80 years ago, Mr. Zhong Jingwen first proposed the name of “folk literature and art” in his article “The Construction of Folk Literature and Art”, pointing out that the subject content of folk literature and art is “the description and explanation of the general characteristics, origins, development and functions of folk literature”. In short, folk literature and art is a discipline that studies folk literature. In the current subject catalog, this discipline is called folk literature.
Under folk literature, there are mythology, epic, legend, story, ballad, proverb, riddle, folk opera, folk singing, folk language, etc. They are components of the folk literature system, and at the same time they are relatively independent and complete categories. The research object of folk literature is the activities of creating and spreading oral literature by the broad masses of people in a region. It exists in the form of oral performance and is a performance process. Oral literature belongs to the knowledge of the people themselves, the knowledge narrated by the people themselves, and the performance of the people’s own thoughts, concepts and feelings.
Carrying out folk literature education in colleges and universities can allow college students to be influenced by national cultural traditions, and is an organic part of ideological and political education and patriotism education. In a social environment with surging economic tide, this kind of education is particularly important. Courses on folk literature can make up for the lack of grassroots cultural knowledge of college students, let students systematically understand Chinese folk cultural traditions, optimize knowledge structure, and be conducive to the inheritance of national folk cultural traditions. The extremely rich folk literature resources and heritage of 56 ethnic groups help inspire young people’s national pride and self-confidence.
The current development of folk literature disciplines has achieved certain results. However, the lack of folk literature disciplines in colleges and universities, the deviation of the academic community’s understanding of folk literature disciplines, and especially the exclusion of this discipline from the discipline catalog by the discipline system have seriously restricted the continued development of this discipline.
The discipline of Chinese folk literature (including folklore) was originally an independent secondary discipline under the category of Chinese language and literature, and was set up in the Chinese Department on a par with ancient Chinese literature, modern and contemporary Chinese literature, etc. In the system of modern literature and art, folk literature is on a par with writer literature and foreign literature. These three literary forms also have their own characteristics and functions in terms of spiritual qualities, and have irreplaceable value.
In 1997, the subject catalog was adjusted, and folklore (including Chinese folk literature) was included in the first-level discipline of sociology, and was listed with the second-level disciplines of sociology, demography, and anthropology. In the “Subject Catalog” of the Ministry of Education in 2012, the subject affiliation of folk literature is still in an awkward situation. It is still the second-level discipline “Folklore (including Chinese folk literature)” under the “Sociology” of the law category, and has not obtained a real garden of its own.
The position of folk literature in the national subject system has changed drastically, from a second-level discipline in the literature category to a third-level discipline in the law category, and was placed under sociology as part of folklore. The independence of the discipline has been lost, and the development of the discipline has become increasingly difficult. In order to adapt to the changes in the subject catalog, a few universities have transferred the folklore (including Chinese folk literature) major from the Chinese department to the sociology department (college), but sociology cannot accept folklore (including Chinese folk literature). The development space of folklore has not only not expanded, but has shrunk sharply. This even means that in the next 10 years, practitioners and scholars who are closely related to the fate of this discipline will continue to encounter problems caused by unscientific discipline classification and bear the pressure and worries caused by the trouble of discipline identity. The discipline of folk literature continues to be in a very embarrassing situation and is in a great development crisis.
Literature belongs to the humanities, and sociology belongs to the social sciences. The two disciplines are very different in terms of research objects, research purposes and research methods. Placing Chinese folk literature under sociology is contrary to the discipline nature of folk literature. On the other hand, Chinese literature seems to have its own complete theoretical system and curriculum system, and does not need the participation of folk literature. As a result, the discipline of folk literature has been marginalized.
In the discipline classification of the State Council Degree Office, folklore (including Chinese folk literature) is classified as sociology, which is not in the same system as Chinese language and literature. The discipline of folk literature is usually regarded as a special major in the Chinese department and is treated “specially”. Take the School of Literature of Beijing Normal University as an example. In order to facilitate the transfer of students between majors during admission, the general basic course papers of graduate entrance examinations are universal, but folklore (including Chinese folk literature) is conducted separately. It is very common for graduate students of other majors to choose elective courses between majors, but graduate students of folk literature rarely choose courses of other majors, and the courses they offer are generally “self-produced and self-sold”. This is the case in teaching, and it is also difficult to escape the fate of isolation in scientific research. It is difficult for teachers of folk literature to enter the echelon of Chinese language and literature disciplines and work on a certain project together. When applying for a project, teachers of folk literature are often in a dilemma because they cannot determine which discipline the reported project should belong to.
In the education system, the discipline of folk literature has not obtained the position it deserves, resulting in a serious lag in the construction of folk literature disciplines. Today, only a few universities such as Beijing Normal University, Minzu University of China, Sun Yat-sen University, Shandong University, East China Normal University and Central China Normal University can train doctoral students in folklore (including folk literature), and there are also few universities that can recruit masters of folk literature. There is a shortage of highly educated folklore talents, and there are almost no universities that have the conditions to add folklore disciplines. Many teachers of folklore master’s programs in universities are not from “professional schools”. They were originally engaged in research and teaching in other disciplines, and they changed their careers because they love folklore. Most provinces in the country do not have folklore disciplines, which is in sharp contrast to sociology and anthropology, which are closely related to folklore. This situation is probably unique among all secondary disciplines in the humanities.
To help folk literature get rid of its current predicament, two adjustments can be made: one is to re-incorporate folk literature into the category of Chinese language and literature, for the following reasons: 1. Chinese folk literature has always developed under the framework of the large discipline of Chinese language and literature. Today, more than 90% of folklore disciplines are still in the Chinese Department or the School of Humanities. 2. Chinese folk literature belongs to the humanities and has a direct connection with Chinese language and literature. 3. In China, the discipline of folklore is actually developed on the basis of the discipline of Chinese folk literature. For a long time, folklorists have mainly studied folk literature.
Another feasible and promising measure is to establish and develop folk art. Folk art should become a first-level discipline, corresponding to art, which is already a first-level discipline. Folk art is very rich in variety, consisting of three categories: folk literature (children’s songs and fairy tales, legends, myths, fables, proverbs and riddles, etc.), folk music (songs, dances, music, folk dramas, folk rap, acrobatics, etc.) and folk art (painting, architecture, handicrafts, embroidery, paper-cutting, clay sculptures, pottery, Chinese knots, etc.). It carries the unique cultural characteristics and aesthetics of the Chinese nation, conveys the nation’s thoughts, emotions and artistic tastes, and embodies the most basic life concepts and spiritual qualities of mankind. It has aesthetic, educational, cognitive, and entertainment functions. It is a very important part of the profound traditional culture of the Chinese nation, which contains rich and excellent cultural factors of the Chinese nation. Folk literature can be a relatively independent second-level discipline and obtain its due status and development space in the discipline framework of folk art. The development of folk literature does not have to be tied to folklore. Folklore can continue to remain in sociology, while folk literature can enter the discipline system of folk art, seeking a broader development prospect.
Author: Wan Jianzhong, professor at the Institute of Folklore and Cultural Anthropology of Beijing Normal University and member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing CPPCC.