to reconstruct the historical process of lineage integration in the village and related activities in the temple. We go on to discuss the interpretation of oral legends and folklore as a methodology in rural social history. Given that village legends are in a sense the “historical memory” of the villagers, it is because they bear special significance for our understanding and interpretation of what we see today in rural life. It is also because the patterns of rural society and life styles of rural residents gradually take form over a long course of development. Interpreting legends amounts to a reconstruction of the village history. The “oral materials” and local people's accounts provide insight into the “reality” or inner logic of rural history.