Chinese Tales of Epidemics: In Search of Hope amid Despair

IF 0.4 3区 社会学 0 FOLKLORE
Juwen Zhang
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract: Tales ( gushi in Chinese, including all narrative genres) are like living fossils—preserving not only historical events in general, but also behaviors and beliefs in specific places and in specific cultural groups. Therefore, Chinese tales of epidemics reveal fundamental beliefs in and life-views toward not only epidemics, but also the meaning of living a life. The three parts in this paper are intended to tell a long story: first providing some basic terms and concepts related to epidemics; second presenting, for the first time in English, seven tales spanning a two-millennia history up to the present day which show the struggles between the human and the god/ghost/ wu -shaman of epidemics; and, finally, offering some reflections upon the realities we are facing in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
《传染病的中国传说:在绝望中寻找希望
摘要:故事就像活化石,不仅保存了一般的历史事件,而且保存了特定地点和特定文化群体的行为和信仰。因此,中国的流行病故事不仅揭示了对流行病的基本信仰和人生观,而且还揭示了生活的意义。本文的三个部分旨在讲述一个很长的故事:首先提供一些与流行病有关的基本术语和概念;第二,第一次用英语呈现了跨越两千年历史至今的七个故事,展示了人类与流行病的神/鬼/巫-萨满之间的斗争;最后,就当前COVID-19大流行所面临的现实提出一些思考。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.60
自引率
0.00%
发文量
1
期刊介绍: The Journal of Folklore Research has provided an international forum for current theory and research among scholars of traditional culture since 1964. Each issue includes topical, incisive articles of current theoretical interest to folklore and ethnomusicology as international disciplines, as well as essays that address the fieldwork experience and the intellectual history of folklore and ethnomusicology studies. Contributors include scholars and professionals in additional fields, including anthropology, area studies, communication, cultural studies, history, linguistics, literature, performance studies, religion, and semiotics.
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