The cognitive structure of Chinese mythology

Author: Deng Qiyao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Combining the study of thought with the study of mythology, this attempt can make the two complement each other. Because pre-integrated thought cannot be separated from the mythological world, and the mythological world cannot be separated from pre-integrated thought. Mythology is the external manifestation of the symbolization or verbalization of pre-integrated thought, while pre-integrated thought is the intrinsic designer and constructor of mythology. Without pre-integrated thought, there would be no oral mythology, and without oral mythology, there would be no way to explore the mysteries of pre-integrated thought. This book is one that examines mythology and thoughtology, oral mythology and pre-integrated thought, combining them to explore a new field. It is a timely work that re-unites previously separated disciplines and develops new topics in the "intersection zone." The book includes: Chinese mythology and national thought patterns; mythology, pre-integrated thought, and their structural relationships; the functional structure of mythology; the function of the brain and the structural thinking of mythology; the relationship between the deepened structural subject of thought and the object of thought.
For many years, my student and I have often discussed academic issues together. Among them, the theory of thought has been one of our common interests. However, I tend to focus on the deep theoretical aspects of thoughtology itself, while Qiyao is more inclined to explore the relationship between thoughtology and mythology. After completing his research monograph The Structural Thinking of Chinese Mythology, he invited me to write the preface, and I gladly accepted. Studying cultural phenomena from the perspective of thoughtology is a demand for expanding academic horizons and probing into depth, and it is a meaningful topic in both cultural anthropology and thoughtology. The objects of this field are deeply rooted in the "heart" of humanity, making it challenging and difficult to enter. Yet, it is also a vast and rich world, full of subtle and profound mysteries. Approaching mythology from the perspective of thoughtology offers a new angle of observation, allowing us to see the bigger picture and gain insights into some aspects of the early stages of human thought development, when everything was still in a state of "primordial chaos."
Grasping the macro perspective of the origin of human thought is also an examination orientation, enabling us to survey the historical trajectory of the emergence and development of human thought and the comprehensive picture of its differentiation and evolution. Through this preface, I hope to outline a few strokes of the "comprehensive picture" of the composition and classification of human thought, as well as the "historical trajectory" of its evolution, creating a framework that combines synchronic divisions and diachronic transformations. Perhaps this can provide readers interested in thoughtology with a set of basic principles, main criteria, and operational procedures for classifying thought. At the same time, it is also designed to provide readers with a roadmap of how the overall structure of pre-integrated thought undergoes fragmentation, variation, and branching and proliferation.