杨宽“神话演变分化说”述论

在中国近代古史学上,杨宽的"神话演变分化说"可以说是一个集"疑古"之大成的学说。此说之提出,在一定程度上是受到了中国古史大论战的影响。而此说之建立,一方面有赖于域外之"语言学派"的神话学说,另一方面则受到了本土之古史二元论的启示。此说提出来之后,既有顾颉刚、童书业的接受,又有李季的批驳,还有蒋大沂、张光直的发挥或修正,故可以被视为中国近代古史学上的一个重要创说。

近百年来汉字学通论性质著作中“汉字起源说”综述——兼谈“汉字起源于图画说”的内涵

本文穷尽性地搜集近百年来汉字学通论性质的著作113本,就汉字起源问题进行梳理,排比著作中有关＂汉字起源说＂的各种观点：＂神话说＂、＂图画说＂、＂陶符说＂,统计出它们在不同时期数量上的此消彼长,分析其变化原因。另外,在＂汉字起源于图画说＂中,用来指称＂图画＂的术语达13种之多,本文选择出使用频率较高的如＂图画＂、＂文字画＂、＂图画文字＂等,归纳出它们在不同著作中的具体所指,以图全面展示＂汉字起源于图画说＂的历史演变过程。

Andrej Belyj＇s Novel-myth Perterburg

Andrej Belyj is the main representative of Russia symbolism. Symbolists pursue the text mystique with massive utilization of myth. But here myth has changed and obtained new myth characteristic, which is manifested in Perterburg.

Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Origin of White Jade Worship： On the Myths of the Yellow Emperor＇s Eating Jade and Queen Mother of the West＇s Presenting the White Jade Ring

The white jade worship, born in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, brought about a ＂Protestant Revolution＂ in the development history of Chinese jade mythology, which had deep influence on the nation＇s ideology and material production in the following 3,000 years. The myths of the Yellow Emperor＇s eating the white jade cream and the Queen Mother of the West living in Kunlun Jade Mountain, as recorded in Classic of Mountains and Seas, are mythological imaginations of the historical reality that the jades were spread from the West to the East and recreated by people living in the early state of the Central Plains. All such motifs, no matter the white jade cream that produced black jades, the Yellow Emperor＇s planting the jade flowers, the Kunlun Jade Mountains （the Mountain of Jades） where the Queen Mother of the West lives or the Jade Lake, clearly show Chinese indigenous worship for the white jades. Scholars like Su Xuelin and Ling Chunsheng think that Queen Mother of the West is the goddess of the moon that originated from the old West Asian civilization. However, such idea is full of contradictions and flaws after the discovery of Chinese unique worship for white jades and the holy mountain of Kunlun. The book Classic of Mountains and Seas, with records of 140 mountains that produce jades and 16 mountains that produce white jades, can be the white jade worshippers＇ bible to explore the holy material resources.

The Deconstruction of American Myth in Thomas Pynchon＇s Fiction

Living and creating in the tumultuous decades from the 1960s through 1980s, Thomas Pynchon unfalteringly chooses the countercultural and civil rights movements in the United States of that age as the permanent topic of his fiction. It can be seen from Pynchon＇s dramatic, sometimes fantastic narratives about these movements that the failure of the countercultural movements lies in their illusive nature in contrast with the hypocrisy and disproportionate power of the government to destruct these movements, and that the presence of American racial problems results to a great degree from the sloth prevailing over various institutions in American society when dealing with racial inequality and from American white racists＇ desire to eliminate an imagined threat in the face of the minorities. This paper tries to provide a different understanding that Pynchon＇s writing of the marginalized or surrealistic issues in these countercultural and civil rights movements is his strategy to expose the falsehood of American myth of democracy.

Demythologizing the South： Cormac McCarthy＇s Suttree in an Intertextual Perspective

The article is structured around a premise of intertextuality, which is suggested not only by McCarthy＇s own more or less overt allusions to Faulkner＇s writing but also by the very name of his protagonist Suttree, which is evocative of the name of perhaps the best known Faulkner villain Thomas Sutpen. This supposition in turn leads to an argument that in his 1979 novel McCarthy does indeed reverse the life story of Thomas Sutpen by making Suttree descend down the very path that Sutpen ascended a century and a half before him, i.e., from the ranks of Southern aristocracy to the scum of the earth, and in defiance of the same ideology that Sutpen went to great lengths to embrace. Thus, an intertextual and comparative approach to McCarthy＇s novel not only in the context of Faulkner＇s Absalom, Absalom! but also his Light in August （cf. Joe Christmas） and The Sound and the Fury （cf. Quentin） as well as Ellen Glasgow＇s short story ＂Jordan＇s End＂ demonstrates that what Cormac McCarthy actually does in Suttree is to demythologize the South, complete with its aristocratic pretensions （＂doing pretty＂）, dubious morality （incest） and fear of miscegenation （obsession with time and the double）. Moreover, in doing so, he defamiliarizes it by reducing it to its Other （poor whites and African Americans）, whose authenticity, liveliness and charitability defy the affectation, lifelessness and decadence of the aristocratic South.

Religious Ethos and Political Discourse, the Case of Senegalese Politicians

The population finds more and more difficulties to assess the scope and content of political declaration especially in terms of plausibility and the real intentions of the speakers. This is especially true for the Senegalese public who more and more loses confidence in the political class. The public tends to look at the identity of the political personality and its personal values （morality credibility） to determine what to make of his/her words. On their side, politicians also begin promoting their image through their speeches. At this level, religious ethics seems to be unanimously considered a criterion of good morality among Senegalese politicians. We will try to look through Perelman＇s theory of argumentation, which Amossy redefined, how, in order to reach the audience, politicians adapt their words to the public, and enhance principles cherished by the populations to win the battle of the image and confidence.