Yunxianghua Shu

Author: Deng Xiangyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Customs are both traditional and dynamic; history is the continuation of time, constantly advancing; culture is both inherited and developed.
Because I have written several books on customs and old tales related to Beijing and Dream of the Red Chamber, and participated in the filming of a Dream of the Red Chamber TV series, I have been given the title of "folklorist" and sometimes called a "red scholar" by my friends. I feel quite embarrassed. I am only a few years older than my younger friends and have read a few useless books here and there. According to Mr. Ma Er in The Story of the Stone, these are all useless "examination studies" that cannot lead to a career or wealth—how can they qualify as a "scholar"? I am merely fond of this field, enjoying immersing myself in the past and present as described in books, and observing and appreciating life through my own experiences. How could I dare to call myself an expert?
Nowadays, folkloristics is quite trendy, as foreigners also study it. Broadly speaking, it falls under anthropology, ethnology, and sociology. Narrowly speaking, it includes religious studies and folkloristics. In practice, it covers aspects such as diet, clothing, architecture, etiquette, marriage and funeral customs, entertainment, and other daily habits, which vary by country, ethnicity, and region.
In the past, China said, "A hundred miles have different customs." The differences between regions are vast, and when it comes to different ethnicities or countries, the distinctions are even greater. Beyond regional differences, as time progresses, regions, ethnicities, and countries interact and change. The farther apart and the longer the timespan, the greater the differences and the more barriers there are. Yet humans are curious and eager to learn. As culture and knowledge develop, interactions become more frequent, and people are more inclined to explore different customs—whether out of a desire to understand history, to trace their origins, to appreciate their beauty, or to admire their simplicity.
In summary, people's interest in such knowledge and studies is always good, enriching cultural life and contributing to the construction of spiritual civilization. Folkloristics originates from folk customs, and folk customs stem from life. This is probably accurate. In ancient Chinese terms, folk customs can also be called "popular customs." Historically, while "folkloristics" is not often mentioned, "customs" have been a topic for over two thousand years.
What does "customs" mean? The Book of Han explains: "The five constant natures of the people vary in their firmness, gentleness, quickness, and slowness in tone, influenced by the climate and soil of their region, hence called 'wind.' Their likes and dislikes, choices, movements, and stillness are not constant, following the desires of their rulers, hence called 'customs.'"
Generally, human life is influenced by two factors: nature and human activity. The former includes geographical environments, climatic conditions, and economic products, while the latter encompasses politics, religion, education, culture, and war. Adding historical factors, the former shapes traditional characteristics, while the latter drives continuous change. Thus, the term "customs" is more comprehensive and inclusive, better capturing the essence of folk customs. Therefore, translating the imported "folkloristics" as the domestic "customology" might also be a good idea.
With the vast world and long history, understanding the various folk customs or customs that have existed since the dawn of humanity is truly more daunting than writing a "history without a beginning," as in the Twenty-Four Histories. It is as if "life is limited, but knowledge is boundless," making us inevitably sigh at the vastness of it all.
Macro-level understanding is difficult, and micro-level analysis is no easier. Sometimes, "being in the middle of the mountain, one cannot see the depth of the clouds," and when it comes to a specific custom in a certain place, even if many people practice it, they may only know the "what" but not the "why."
I have a book titled Miaofeng Mountain, compiled by Mr. Gu Jiegang over sixty-two years ago. This was a grand temple fair that had been held in Beijing for hundreds of years. During the temple fair in April each year, organized pilgrimage groups numbered in the hundreds, and tens of thousands of organized and self-guided pilgrims attended. Mr. Gu Jiegang and his colleagues at the Peking University Institute organized a field investigation team to study Miaofeng Mountain. Everyone who participated wrote records or diaries, documenting everything they observed. However, despite the thorough investigation, it was still only a superficial record of the bustling phenomena, leaving to imagine its grandeur. The essence was difficult to grasp thoroughly. From a macro-theoretical perspective, it was even harder.
Mr. Gu Jiegang summarized two points: first, "sincere activities, with the rudiments of a state"; second, "extraordinary, providing pilgrims with aesthetic satisfaction." The former reflects religious and political factors, while the latter is influenced by natural environments. The former is driven by superstitious psychology, and the latter by pleasant feelings. Among the countless pilgrims, their motivations were not entirely uniform. Some focused more on the former, others on the latter, with varying degrees. Yet their unwavering commitment to the arduous pilgrimage formed the grandeur of the Miaofeng Mountain temple fair, which, as a folk custom, is a historical existence. As folklorists, we must observe its manifestations, investigate its history, analyze its origins, and assess its social and cultural impact. We may praise, promote, encourage, or even reform it. This is both fascinating and meaningful, yet also very challenging—it requires diligent reading, investigation, research, and imagination.
Every small detail in folk customs has a broad and close connection to the lives of the masses, as well as a long history of tradition. It is also deeply influenced by geographical, productive, and climatic factors, as well as various religious and political reasons, which sometimes play a significant role (historically, politics has always been dominant in China, while religion has only had a partial and localized influence). All these can spark interesting imaginations in those who are passionate about this field. For example, the recent discovery of the Terracotta Army: "Whoever invented the terracotta figures will have no descendants." This is the greatest manifestation of the custom of "figures," reflecting extreme superstition and autocratic politics. Some modern visitors admire its grandeur, revealing a natural inclination to worship power; others admire its craftsmanship, expressing an innate love for beauty.
These feelings are conscious or unconscious. From a political and historical perspective, one might associate it with Qin Shi Huang's tyrannical rule and autocracy. For his personal tomb, even though it was filled with clay figures, not real people, it must have mobilized countless laborers and plundered immense wealth from the living. Imagine the grievances, tragedies, and curses of the families of those who were forced to labor and whose wealth was taken. Today, some visitors might curse him, making it hardly worth praising.
If we consider it from a craft perspective, it becomes even more fascinating. I initially imagined that so many large clay figures must have been sculpted by skilled artisans, requiring countless hands and time—an almost impossible feat. Later, I realized they must have been made using molds. First, dozens of molds were created, then clay was used to cast them, making production much easier. This reminded me of the clay figure molds I played with as a child. This small toy seems to have a deep connection to the Terracotta Army of two thousand years ago. In the evolution of folk customs, such a small thing, when examined closely, becomes quite interesting.
People in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam use chopsticks to eat, while those in Europe and America use knives, forks, and spoons. In some Asian and African countries, people eat with their hands. I sometimes ponder this interesting question: why is this the case? Perhaps the earliest ancestors of the Chinese and others began eating cooked food over fires, eating dry fruits like yams and chestnuts with two sticks. Europeans, who often cooked fish and game over fires, used sharp, hard branches to spear their food and sharp stone blades to cut it. In Southeast Asia and Africa, where people began eating cooked food later, they mostly foraged for wild fruits with their hands. Over time, these differences evolved into three distinct eating customs: using knives and forks, chopsticks, or hands.
The formation of customs is deeply tied to daily life, but how it happened over such long periods is hard to trace, and imagining the reasons is equally challenging. Modern science has made human interactions more frequent, with distances shrinking to the point where people can reach across continents in a day. As a result, the differences and barriers between customs are constantly changing, and gaps are narrowing. Take chopsticks, for example. Over seventy years ago, when Mr. Wen Yiduo studied in the United States, his landlady repeatedly asked him if the Chinese always used two sticks to eat. Once, while eating spaghetti, she asked him if even noodles were eaten with two sticks. It was only then that Mr. Wen Yiduo realized she had always assumed chopsticks were like knives and forks, held in one hand each. This is the nature of customs, or perhaps the barriers between folk customs. Today, Chinese restaurants can be found everywhere in Europe and America, and using chopsticks is no longer unusual in major cities.
Many folk customs contain superstitious elements, which are hard to separate strictly from religious beliefs. The Miaofeng Mountain temple fair is a case in point. However, for the artisans and rural farmers in Beijing and Tianjin at the time, it was a very healthy and beneficial activity for the body and mind. It not only allowed individuals to refresh themselves through pilgrimage but also fostered a spirit of selfless dedication to public welfare, far more effective than forcing people to do things or preaching to them. Therefore, valuing, studying, and researching folk customs has a greater significance in guiding people to develop rich and healthy cultural lives.
Folk customs contain outdated, ignorant, even bad, and even criminal elements, both abroad and in traditional China. To prevent their resurgence, cultural and educational efforts are essential—promoting and spreading the good aspects while suppressing, regulating, or even banning the bad. While advocating folkloristics, we must also pay attention to this.