Chao Gejin朝戈金. Kochuan shishi xue: Ranpile "Jiangge'er"chengshi jufa yanjiu 口传史诗诗学：冉皮勒《江格尔》程序句法研究 [Oral Poetics: Formulaic Diction of Arimpil's Jangar Singing]. Nanning 南宁: Guangxi renmin chubanshe 广西人民出版社, 2000. 19+328 pages Introduction by Zhong Jinwen (钟敬文)，contents of all 6 chapters, glossary, diction illustrations, script rule, photographs, interviews, references. Hardcover RMB24.00; ISBN 7-219-04265-5. (In Chinese)

Chao Gejin ("Chogjin" in Mongolian) is an outstanding member of a group of younger scholars in the minority literatures section of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing who combine contemporary Chinese and Western theories in their works. In Chao Gejin's case, he follows in the methodological traditions of Chinese research on minority folklore, literature, and language studies in paths blazed by scholars such as Zhong Jingwen 钟敬文 (who in his ninth decade, has written a preface for the book) and the late Ma Xueliang 马学良combining them with western sources such as the Parry-Lord tradition, the works of Lauri Honko and John Miles Foley on epic narrative, and more general influences from performance folkloristics and related disciplines. Chao also presided over the recent translation of Foley's The Oral Theory of Composition.

Chao's study concerns the oral poetics of a Mongol epic singer named Arimpil and his versions of the Jangar epic cycle. The Jangar epics center around the exploits of the hero Jangar and his loyal warriors. Their many banquets are frequently interrupted by news that their domains have been invaded by the multiheaded mangus monsters that enjoy ravaging human communities. Jangar, or one of his heroes, resolves the crisis by subduing the giant anthropomorphs, who have a taste for human slaves and flesh.

The Chinese text of Chao's book is supported by an abstract in English and clear and useful discussions of key terms drawn from western theory (which are given in English with a Chinese translation) such as "ethnopoetics," "register," "context," "formulaic density," and "composition in performance." The portions of the actual Jangar recitals are presented in romanized Mongolian, or in romanized Monglian accompanied by a literal Chinese translation. One appendix includes the text of an interview with the singer. Such an innovative compliment of source materials is welcome in the scholarship emanating from present-day China.

In the first half of the book Chao discusses theory and methodology, covering basic questions concerning orality and literacy, the nature of epic texts, text and context, texts and traditions of singing, and an assessment of various theoretical models, particularly the Parry-Lord oral formulaic tradition in regards to the texts examined in this study. It also reviews the question of formula in studies of Mongol epic poetics, noting Walther Heisseg's assessment that questions of the use of formula by contemporary singers needed examination in comparison with texts from previous eras (p. 43). The second half of the work deals with the application of theory on aspects of a portion of the Jangar cycle called "Hundu Gartai Sabar in Bulug," concerning one of the heroes in Jangar's group of merry men. As in the Parry-Lord tradition, the emphasis is on examining the formulas in the text, including epithets and diction (rhythm, meter, and parallelism), so-called "formulaic density," and the "systematic use of formula"(p.2.) Stress is given to important features of Mongol prosody, namely "beginning" (or "head") rhyme, and vowel harmony. Beyond the comprehensive study of formulaic diction, Chao includes a discussion of context and performance, stressing that caution should be used in making assumptions about Mongol epic based on written texts and acknowledging that an understanding of performance in context is necessary for a full understanding, using the examples of music and the live audience context as factors of oral performances not part of existing written versions.

In sum, Chao creates a synthetic theory by which to discern the nature and function of formula in the Mongol epic tradition, while at the same time providing a stimulating model of research for other Chinese scholars dealing with various aspects of the immense body of oral and oral-connected lore still largely under-studied within China and without.

Mark Bender
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio

ASIAN FOLKLORE STUDIES, NAGOYA, Japan.VOLUME LX-2, 2001, Pp360-62.

Mountain Patterns: The Survival of Nuosu Culture in China. By Stevan Harrell, Bamo Qubumo, and Ma Erzi. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2000. Pp. 64, 115 color and
black-and-white photographs).

Mountain Patterns is the companion text to an extensive exhibit by the same name on Nuosu culture held recently at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington, Seattle. The Nuosu are one of the many diverse subgroups of the Yi, an ethnic minority nationality numbering in the millions and living mostly in the uplands of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces in southwest China. The center of Nuosu culture is in the Cool Mountains of Sichuan province, where their kingdom remained independent for hundreds of years. The Mountain Patterns exhibit is the first of its kind on Nuosu culture held outside of China.

The Mountain Patterns volume is a wonderful introduction to the visual and plastic arts that comprise the material culture of the Nuosu, covering a comprehensive range of social situations. The supporting text is accurate, relevant, and clearly presented, the result of an ideal team of collaborators. Stevan Harrell, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable student of Nuosu culture and professor of anthropology at the University of Washington, Seattle, grounds the work with an introduction situating the Nuosu culture within complex historic and ethnic frames. He stresses the revival of ethnic awareness since the decades of the repressive Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and the subsequent flourishing of traditional material culture within the new complexities of an advancing consumer culture brought about by the Chinese modernization project. As project coordinator, he also translated the other chapters in the volume and wrote a chapter on the intriguing red, black, and yellow lacquer ware eating utensils, now an important part of the local and national tourist trade. Ma Erzi, the associate director of the Liangshan Nationalities Research Institute in Xichang, Sichuan, authored an informative chapter on the sacred books and implements of the bimo, the ritual specialists of the Nuosu (and other Yi groups). He begins his essay with a quote summarizing the traditional place of the bimo in Yi society: "If a ruler knows a thousand things, and a minister a hundred, then the things a bimo knows are innumerable" (p. 51). The section is illustrated with rare and valuable photos of these specialists and their ritual texts, recited aloud in a variety of contexts, as well as ritual instruments such as "spirit quivers," "spirit fans," and ritual hats and bells.

Bamo Qubumo, an associate professor of ethnic minority folklore in the Institute for Minority Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, wrote the bulk of the articles in Mountain Patterns. Her lovingly crafted chapters cover architecture, clothing and textiles, silversmithing and jewelry, musical instruments, and ghost boards and spirit pictures, the latter supplementing Ma's chapter on ritual items used by bimo. Like the other chapters, these articles are supplemented with clear, close-up photos of items, often being used in context. Process-minded folklorists will appreciate the consistently exacting detail of the descriptions. Certain parts are so thickly described that they could act as primers for replication or guides to insider aesthetic appreciation. An example from the chapter "Silversmithing and Jewelry" is typical: The smith first melts some silver and casts it in the shape of a strip twelve to fifteen centimeters long, which is pounded to the thickness of two sheets of paper. He then puts it on the lap-held pitch board and with a hollow, broad-pointed chisel breaks off little pieces, the rounder and more even the better. He puts the silver disks in a round, cast-iron dapping die and uses a wooden dapping punch, thick as a chopstick and ten centimeters long, to pound them into a concave shape, and then returns them to the mat and makes a little hole in each one with an iron punch, so that they can be sewn onto the collar. To make the silver studs even prettier, he can return them to the copper crucible and heat it, rinse the suds in alum water, and rub them with a cloth to make them shiny and bright. [p. 37]

The chapter entitled "Clothing and Textiles" includes an in-depth introduction to traditional and recent materials, the techniques of weaving, felting, and dyeing, and a key to the symbolic patterns used in the designs. The Nuosu have long been famous for their capes, some made of felt (jieshy) and others of homespun wool. Besides shielding their wearers from cold and rain, the capes offer protection when nights are spent in the open, or can serve as grain bags, and are sometimes used to carry infants. Special wooden presses are used to set pleats in the felt capes.

Bamo Qubumo also supplies careful detail on uses of traditional styles of dress throughout the life process, whether by gender, age group, region, or caste. These topics include men's and women's hair and headdress styles, the big, medium, and small trouser leg styles for men, and "fern"-patterned children's hats. Several photos illustrate variations of the emblematic cloth "horn" on the men's turbans and the long, particolored women's skirts with flounces along the edges. In most cases, enough photos are provided to gain some sense of the range of style and variation of the clothing and other items.

Harrell's slim volume is a finely contextualized panorama of traditional Nuosu material culture, obviously of great value in connection with the museum exhibit. The illustrations are comprehensive enough that the text can stand on its own as a learning tool and will be a useful addition to any East Asian folklore course that recognizes the importance of material culture. At the introductory level, it complements texts such as Gail Rossi's The Dong People of Southwest China: A Hidden Civilization (Hagley and Hoyle, 1990, with photography by Paul Lau), which portrays a very different ethnic group from southwest China in a similar pictorial format. The work will also enhance the value of earlier pictorial albums such as The Costumes and Adornments of Chinese Yi Nationality Picture Album (Beijing Arts and Crafts Publishing House, 1990), a volume rich in images but with relatively little description to support them. Length, accessibility of content, wise use of illustrations, and an inviting cover with a skirt pattern from the Leibo district, combine to make Mountain Patterns a well-produced text that is stronger for its international, group authorship.

Mark Bender
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio

Journal of American Folklore 114 (2001), 90-91

http://deall.ohio-state.edu/bender.4/Yibibliography.htm

On Symbols of the Dong Ba Mythology

Author: Bai Gengsheng
Date: 1998-5

The book comprises eight chapters-" Pandect," "The Symbols of Mythic Mountains and a Comparative Study," "The Symbol of the Divine Tortoise and a Comparative Study," "The Symbol of Mythic Seas and a Comparative Study," "The Symbols of Mythic Stones and a Comparative Study," "The Symbols of Bridges and a Comparative Study," "Color Symbolism and a Comparative Study," and "The Symbols of Eyes and a Comparative Study"which together present a systematic classification and a comparative review on the mythic symbols recorded in the Dong Ba classics of the Naxi nationality.The research on the symbols, such as mythic mountains, was conducted by examining their form, content and inner meaning. The work demonstrates that Dong Ba mythic symbols, to a certain extent, formed a system comprising several aspects such as nature worship, fertility cults and hero worship, of which fertility cults formed a core element embedded in the system of Dong Ba mythic symbolism. For historical, religious and political reasons, many symbols within Dong Ba mythology were closely related to Indian, Tibetan or Han mythology.
This book makes several major contributions. In the first place, it systematically introduces and classifies a system of mythic symbols recorded in the Naxi Dong Ba classics, which were written in pictographs. It also analyses certain hieroglyphic symbols in terms of their shape, pronunciation, meaning, and symbolic sense,while the inter-relationship between these hieroglyphs and the cultures of surrounding countries and nationalities are dearly identified and the unique character of the Naxi Dong Ba mythic symbols revealed.

Bai Gengsheng, male, born in 1958, and of Naxi ethnic minority. He is an associate professor working in the Institute of Ethnic Minority Literature under CASS.

Research on Shamanistic Texts of the Manchu Ethnic Minority

Author: Song Heping and Meng Huiying
Date: 1998

This is a monograph based on the translation, sorting and review of handwritten texts which pertain to shamanistic sacrificial activities among the Manchu people. It draws on materials from the author""s collection and other people""s contribution. The book presents both the specific analysis and translation of the texts. The attachment to the research section includes the original versions of the Manchu texts treating the offering of sacrifices to family gods and the offering of sacrifices to " gods of the wilds". These materials are translated from the Manchu language by Song Heping herself.They involve the various aspects of the Manchu culture, such as the Manchu pantheon, formalities during sacrificial rites, special phrases used for welcoming and bidding farewell to the gods, and taboos governing the offering of sacrifices. These materials are the first of their kind to be introduced to the public, and are of great value in terms of cultural, ethnic and religious history.
The book, comprising four chapters, first introduces the shamanistic texts of the Manchu people, including the basic situation of their distribution and circulation, the stylistic rules governing them and their content. The second chapter is specifically devoted to reviewing and analyzing the texts treating the offering of sacrifices in Manchu families. In light of the normal procedure followed in the rites of offering sacrifices to family gods, this chapter explains all activities, every sacrificial item and the terms specifically used in the offering of sacrifices, through her entries. The author also examines the basic characteristics of Manchu rites of sacrifice to family gods. The third chapter presents a review of the Manchu rites of offering sacrifice to wild gods,providing a comprehensive exposure to the rites in respect of their origins,character, practices and popularity. The fourth chapter offers an all-round observation of the names of gods appearing in shamanistic texts, the specific arrangements made for the pantheon in shamanistic rites of offering sacrifice and the symbolic characters embodied by those gods. A glossary is appended listing 2,000 special Manchu terms used in shamanistic texts with every term translated.

Abundant materials and lucid explanations typify this study of shamanistic culture. The work""s novel and valuable contents will necessarily attract attention from academics and be extensively utilized by scholars.

Song Heping, female, was born in 1941. She is an associate professor in the Institute of Ethnic Minority Literature under CASS.

A Critical Biography of Lao She

Author: Guan Jixin
Date: 1998-10

While drawing on various relevant existing research results, the author,following a specific train of thought and taking a particular point of view,conducted a comprehensive and fresh summary and description of the life work of writer Lao She. The author paid special attention to conducting a study in which Lao She was depicted not only as a populist writer but also as a prominent intellectual. The key to his analysis was placed on the representative works written by Lao She during different historical stages.These include The Philosophy of Lao Zhang, Master Zhao Said, Ma and Son, City of Cats, Divorce, Biography of Niu Tianci, Crescent Moon, The Spirit-breaking Spear, Rickshaw Boy, This Life of Mine, Four Generations under One Roof, The Drum Signer, Dragon Beard Ditch, Teahouse and Beneath The Red Banner. Step-by-step and delicate observations are provided of Lao She""s writing practice, which produced such extremely strong individual characters. In particular, in-depth exploration was carried out of Lao She""s overall artistic achievement, the basic style of his creation, and the laws underlying the success and failure of his writing.
Utilizing abundant historical materials, the author conducted an analysis of the various cultural influences that Lao She, as a writer of the minority Manchu nationality, imbued during the different stages of his life. Those influences stemmed from Manchu, Han and even the modern western ethnic cultures. The analysis covers his entire lifetime and are unfolded in a progressively insightful way. Through such an examination, the national psyche of Lao She and his multicultural attainments are identified, as are corresponding and accurate reflections in Lao She""s literary creations.

The life locus for Lao She was not only closely associated with Beijing""s Manchu lower classes from which he came, but also with the social changes in modern and contemporary China that he personally experienced. Thus, the author on the one hand focuses his academic reflection on the texts of LaoShe""s works, and on the other makes efforts to ponder Lao She""s life from a humanistic perspective. In Lao She""s literary world, the author tries to reveal the special inner character of Lao She""s life that distinguishes him from many other writers.

Soon after Lao She was born, he encountered events resulting from foreign aggression and his father""s death in war and these constituted the fundamental factors that determined Lao She""s choice to be a writer, namely his lifelong adherence to the spirit of patriotism. Lao She was born and brought up in a poor urban family which serves to explain why his deep affection for people living in poverty was a consistent element underlying his creative work, and why his extraordinary familiarity with and vivid depiction of the life of the urban lower classes emerges as a unique artistic technique of Lao She. Since from his boyhood onwards Lao She was nurtured by Beijing-flavored Manchu culture, he was induced to engage in the lifelong pursuit of the popular arts featuring the Beijing dialect. Due to the special social circumstances facing the Manchu nationality during the course of Lao She""s early life and due to his origins as a Manchu, he was greatly concerned by such subjects as the national spirit and culture. This was a critical factor that eventually turned him into a great writer famed for his contribution to cultural and thought enlightenment.Moreover, his experiences of living in different oriental and western countries and the thoughts these experiences inspired imbued in him a cultural vision and concepts of value that led him to become a world-class writer.

Lao She is the representative of Manchu literature with its fine traditions.In fully displaying the personal literary achievements of Lao She, the author taps into the spontaneous laws governing the transformation of Manchu literature that occurred in the course of its long-term exchange with Han literature and world literature. He also attempts to reveal the demonstrable significance and theoretical implications that the success of Lao She""s art has exerted in the development of China""s multi-national literature. The experience of Lao She proves that writers of minority nationalities, living in an era of great social change should not and cannot achieve success by limiting themselves within a relatively closed national cultural environment. Rather,they should dare to step into the vast world that is full of collisions among heterogeneous cultures, and be encouraged to reveal the intrinsic charm and extrinsic beauty of their own cultures. Among China""s many minority nationality writers, Lao She is a typical representative of that type of writer who draws on his or her original culture and combines it with others. Lao She had a very deep understanding of the culture of his own nationality, saw himself as a literary creator of his own nationality, and maintained a sense of responsibility in developing the literature and culture of his own nationality.However, in close contact with other nationalities, Lao She was extremely open-minded and able to learn from them. In a bid to establish a completely new value concept concerning the national culture, he took the culture of his own nationality as a point of reference and drew widely on the strong points of others. Moreover, he was able to incorporate his new concept of a national culture into his writing. Lao She""s successful writing also proves that the writers engaged in creating national literature must uphold a deep sense of cultural self-reflection if they want to make their national literatures popular among the reading public and well received. This is particularly true of the present day when a variety of nationalities compete with each other in the course of development. Lao She was one of the first Chinese national minority writers concerned for Manchu culture and Chinese culture. Many of his works pursue the theme of presenting a self-criticism for the national culture. This was an intellectual strength underlying his creative writing. Such thinking in literary creation, represented by Lao She, will help enlighten writers of coming generations who work in the field of China""s minority literature reation.

Guan Jixin, male, born in 1950. Being ethnically Manchu, he is an associate professor working in the Institute of Ethic Minority Literature under CASS.

Yang enhong, Folk Poem God -- A study on "gesar" Artists, China Tibetology Publishing House, beijing, June 1995. 376 pp. Illus. 20 cm. ISBN -7-80057-225-0.

Two volumes. volumes.Vol. I: an account of ballad singing forms, styles and art of the Life of King Gesar: Vol. II: the life stories of some celebrated ballad singers in Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia and their performing characteristics. With colored photos of more than ten ballad singers.

Yang Enhong,"Gesar" -- An Epic of One of China's Minority Peoples, Zheuiang Education Publishing House, Hangzhou,March 1995. 201 pp. Illus. 20 cm. ISBN 7-5338-2173-4. Hardcover. Chinese Folk Culture Series.

Based on its first edition published in November 1990 (listed in the Catalogue of Chinese Publications in Tibetan Studies, 1949-1991) published by the Foreign Languages Press in 1995. The present edition is revised and supplemented with up-todate research achievements and information.