3 4 0 ^ 1 0 ^ Folklore Contributions in Sino-Mongoliga
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Z D S V d 今 Lf6l O N I d i a d •woi'o sinaaas mvd 句 SNOixyiSNvax o n v NOixonaoaxNi 10H 3f dO SONIAOHd S H I dO saiaam onv sansAOHd 'saNsosi 's m o is a o n o s s io n V3nOONO^-ONIS MI SNOIXnaiHXNOD SU13J3J JO ^JISJ3AIU£1 ojioqiBQ av[X iCSoiouqia jo lundsn^ Xq paqsiiqnj 3 4 0 ^ 1 0 ^ FOLKLORE CONTRIBUTIONS IN SINO-MONGOLIGA NOTES ON CUSTOMS,LEGENDS,PROVERBS AND RIDDLES OF THE PROVINCE OF JEHOL INTRODUCTION AND TRANSLATIONS i by PAUL SERRUYS C.I.C.M. INTRODUCTION Sino-Mongolica is the sub-title of a private missionary paper,2 con taining French and Flemish articles, formerly issued among the Catholic 1 ) All footnotes in this paper are written by the translator. The notes written by the authors of these articles, are put into the text itself between brackets ( ) , like in the most cases has been done in the original text. If words or explanations, besides this introduction, have been added by the translator, they are always put between square brackets [ ]. Also all the Chinese characters in this paper have been added by the translator. Concerning the choice of the Chinese characters, there is no need, I think, to insist much on the fact that no philological correctness is meant in the use of the characters. The ordinary characters proposed, are those given by the dictionaries, or those suggested by the explanations of the authors of the articles themselves, or sometimes when no fitting characters could be found, the space has been let open. The intention is simply to provide the readers as much as possible with the words and pronounciations, as well as the characters in order to compare with those of other localities. In many cases the characters given for some special dialect-words, are those found in Fr. Jos Mullie’s Index of Chineesch Taaleigen, or from his article: La Survivance de la Voyelle A de l,Ancien Chinois dans le dialecte pekinois du Nord. Mon. Ser. V I , 1941, p. 73 sq. The transcriptions of the words have been rewritten according to the English usual system. Only in French texts, of course, has the original system of French transcription been copied unchanged with the rest. 2) In Proeve eener Bibliographic van de Missionarissen van Scheut by Fr. W. A. Grootaers and D. Van Coillie, Brussels, 1939, as well as in the excerpts made from the foresaid work in Ostasien-Schrifttum der Missionare von Scheut by M. Eder, Mon. Ser. IV, 2,1940,p. 680-689, Sino-Mongolica has been cited many times besides other reviews, as T,oung-pao,etc., which are all publicly edited reviews. This has induced many readers to think that Sino-Mongolica, which is only a publication “pro manuscripto’,,was such a public review as well, and perhaps already useless steps were made to see them. 1 Folklore V I/2 ,1 2 PAUL SERRUYS missionaries of the Jehol Vicariate. Its real title was “Gedenkschriften der Missionarissen van Oost-Mongolie” and in French "Memoires des Missionnaires de la Mongolie Orientale”• The name ‘‘East Mongolia” is to be explained through the fact that in the beginning (1865) the mission-territory allotted to the Belgian Catholic missionaries of Scheut (C.I.C.M.) was the whole strip north of the Great Wall from Jehol to Ninghsia. Quite early it was broken up into three vicariates, respectively called Ordos Mission, Central Mongolia, and East Mongolia (1883). Sino-Mongolica, to use its shorter name, was founded and kept in life under the strong activities of Father Jos. Mullie, now Professor of Chinese language at the National University of Utrecht. He was the director, the most active collaborator,and at the same time publisher and printer of the paper. In Sino-Mongolica, the missionaries could com municate their own experiences, put forth questions and problems of historical and folkloristic importance as well as those of pastoral and practical tenure. Little notes, letters and contributions of all kind were welcome. The problems connected with rural life and folklore, of course, besides mission-history and language, got a great part in the subjects studied. The paper existed from 1920 until 1926. Complete sets of all the issues, became rare, and the existing ones disappeared quickly. Only thirteen years later, Fr. Willem A. Grootaers, according to his own note written on the copy sent to the writer of these lines,had “made a reprint of 25 copies,in Louvain, March 1939. The disposition and pagination of the original ones are faithfully imitated, so that each page has just the same content as in the first edition”. A glance at the titles will show the rich variety and interest of the subjects treated. First Years. 1920-21. First Issue 1 Yerhaert, J. — De Rijstteelt. 1-4. [Rice-culture.] Janssens, L. — Une maison hantee. 4-8. De Jaegher, K. — Mongoolsche titels. 8-21. [Mongol titles.] ヘン Durein, F I.— Over het chineesch tooneel. 22-23. [On Chinese Theater.] Verhaert, J . ——Beschrijving van Feng-ning-hien (met bijgevoegd kaartje.) 23-29. [Description of Feng-ning-hsien. (W ith map).] Seys, G. — Nos oiseaux de Mongolie. 29-38. Mullie, J. — Une caracteristique phonologique du dialecte Chinois de la Mongolie Centrale (met bijgevoegde tafel). [With table] 39-46. Second Issue Mullie, J. — Monseigneur Bruguiere. 1-10. V De Jaegher, K. Van Durme, M. and Mullie, J. — Chineesche Spreekwoorden. 10-47. [Chinese Proverbs.] FOLKLORE CONTRIBUTIONS IN SINO-MONGOLICA 3 . Second Year, 1921-22. First Issue Wauters, E. — Aanmerkingen over Land- en Geldzaken in OostrMongolie. 1-12. [Remarks on Land and Money in Eastern Mongolia.] De Jaegher, K. & Van Durme, M. — Chineesche Raadsels. 12-18. [Chinese Riddles.] Durein, FL — Shang-shen-chiao. 18-19. Van Roo, G. — Zuid Chan-wan-tze. 19-21. [South Shan-wan-tzu.] Delaere, A. — Eenige Brokjes Geschiedenis over San-cheu-kia-tze en Omstreken. 21-31. [Bits of History on San-Shih-chia-tzu and thereabouts.] Mededeelingen van de Redactie. [Communications of the Editors.] Second Issue Gochet, L. — Plantes de Mongolie. 1-13. De Jaegher, K. — Zeden en Gebruiken. 14-19. [Customs and Practices.] Mullie, J_ — Aardrijkskundige Namen uit het Mongoolsch ontleend. 20-23. [Geographical names borrowed from Mongolian.] Van Durme, M. — Autour du Deces. 23-26. De Jaegher, K. — De Mongoolsche Stammen in Oost-Mongolie. 26-30. [The Mongol Tribes of East-Mongolia.] . ’ Durein, F I.— Nota over the Lapa. 31-32. [Note on the La-pa.] Mededeelingen van de Redactie. [Communications of the Editors.] Third Year. 1925-1926. First Issue Gochet, L. — Plantes de Mongolie (suite). 1-3. Kervijn, G .——La chretiente de Lao-hou-keou. 4-6. Gochet, L .——La flore de la region de Lao-hou-keou. 7-10. Verhaert, J. — Nota’s over de Geschiedenis der Christenheid van Pa-keou. 11-19. [Notes on the history of the Christian center oi Pa-kou.] Mullie, J_ — La Lamaserie You-choen-seu a Tch’ao-yang. 22-31. Wauters, E. — De Oorzaken der verarming en hare bestrijding. 1-15. [The causes of the impoverishment and the fight against it.] Among these articles, we can find some of real and exclusively scientific interest. The one of J. Mullie, Une caracteristique phonologique du dialecte chinois de la Mongolie centrale has been published in T'oung Pao X X III,1924,67-81.3 The article on the lamasery In Ch’ao-yang,by the same author,has been published in a new form in uRevue Ilhistree de I’Exposition Vatican's” (Rome) , I I ,15,1925,486-488,4 Photos, under the title: “Le Sanctttaire Bouddhiste de You-chouen-fou a Tch,a,o-yang-hien, garde et desservi par les Lamas de la Mongolie Orientale •,’ The contribu tion of Fr. Seys, was worked out into an article in the Publications du Musee Hoang-ho Pei-ho de T'ien-tsin, 27: Janvier, 1933: Note stir les Oiseaux observes cm Jehol de 1911 a 1932. But there still remain many notes who deserve to be reedited for the benefit of folklorists in China. 3) Cfr. Anthropos, v o l.X X (1925); p. 338. 4 PAUL SERRUYS Some titles, which seem to promise much material on folklore-matters, were however treated from an exclusively pastoral viewpoint, and give us material too general and scanty to be fully translated here. But in spite of this, they tell us many interesting facts from the everyday life of the Chinese people. Some anecdotes told,here and there, throw a sharp light on the circumstances of those early times of mission-activity in the country. It is in the second year, first and second issue, that the review gave some space for communications,with questions and answers exciting the readers at the same time to collect material and informations directly concerning" folklore. This way, traditions and legends were noted and explained. This is the case for the fortress Ming-nan-shan-ch'eng and a local legend about the locality. The 1-3-1919, Fr. Marcel Van Durme writes: “Between Pi-chia-tien and Shang-shao-kuo is a very high mountain, where formerly was a fortress, so the people say; they call it Ming-nan- shan-ch’eng. From this high and steep place, one can see the valley of the Lao River. People say that there was a tower on the mountain, where a fire was lit in times of danger, in order to warn the king of Tai-ming-ch'eng. Once, the fire was lit just for fun, and the king rushed to the place, but there was nothing to do.