Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 796 No Forcing
During class, Chen Fan did not look at the lecture notes.

That lecture note was never touched after it was placed on the lectern.

He held a piece of chalk in his hand, occasionally writing a few keywords on the blackboard, and spoke eloquently to the students gathered in the room.

"Folklore studies originated abroad. In the late 18th century, Europe underwent a series of social transformations, and nationalist thought began to rise. Western nationalist thought takes the nation as the unit, emphasizes the nationality and exclusivity of a country, and hopes to establish a unified national spirit and an independent country."

This was just the beginning of folklore studies; the true birth of folklore theory took place in Germany.

Influenced by the Romantic Herder, German scholars collected and compiled folk oral traditions. Among the more influential figures of the time were the Brothers Grimm, founders of German folklore and renowned linguists: Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm—yes, the same Brothers Grimm who wrote Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Their published works, such as "Children's and Household Stories," also known as "Grimm's Fairy Tales," as well as "German Legends" and "German Myths," were extremely influential at the time.

The folklore research methods represented by the Brothers Grimm later developed into the mythological school of folklore studies. Subsequently, German folklore studies continued to develop thanks to the continuous efforts of its own folklorists, culminating in the establishment of Germany's first folklore organization—the Berlin Folklore Society—in 1891, and the Federation of German Folklore Societies in 1904.

It then spread rapidly.

As Chen Fan spoke, he glanced at the table and realized, "Oh, I forgot to bring my teacup. I need to have Xiao Bian bring it to me during the ten-minute break between classes."

Pulling himself back to reality, he glanced at the school leaders in the corner and continued, "Today we won't go into the specific content of the folklore course. We'll mainly talk about the origin of folklore, its research and development in our country, and what folklore is."

These things help students gain a basic understanding of the subject, clarify what they need to learn, and why they need to take the course.

The development of folklore studies in my country can be roughly divided into four periods: the Peking University period, the Central University period, the Hangzhou period, and the dormant period after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Since Peking University established a folk song collection office in 1918 to collect folk songs, my country has officially begun the study of folklore in the modern sense. Later, due to social unrest, some scholars moved to Sun Yat-sen University and Xiamen University.

At this time, some government officials believed that it was essential to improve the status of the Chinese people and to understand their customs, beliefs and ideas. Therefore, the Institute of Linguistics and History included folklore as one of its four research categories, the other three being archaeology, linguistics and history. In 1927, the Folklore Society was established and the "Folklore Weekly" was founded.

These activities by folklorists at Sun Yat-sen University are widely recognized in the academic community as a landmark in the establishment of modern folklore as a discipline in my country.

Influenced by the research of scholars at Central University, some folklore researchers in Hangzhou also began to study folklore. In 1930, they founded the Hangzhou Chinese Folklore Society and launched the journal *Folklore Monthly* to publish their research findings.

At this point, Chen Fan suddenly threw the chalk in his hand into the chalk box, placed his hands on the podium, and looked around the room.

He paused for two seconds before continuing, "Then, as we all know, happened, and almost all academic research came to a standstill. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to some inappropriate practices in the past, folklore research was also damaged, but I won't go into details here."

Our educational order is now being re-established, and sociology has been formally reinstated as a university major. As an important component and compulsory course within sociology, folklore is also being re-established.

At this point, he gently tapped the lectern twice, looked at the dense crowd, and asked, "Can any of you tell me what folk customs are?"

The classroom remained completely silent; the students looked at each other.

After a long while, Tang Li nervously raised her hand.

Chen Fan smiled slightly and raised his hand to indicate, "Okay, this student, please speak. Let's give her a round of applause to encourage her."

Amid thunderous applause, Tang Li took a deep breath, stood up, and said, "I think folk customs are the living habits of the people. They may include many aspects, such as customary etiquette and daily behavioral habits."

Furthermore, folk customs are not static, nor are they generalized or the same everywhere.

As the old saying goes, "Customs vary every ten miles, and traditions differ every hundred miles," which speaks to the close connection between the uniqueness and regionality of folk customs.

After a two-second pause, she blushed and said, "Teacher, I'm done."

After Chen Fan made a gesture, she sat down and felt her heart still pounding.

As the applause began, Ji Xiulan leaned on the table and said to her, "Tang Li, you weren't like this before. You always answered questions first and were always so poised and confident. Why are you so nervous today? Is it because..."

Tang Li turned her head and glared at her, then whispered, "Pah, don't talk nonsense."

She glanced at Chen Fan again, then continued, "I don't know why, but when I listened to the teacher's lectures back in Lujiawan, I was always like this. I was always nervous, but I wouldn't be like this with other people."

Ji Xiulan pointed at her slyly, "Oh... you're doomed!"

Tang Li glared at her fiercely, "I told you not to talk nonsense, I didn't."

Although Chen Fan could see their subtle movements, he couldn't hear what they were saying amidst the applause filling the room, and assumed they were talking about the question from earlier.

After the applause subsided, he continued, "This student's answer was very good; it summarized the question of what folklore is from a certain perspective."

So, what are folk customs?

Chen Fan raised his hand and gestured, then smiled and said, "Folk customs encompass almost every aspect of social life. You use chopsticks, Europeans use knives and forks, that's folk custom. Southerners eat rice as their staple food, while northerners mostly eat noodles, that's also folk custom."

In general, folklore includes several major categories such as material, spiritual, language and writing, and social organization.

Taking material folklore as an example, it can include agricultural folklore, nomadic and hunting folklore, artisan folklore, commercial and transportation folklore, and so on.

There's also language and writing. Our written traditions, orally transmitted songs and stories, folk proverbs, and allegorical sayings all fall under the category of folklore. ..."

Before class, Teacher Chen intended to give a brief explanation and clarify the issues, but once in class, he went on and on. The two classes, plus the 100-minute break, were over; he completely forgot to schedule a break. It wasn't until the bell rang again and Bian Huifang raised her hand in the corner that he suddenly realized he'd forgotten.

As the bell rang, Chen Fan walked to the podium, gripped the edge, and said solemnly, "It is a fortunate thing that folklore studies has been reopened. However, previous folklore research has followed the research methods of Western academia. I hope that some of you will choose this course in your future academic research, organize a complete Chinese folklore research system that belongs to us, and contribute your strength to the construction of the country's spiritual civilization."

That's all for today's lesson. See you tomorrow. get out of class dismissed.

After finishing speaking, he put away the unopened lecture notes, walked straight down from the podium, and left the classroom.

Only then did the more than two hundred people in the classroom, as well as the dark mass of students in the corridor outside, suddenly wake up from their daze and disperse, running to the next classroom.

But the class ended, but the conversation didn't. In fact, it became even more lively. All the students who attended today's class went back and discussed the customs of their hometowns, some for research and learning, and others just for fun.

Regardless, the trend of folklore studies has taken hold at Jiangnan University.

……

In the School of Humanities office, after seeing off the school leaders who had come with him, Professor Xu sat in his seat with a big smile on his face, feeling very satisfied with his students' first class.

However, he had a question: "At the end of class, you handed over the important task of researching and organizing the research system of Chinese folklore to your classmates. Why didn't you think about doing the research yourself?"
If you can develop this system, you will undoubtedly stand out in the field of Chinese classical studies, achieving even greater success than your current research.

Although Chen Fan proposed new research ideas outside of traditional Chinese studies, which is equivalent to creating a small branch of research, it seems very impressive.

However, the study of folklore is a discipline that can be placed on par with archaeology, linguistics, and history; the two are simply incomparable.

Given that current research methods still largely imitate Western academia, if Chen Fan can develop a unique Chinese folklore research system, his status in the field of Chinese studies will rival, or even surpass, Professor Xu's academic standing, making him the founder of "another school of thought."

Such academic achievements are far beyond what we can compare to now.

Chen Fan was gulping down the tea in one go, then handed it to Bian Huifang, who had come with him. He turned to Professor Xu, smiling wryly, and said, "Professor, you think too highly of me. Do you think I could have done this all by myself?!"

Putting aside other things, the most important folklore textbook in later generations, "An Introduction to Folklore", was edited by Zhong Jingwen, a folk literature scholar, folklorist, educator, poet, and essayist.

The old man lived to be 99 years old and devoted his life to folklore research. He proposed and completed the establishment of the Chinese folklore research system, and the book "An Introduction to Folklore" was completed under his leadership by 32 scholars.

It's a pity that Chen Fan only read the beginning of the book because he thought it was fun. Otherwise, he would have read the whole book by himself, and it would have been great to get the "great scholar" title and stand shoulder to shoulder with his teacher.

Without knowing the details, even with his current knowledge, it would be impossible for him to complete such a task independently.

This work requires traveling all over the country to collect, organize, and summarize data, much of which is based on oral accounts from elderly people, making it an extremely large undertaking.

For example, one very specific branch is "mythology research." Everywhere in the country, there are countless folk myths and legends. The similarities and differences among these stories are also part of the research content of folklore.

Even those 32 scholars collected and organized information based on the work of their predecessors before finally collaborating with Zhong Jingwen to complete this book.

Letting Chen Fan enjoy the glory of a great scholar is fine, but making him suffer the torment of the "learning and research process"? Hmph, let's just forget about it as soon as possible.

Professor Xu disagreed with Chen Fan's words, saying, "Small-scale research can be completed by scholars independently, but large-scale academic research is invariably carried out by multiple scholars, and some even require the relay of several generations."

I have reviewed the lecture notes you compiled. Your overview of folklore is more comprehensive than the textbooks our school hastily produced. The textbook we are currently using is a revised and organized version of Fang Jisheng's "An Introduction to Folklore," published in 1934.

As you said, the research methods in this book are still in the stage of imitating the West, and are no longer very suitable in the educational environment of the new era.

"If you could take the lead and select a group of students from our school's School of Arts, School of Law, and other related majors to be admitted as graduate students, and then recruit some young scholars to join, there is still hope of achieving results."

When Chen Fan realized that his teacher was serious, he immediately stopped laughing.

He quickly sat down in the chair, thought for a moment, and said, "Teacher, I remember you once taught me that a person's energy is limited. Just studying a small topic makes one lament how quickly time flies, let alone exploring a wide range of topics."
I'm already struggling to keep up with your research on historical literature, let alone the task of writing modern literature and other mundane matters.

Folklore is a very broad discipline. It can be studied from the perspectives of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, as well as from the perspectives of culture, tradition, production, entertainment, local customs, and even mythology. It is a very large subject.

"I haven't even caught up with you on the original topic yet, so to rashly switch to a new one might end up with nothing to show for it, which would be a net loss."

At this moment, Chen Fan's eyes were filled with sincerity. "My personal gains and losses are nothing, but if this delays academic research and drags down other scholars, that would be the greatest sin!"

Professor Xu looked at Chen Fan's sincere eyes and sighed slightly, "It's tough on you, kid. You even came up with so many unreliable excuses. You're the kind of person who can exhaust the knowledge of museum artifacts in a week. Are you afraid of taking on a few more responsibilities?"

Chen Fan's expression stiffened slightly.

If you say that, then we won't be able to have fun playing together.

As he was thinking about how to continue his excuses, he saw Professor Xu wave his hand and say to him, "Fine, since you're not interested in this, I can't force you."

so,……"

Professor Xu adjusted his posture, leaned forward, and pointed to the folklore lecture notes that Chen Fan had spent half a day meticulously crafting. He said, "Based on your lecture notes today, write an overview paper on folklore. This paper should serve as the guiding principle for folklore research at Jiangnan University for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years. Is that alright?"

Chen Fan shrank back, wanting to refuse such a big compliment, but seeing the teacher's indifferent gaze, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Fine."

(End of this chapter)