Special Issue on “Folklore
Practices, Objects, and Notions of Time” (民俗實踐、物與時間觀)
Tsai
Tsan-huang. "'Tradition,' Internal Debates, and Future Directions: The
Concept of Tradition and Its Relation to Time in the Practices of the Chinese
Seven-Stringed Zither (Qin)." Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and
Folklore 166 (2009.12): 97-124.
蔡燦煌。〈七弦琴 (古琴) 實踐中的傳統與時間概念〉。《民俗曲藝》166
(2009.12): 97-124。
Abstract
The aim of this paper
is to explore the concept of "tradition" of the Chinese
seven-stringed zither qin and its association with issues of "intangible
heritage," "internal debate," as well as its connection to the
current and future practices of the instrument itself. The article introduces
the discourse on "tradition" from an anthropological perspective
before turning to its relationship with the above-mentioned issues. The paper
also focuses on the material aspects of the qin
by examining its associations with the concept of tradition and time (the past,
present, and future). As a constantly renewing process and one that is often
limited to a particular pace or speed of change, the concept of "tradition"
has indeed played a very important role within contemporary qin practices and has provided a vision
that projects toward the future. By using the case of the qin, the paper further suggests that an abstract concept such as "tradition"
can be useful for the understanding of performance itself in relation to the
interpretation of the past and considerations for the future.
以樂器的物質層面為主要焦點，本論文的主要目的在於探索「傳統」與「時間」在七弦琴（或古琴）實踐中的概念，及其與「內部爭議」、「非物質文化遺產」等議題之間的關係。本文首先由人類學的角度回顧「傳統」此概念在學術界的討論，以易於上述議題的論述。對於這種限制於某種特定變遷節奏和速度的更新過程，很顯然地，「傳統」此一概念在七弦琴當代實踐中扮演着相當重要的角色，同時也提供未來導向的視角。借鑒七弦琴的例子，本文更進一步提出：如「傳統」這般抽樣的概念，對於我們了解不論是文化展演本身、及其如何詮釋過去和展望未來，都有着指標性作用。