民族学刊

2012年度国家社会科学基金重大项目"世界记忆遗产-东巴经典传承体系数字化国际共享平台建设研究"对进一步抢救、保护、传承、利用东巴经典及其纳西族文化具有极其重要的政治、经济、社会、文化价值,尤其具有人文与科技相结合、创造性转化与创新性发展优秀传统文化的探索性、学术性意义。其中的科学采集、释读、编目,当是实现建立东巴经典传承体系数字化国际共享平台课题目标的基础性、基本性工作。没有它,便没有中后期的东巴经典数字化加工、检索与网络传播,东巴经典数字化国际共享平台的建设运行,以及东巴经典数据库与知识库的建库、管理及利用。《国际馆藏东巴经典举要》作为该课题重要的基础性研究成果之一,对其编撰背景的回顾和价值意义的阐释,对进一步推进纳西学研究具有深远的意义。

As a result of the hard work and dedication of the Beijing Information Science &Technology University,as well as leading expert Professor Xu Xiaoli,"the Construction of International Digital Sharing Platform for the Inheritance System of ‘World Memory Heritage' Dongba Ancient Manuscripts "was listed as a major project of the National Social Science Fund in 2012. Since then,it has twice been granted additional funding.I have participated in every process of the project,including planning,and implementation,and also served as leader of the second research group. My responsibilities included interpreting,annotating,and cataloguing the Dongba ancient manuscripts.In addition,I was also in charge of reviewing the information collected by the first research group.In the end,we compiled the information into a book entitled guoji guancang dongba jingdian bianmu juyao( A Catalogue of the Main Content of Dongba Ancient Manuscripts Scattered in the World). This article gives a brief introduction to the background of this compilation and explains the necessity and significance of the book to further promote the Naxi studies.The Dongba ancient manuscripts are regarded as an encyclopedia of Naxi culture. The Naxi are one of the 56 ethnic groups in China. The Naxi were called "Mosuo " in ancient times,and the earliest record of them can be found in huayang guozhi by Chang Qu during the Jin Dynasty. The Naxi are thought to be descendants of the ancient Qiang. The current population of the Naxi is over300,000 and are currently distributed in the border regions of Yunan,Sichuan,and Tibet.Dongba culture has been inherited from the Dongba religion of the Naxi. The founder of the Dongba religion was "Dongba Shiluo " and religious specialists are called as "Dongba ". The meaning of Dongba is "sage". Dongba culture include priests,rituals,crafts,ritual instruments,costumes, songs and dances, and scriptures.Dongba scriptures are written in Naxi pictographs or Geba script,a phonetic writing system. There are more than 1140 Dongba scripture kinds,involving philosophy,religion,language,writing,astronomy,geography,society,ecology,customs,law,ethics,literature,and arts. In 2003,Dongba ancient manuscripts were included on the "World Memory Heritage"list by UNESCO.Currently, more than 34,000 volumes of Dongba ancient manuscripts are scattered in the hands of different institutions and individuals around the world. The collection of Dongba ancient manuscripts abroad began as early as the middle of the 19 thcentury. In 1867, Pere Desgodins, a French missionary,sent an 11-page manuscript titled gaolequ suhun( Gaolequ Calling Back the Soul) from Yunnan to Paris. This event could be regarded as a starting point of the collection of Dongha ancient manascripts abroad. Following the provocation,competition,and cultural aggression of the Western colonial powers in the frontiers of Yunnan,a group of Chinese scholars in the early 20 thcentury began to call for the rescue and protection of Dongba ancient manuscripts. The largescale collection of Dongba ancient manuscripts has contributed to the gradual development of the study of Dongba culture. This study has generally focused on three major areas: translation,cataloguing,and research. The results have been substantial. The translation has been divided into four categories: translating from Naxi into Chinese,from Naxi into English,from Chinese to other foreign languages,or from a foreign language to another foreign one. The cataloguing includes Chinese cataloguing and foreign language cataloging. The research has included the study of Dongba priests,rituals, literature, art, philosophy, astronomy,divination,language,and scripts.The reason why we chose to compile A Catalogue of the Main Content of Dongba Ancient Manuscripts Scattered in the World is in response to the following social,historical factors,as well as the Dongba culture itself:1. Colonial division and the two world wars in the first half of the 20 th century brought catastrophe to China and the Naxi region,and as a result,the Dongba culture suffered greatly. While disputes of influence in Yunnan occurred between France,Britain,Germany,America,Italy,and the Netherlands,the Naxi region received the attention of these imperialist countries because of its abundant natural resources and rich culture. As a result,the aggression of these countries against the Naxi people and their region was reflected in the successive influx of military personnel,scientists,explorers,missionaries,scholars,and so on in the region. This has contributed to an overshadow of colonialism in the study of the Naxi abroad,resulting in a large number of high-quality Dongba ancient manuscripts and other cultural relics becoming lost overseas or ruined in war. For a long time,the Naxi research center was located in the west. Today, following the liberation and independence of the Chinese nation,China has gradually become the second largest economic power in the world and its cultural influence internationally is constantly growing. The center for Naxi studies is gradually being returned to its motherland.2. In the second half of the 20 th century,the most important and pressing issues in China were political revolution and economic development.This period also saw the rise of disturbing ultraleftist ideologies. As a result,the Dongba ancient manuscripts and Dongba culture suffered. Not only were the Dongba criticized and struggled against,but their scriptures were confiscated and burned,their rituals were banned,and their instruments were destroyed. Moreover,academic research and exchanges were put to a halt. Although the new era following this period ushered in a kind of Spring,the resulting commodity economy, urbanization,and globalization caused the surviving Dongba ancient manuscripts to be placed on the open market. Only a few old Dongba still remain,while most of the younger generations move to cities to make money. Thus,there are few left who can inherit the Dongba culture. Modern production,life,and education have also pushed the Dongba culture in a crisis,where what was once a vibrant culture appears to be on the verge of going extinct.3. Dongba ancient manuscripts have been collected by more than ten institutions,organizations,and individuals both within China and abroad.They remain scattered and isolated from each other and many have not been translated or have been carelessly stored. This has seriously affected the progress of international Naxi studies. The prospect of many of these manuscripts and objects being returned to China is impossible,due to geographical barriers and international intellectual property rights. Thus,it is necessary for us to rely on new communication technologies to form an international alliance for the collection,dissemination,and utilization of Dongba ancient manuscripts.4. Due to the fact that these manuscripts are all written on paper and are very old,they are not damage resistant. In fact,damage from worms and rats,natural corrosion,and being bought and sold have all greatly affected their longevity and authenticity. Therefore,in order to completely preserve and protect the Dongba ancient manuscripts and culture,we must urgently turn to modern information technology to build online museums and libraries,information and knowledge bases,and even experience halls that can store this information.5. The research focused on the Naxi culture,especially that of the Dongba ancient manuscripts and culture,has resulted in great achievements.However,only by establishing international sharing platforms can we promote the assembly of strong research,the exchange of research findings,and the cooperation on research concerning the Dongba ancient manuscripts and culture. Also,these platforms can help to accelerate the construction of international Naxi studies,as well as expand the scale of and enhance the sharing standards of international Naxi studies.6. Although many institutions have tried numerous times to translate,annotate,and catalogue various collected Dongba ancient manuscripts,these efforts appear to be quite unorganized,jumbled,and isolated,making it impossible for them to be shared under a common experience,understanding,and standard. This is reflected not only in language and writing,but also in the understanding of the Dongba ancient manuscripts and the relevant aspects of background,translation,and catalogue. It is difficult to maximize the capabilities of relevant data,which has left these unique cultural resources untapped. It is thus necessary for us to create a scientific,clear,comprehensive,and unified standard in cataloguing the Dongba ancient manuscripts in accordance with the basic standards of cultural anthropology and information technology.The project of"the Construction of International Digital Sharing Platform for the Inheritance System of ‘World Memory Heritage' Dongba Ancient Manuscripts"was set up and conducted based on the deep historical and cultural backgrounds of the Naxi people as described in this article. It has great political,economic,social,and cultural value for the saving,protection,inheritance,and utilization of the Dongba ancient manuscripts and Naxi culture. Moreover,it has both exploratory and academic significance for combining humanities with science and technology,creative transformation,and innovative development of excellent traditional culture. Scientific collection, annotation,and cataloguing are the most fundamental steps towards achieving the goal of establishing an international digital shared platform for the inheritance system of Dongba ancient manuscripts. Without it,the Dongba ancient manuscripts would not be digitally processed,retrieved,and disseminated online,the digital international sharing platform would not have been constructed and operated,and the Dongba ancient manuscripts databases and knowledge bases would not have been established,managed and utilized. Thus,the significance of A Catalogue of the Main Content of Dongba Ancient Manuscripts Scattered in the World to the project of"the Construction of International Digital Sharing Platform for the Inheritance System of ‘World Memory Heritage' Dongba Ancient Manuscripts"is clear.