Twentieth Century Chinese Folklore Classics · Folklore Theory Volume

Author: Yuan Li (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not Available
Features: "The National Style," the Chuci (Classic of Songs), Yuefu (Ancient Chinese Poetry Collection), folk songs of the Six Dynasties, Yuanqu (Yuan Dynasty Qu Opera), and novels from the Ming and Qing dynasties—these are the true orthodox traditions of Chinese literature. Those previously considered orthodox were, in fact, many that had strayed off course, and by today, they hold no value. Today, inspired by Chairman Mao, we must thoroughly correct our past mistakes in despising folk art. Folk art is an endless treasure. Those engaged in literary and artistic work should pay special attention to it and study it. We are establishing the Folk Art Research Society today to conduct in-depth research on both ancient and modern folk art in China. The purpose of our research, as I see it, has five points:
(1) Preserving and disseminating precious literary heritage. China is vast, with each region having its own unique characteristics. Collecting and preserving folk art scattered across the country is extremely necessary. I greatly admire the word "" (fēng) in "" (National Style). This "" is truly used perfectly. Folk songs are like a gust of wind—they appear without knowing their authors, sweeping across like a wind and then suddenly stopping, fading away. Now, we must organize a group of "wind catchers" to capture the wind as it blows, preserve it, study it, and disseminate it. Throughout China's five thousand years of history, the work of catching the wind has been insufficient, as seen in the limited collections like the Classic of Poetry. As a result, many folk songs have risen and fallen on their own, leaving no trace behind. Today, we must not repeat this mistake and allow them to fade away again.
(2) Learning the strengths of folk art. We collect folk art not merely as an artistic piece to admire or even deify, but to seek its strengths and learn from them. In poetry, we should study its techniques and grammar for expressing the emotions of the people, as well as its rhyme and rhythm. At the same time, we can use folk art to reform ourselves. The stance of folk art is for the people, its object is the people, and its attitude is to serve the people. Those who love the people should cherish them, while those who oppose the people should oppose them. Our writers should learn from folk art to correct their own creative stance and attitude.
(3) Accepting folk criticism and self-criticism from folk art. Art is not only a reflection of real life but also an evaluation and critique of it. In folk art, either explicitly or implicitly, there is criticism of contemporary society, especially politics. Therefore, when we study folk art today, we must not only focus on its literary value but also pay attention to the political views of the masses it contains. Today, we must all engage in self-criticism and even more so, collect the opinions of the masses. Folk art provides ample material for this. Folk art is a mirror that reflects the face of politics. This principle was not discovered today; ancient people had this insight long ago. It is said that ancient rulers sent officials to collect poems and perform them in the court to understand the hardships of the people. Whether this actually happened cannot be confirmed, but at least someone had such an idea. In music, the ancients also knew that "understanding music reveals governance"—they examined the clarity or oppression in folk music to assess whether the government was just or tyrannical. We should not merely appreciate folk art as a form of art or study it as a literary genre; we must also use the mirror of folk art to reflect