Collected Folklore Series (Volume 1, 2, and 3)

Author: Ye Chunsheng, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-02-01
Features: This is a classic series that holds a high position in the history of Chinese academia. The series includes works celebrated as cornerstones of Chinese folklore studies, such as Gu Jiegang's Research on the Legend of Meng Jiangnu, Miaofeng Mountain, Qian Nanyang's History of Riddles, Zhong Jingwen's Proto-Eurasian Folk Tale Types, and Lou Zikang's Shaoxing Ballads, among others, totaling 37 titles and 39 volumes. It is divided into three volumes, in large 32-page format, hardcover, and includes original illustrations and related explanations, with over 2.2 million words. Among them, the Miaofeng Mountain by the master historian Gu Jiegang is the first folklore classic written based on organized field research, laying a solid foundation for field studies in modern Chinese folklore and breaking the traditional approach of scholars who relied solely on textual research. Gu Jiegang's Research on the Legend of Meng Jiangnu (Volume 1) examines the dissemination and evolution of the Meng Jiangnu legend from historical and geographical perspectives, becoming one of the most significant research achievements in the history of modern Chinese folklore. It has greatly influenced the study of folk tales and legends for nearly a century, regarded by Zhong Jingwen as the "Analects of Folklore Studies." The series published its last volume—Qian Nanyang's The Legend of Zhu Yingtai—in May 1930. Over 70 years have passed since then, and most of the original books are now rare and difficult to find. Moreover, due to wars and the Cultural Revolution, folklore studies as a discipline were canceled for over 30 years, and many libraries no longer possess this series.