Chinese Folklore Studies Today

Chinese Folklore Studies Today
Author: Lijun Zhang
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2019-09-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0253044111

Chinese folklorists are well acquainted with the work of their English-language colleagues, but until recently the same could not be said about American scholars' knowledge of Chinese folkloristics. Chinese Folklore Studies Today aims to address this knowledge gap by illustrating the dynamics of contemporary folklore studies in China as seen through the eyes of the up-and-coming generation of scholars. Contributors to this volume focuses on topics that have long been the dominant areas of folklore studies in China, including myth, folk song, and cultural heritage, as well as topics that are new to the field, such as urban folklore and women's folklore. The ethnographic case studies presented here represent a broad range of geographic areas within mainland China and also introduce English-language readers to relevant Chinese literature on each topic, creating the foundation for further cross-cultural collaborations between English-language and Chinese folkloristics.

Chinese Folklore Studies Today

Chinese Folklore Studies Today
Author: Lijun Zhang
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2019-09-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0253044138

Chinese folklorists are well acquainted with the work of their English-language colleagues, but until recently the same could not be said about American scholars' knowledge of Chinese folkloristics. Chinese Folklore Studies Today aims to address this knowledge gap by illustrating the dynamics of contemporary folklore studies in China as seen through the eyes of the up-and-coming generation of scholars. Contributors to this volume focuses on topics that have long been the dominant areas of folklore studies in China, including myth, folk song, and cultural heritage, as well as topics that are new to the field, such as urban folklore and women's folklore. The ethnographic case studies presented here represent a broad range of geographic areas within mainland China and also introduce English-language readers to relevant Chinese literature on each topic, creating the foundation for further cross-cultural collaborations between English-language and Chinese folkloristics.

Folk Literati, Contested Tradition, and Heritage in Contemporary China

Folk Literati, Contested Tradition, and Heritage in Contemporary China
Author: Ziying You
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2020-02-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0253046394

In this important ethnography Ziying You explores the role of the "folk literati" in negotiating, defining, and maintaining local cultural heritage. Expanding on the idea of the elite literati—a widely studied pre-modern Chinese social group, influential in cultural production—the folk literati are defined as those who are skilled in classical Chinese, knowledgeable about local traditions, and capable of representing them in writing. The folk literati work to maintain cultural continuity, a concept that is expressed locally through the vernacular phrase: "incense is kept burning." You's research focuses on a few small villages in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province in contemporary China. Through a careful synthesis of oral interviews, participant observation, and textual analysis, You presents the important role the folk literati play in reproducing local traditions and continuing stigmatized beliefs in a community context. She demonstrates how eight folk literati have reconstructed, shifted, and negotiated local worship traditions around the ancient sage-Kings Yao and Shun as well as Ehuang and Nüying, Yao's two daughters and Shun's two wives. You highlights how these individuals' conflictive relationships have shaped and reflected different local beliefs, myths, legends, and history in the course of tradition preservation. She concludes her study by placing these local traditions in the broader context of Chinese cultural policy and UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage program, documenting how national and international discourses impact actual traditions, and the conversations about them, on the ground.

Saving the Nation Through Culture

Saving the Nation Through Culture
Author: Jie Gao
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-09
Genre: SOCIAL SCIENCE
ISBN: 9780774838399

The Modern Chinese Folklore Movement coalesced at National Peking University between 1918 and 1926. A group of academics, inspired by Western thought, tried to revitalize the study of folklore to stave off postwar disillusionment with Chinese elite culture. By documenting this phenomenon's origins and evolution, Jie Gao opens a new chapter in the world history of the Folklore Movement. Largely unknown in the West and underappreciated in China, the Chinese branch failed to achieve its goal of reinvigorating the nation. But it helped establish a modern discipline, promoting a spirit of academic independence that continues to influence Chinese intellectuals today.

Living in Heritage

Living in Heritage
Author: Lijun Zhang
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2024-09-17
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0253070988

Yongding County in southeast China is famous for its large, multistory communal vernacular buildings known as tulou, translated "rammed earth building." These structures were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Living in Heritage introduces readers outside of China to this classic example of local Chinese architecture in the context of contemporary heritage preservation and tourism. Focusing on the Yongding Hakka Tulou Folk Culture Village, which is part of Hongkeng Village, author Lijun Zhang examines the on-the-ground processes and effects of heritage-making, UNESCO-inspired tourism, and how locals negotiate the dramatic transformation of their daily, social, and economic lives. Within an age of cultural change beginning at the start of the 21st century, Living in Heritage explores how the tulou phenomenon as heritage has and continues to be transformed into cultural, economic, or political capital. Through her careful study, Zhang reveals how the blurring of formerly distinct domains—private and public, local and global—gives rise to a living museum that now relies on insiders and outsiders to preserve their way of life. Living in Heritage offers an in-depth ethnographic account of the people dwelling and working within traditional tulou architecture in the 21st century.

Chinese Myths and Legends

Chinese Myths and Legends
Author: Lianshan Chen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2011-08-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 052118679X

An illustrated introduction to the stories of deities, heroes and the origins of the universe that underpin traditional Chinese culture.

Chinese Folktales

Chinese Folktales
Author:
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 194
Release: 1996-03-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780765634948

Flows with the naturalness of conversation. --The Small Press Book Review Translated with simplicity and lucidity. --The Book Reader This collection of twelve traditional tales from various parts of China in different time periods represents a popular choice and one sure to be well-received. --Religious Studies Review

Handbook of Chinese Mythology

Handbook of Chinese Mythology
Author: Lihui Yang
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195332636

Compiled from ancient and scattered texts and based on groundbreaking new research, Handbook of Chinese Mythology is the most comprehensive English-language work on the subject ever written from an exclusively Chinese perspective. This work focuses on the Han Chinese people but ranges across the full spectrum of ancient and modern China, showing how key myths endured and evolved over time. A quick reference section covers all major deities, spirits, and demigods, as well as important places, mythical animals and plants, and related items.

Myths and Legends of China

Myths and Legends of China
Author: E. T. C. Werner
Publisher: The Floating Press
Total Pages: 566
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 177541440X

The West's first encounters with the folk tales and myths of the East proved to be a heady experience, as they were based on an entirely different value system and worldview than those that are reflected in the Greek myths and most subsequent Western folk tales. In Myths and Legends of China, author E.T.C. Werner offers up a rich tapestry of Chinese folk narratives. A must-read for fans of world myths, fairy tales, and legends.