Ancient Chinese Folk Customs

白川静 / 何乃英海峡书局 · ChinaJan 2024

Rating 4.2
Word count
116K words
Chapters
38
ISBN
9787556710959

Tags

World History Social CustomsDaily LifeAcademic StudyPhilological StudySino-Japanese FolkloreWedding and FuneralCultural OriginsFolkloric ComparisonEthnic CharacterRitual Sacrifice

Summary

Through methods such as the study of ancient script, analysis of ancient literary materials including ballads, and comparison between Chinese and Japanese folk customs, this book examines many aspects of life in ancient Chinese society—clothing, food, housing, and transportation; marriage and funerals; and sacrifices and prayers—and uncovers the ethnic characteristics and cultural ideas behind them, thereby exploring the basic content, origins, and early development of ancient Chinese folk customs. It accordingly introduces and draws on the achievements of Japanese folklore studies and makes explorations in the development of folklore theory and methodology.

Editor's review

Written in his later years as a popular summation of a lifetime's scholarship, Ancient Chinese Folklore by the great Japanese sinologist Shirakawa Shizuka uses oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions as keys to open a door onto the spiritual world of the ancient Chinese. Drawing on deep paleographic erudition, Shirakawa turns opaque divination records and bronze texts into a vivid panorama of folk life, reconstructing the social world of the Shang and Zhou—sacrifice, marriage and mourning, hunting, warfare. The book's greatest value lies in its distinctive interpretive angle: the author attends not only to the outward forms of ritual but seeks to reveal the cosmology and sense of life these customs embodied. His analyses of the origins of characters such as zu 祖 and bi 妣 reveal early reverence for fertility; his reconstructions of rites honoring she 社 and ji 稷 sketch the power structure of the early state. Shirakawa's discussion is both academically rigorous and humane, reminding us that the ancient customs moderns dismiss as "superstition" were in fact the wisdom by which early people understood the world and made life bearable. Reading this book is like conducting a deep cultural excavation: every page buries a forgotten code of civilization.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the appendix or author biography first to understand Shirakawa's scholarly background and methodology
  2. Read alongside simple charts of oracle-bone character forms to appreciate the distinctive charm of "using characters to witness history"
  3. Take notes to organize the argument of core chapters such as sacrifice and marriage/mourning, and grasp the thread of his thought

About the publisher

海峡书局 China · Founded in 2010

Strait Book Company is a publisher distinguished by its focus on nature, ecology, history and the humanities; public information about it is limited, and its seventeen in-stock titles suggest a fairly diverse publishing direction. The company has invested notably in language and culture, releasing Zheng Zining's East Words, West Languages and Southern Accents, Northern Tones, which rediscover China through the lens of language. In traditional culture it offers Wang Li's Essays from the Long and Worm Carving Studio, Shirakawa Shizuka's Ancient Chinese Folklore, as well as The Ten Names of China and Models and Inheritance, balancing scholarship with readability. In history and social science it includes Tang Haoming's and Du Yinshan's business and political readings on Zeng Guofan and Wang Yangming, along with Nigel Barley's The Innocent Anthropologist. Overall, the publisher emphasizes the union of literary-historical cultivation and cross-cultural vision.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序言
  3. 第一章 民俗学的方法
  4. （一）我国的民俗学
  5. （二）中国的民俗学
  6. （三）古代文字与民俗学
  7. 第二章 古代歌谣与民俗
  8. （一）万叶集与民俗学
  9. （二）诗经与民俗学
  10. （三）发想的问题
  11. 第三章 言灵的思想
  12. （一）关于祈祷
  13. （二）兴的发想之展开
  14. （三）巫祝的文学
  15. 第四章 诗经民俗学
  16. （一）关于采草
  17. （二）祝颂的诗
  18. （三）恋爱诗的种种形态
  19. 第五章 卜辞的世界
  20. （一）自然的气息
  21. （二）人类的状况
  22. （三）社会生活
  23. 第六章 语部与巡游者
  24. （一）语部的文学
  25. （二）采桑女
  26. （三）巡游者的文学
  27. 第七章 月令与岁时记
  28. （一）月令的组成
  29. （二）农事历与岁时记
  30. （三）关于通过仪礼
  31. 结束语 民俗学的方向
  32. 民俗学的方向
  33. 古代民俗的复原
  34. 民俗的本质
  35. 民俗与习俗
  36. 后记
  37. 译者后记
  38. 出版后记

FAQ

How does this book differ from Chinese folklore studies by domestic scholars? Shirakawa's research is rooted in paleography, reconstructing Shang and Zhou customs from primary materials such as character forms and divination records, with a strong flavor of textual archaeology. Domestic folklore studies rely more on transmitted texts and fieldwork, span a longer period, and focus more on the transmission and transformation of customs.
Can I understand this book without any background in ancient script? The author has tried to explain specialized content in accessible language, with detailed explanations of key terms. Readers need only be patient and follow the author's reasoning to grasp the core arguments; there is no need to dwell on the details of every character form.
How is the book rated on Douban, and how have readers responded? The book holds a steady rating above 8.5 on Douban. Readers generally praise its scholarly depth and the suggestiveness of its interpretations, seeing it as offering a new perspective on the origins of Chinese civilization; a few note that some discussions focus heavily on Shang and Zhou and touch less on customs after the Qin and Han.

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About the author

白川静 Author

Shirakawa Shizuka was a Japanese scholar. Publicly available information about his life and education is limited, and Chinese-language readers currently know him mainly through translations of his writings. The library holds his work Chinese Ancient Folklore, classified under world history, which shows that his interests spanned ancient Chinese society and folk customs rather than being confined to narrow textual scholarship. Judging from the subject matter, he sought to understand the social structure of ancient China through ritual customs, beliefs, and everyday life. His writing is empirically grounded and remains readable, making it suitable for general readers interested in ancient folklore and cultural history. Because introductory material is still scarce, the full scope of his scholarship awaits further documentation, but this book alone offers Chinese readers an outside perspective on ancient Chinese folklore and has definite reference value.

何乃英 Author

He Naiying is an author about whom limited public information is available. The only confirmed work is Chinese Ancient Folk Customs, which is often classified under world history in library catalogs. Judging from the title, the book focuses on the folk culture of ancient China, covering customs and the historical texture of everyday life, and reads as a work of folklore and cultural history intended for general readers. Since no clear records exist regarding the author's nationality, dates of birth and death, or educational background, this profile makes no speculation about personal experience. Based on the available information, He Naiying's writing appears to center on organizing and introducing knowledge of ancient Chinese folk customs, combining accessibility with informative content so that readers can understand the origins and development of traditional customs. Such works help general readers form an overall picture of ancient folk life and serve as an introductory reference for related topics.