XU Xinjian.Rich Garden of Chinese Literature

Prof.Xu Xinjian has written a work that asks the world to recognize the diverse multiethnic traditional literatures of China.Much of this traditional literature is oral-based，though written texts are an important component of several ethnic traditions.In the history of Chinese literature this is a relatively new way of perceiving the Chinese literary tradition，which from its very roots has had a close，nuanced relation to the spoken and sung word and has reflected the literary achievements of diverse local cultures——dating back to theShijing《诗经》（Book of Songs）.The histories of the diverse local cultures that have developed over time within the borders of China is a complex process of migration，expansion，interaction，and melding playing out within a variable climate and geography that has produced one of the most viable and dynamic cultural areas on earth.When China came within increased intellectual contact with other areas of the world in the 19th century precipitated by the growth of industrialism and imperial ventures that would eventually result in the New Culture Movement of the early 20th century，Chinese intellectuals created a new framework to view literature，of which comparison was a pat.In Chapter 12 of this book，Prof.Xu discusses the angst felt by scholars such as Wang Guowei 王国维 （1877-1927） over the “lack” of a Chinese tradition of epic，resulting in a search for “comparables” that yielded astonishing results.Not only were many epics found——with the epic of King Gesar opening the flood gates，but after decades of research，especially in the post-1949 era，the realization dawned that China was a “land of epics” and studies intensified.In the present era，it is now increasingly recognized that China has a dynamic and diverse ethnic mosaic and that literary productions，whether oral or written traditional literature，or modern author written novels，short，stories，and poems are part of the larger portrait of Chinese literature，which has been historically recognized as being mostly a product of what came to be known as literature of the Han people.In this expansion of the canon of Chinese literature，there has been recognition not only of ethnic minority literature or various sorts，but also of overlooked and underappreciated styles of oral and oral-connected literature produced by local Han cultures all over China.Moreover，certain of these styles would include what I have called “epic adjacent” （Bender forthcoming） styles of performed narrative that feature certain characteristics often associated with epics （though that term “epic” is in constant evolution）.Examples of these “epic adjacent” traditions would include the ancient Dunhuangbianwen变文 （transformation texts），baojuan宝卷（precious scrolls），and various forms oftanci弹词 （plucking lyrics）——which Chinese scholars have described with the termquyi曲艺（art of melodies）.And of course，there is still much of China’s multi-ethnic literatures，which comprise a greater “Chinese literature，” more that awaits exploration，research，and translation.

Prof.Xu is among the founding scholars of literary anthropology in China，and it is within this orientation that the book is devised.Literary anthropology has a limited following outside China，though it has parallels in folklore in literature studies，eco-literature，comparative literature studies，and ethnic/indigenous literature studies.In fact，China has an especially dynamic literary anthropology scene，which is making theoretical contributions based in part on the recognition of the diverse literary cultures within China.Prof.Xu purports that literature and life are intricately connected，that a text is “an active process，involving multiple participants within the process of production and transmission，and that this life of the text，which Xu refers to as a “spontaneous garden” is key to our understanding of the tradition-based literatures of China，whether of the multifarious Han tradition or the diverse ethnic minority traditions of literature.Echoing scholarship from the “performance based” wing of Western folkloristics，Xu understands the crucial importance of viewing texts as embedded in living cultural processes，and in order to interpret texts one needs to engage that background.This attitude is in line with many developments that have occurred within folk literature studies in China since the 1930s，when scholars such as Gu Jiegang 顾颉刚 （1893-1980） and later Zhong Jingwen 钟敬文 （1903-2002） advocated “going to the people” and collecting oral literature firsthand.That said，many early efforts at collecting resulted，as Xu notes，in the collection of large numbers of texts（by the 1980s numbers of collected songs and proverb reached the millions），yet attention to the context was often lacking.I personally recall examining many folk literature texts published or republished in the 1980s that were comprised of many folk songs or folk stories along with（sometimes） names of the tellers/singers.Background information on the works often consisted of only names of the collectors，and place of collection.In some cases，however，more context was provided in articles published separately.An example of a context rich work is theMiaozu Shishi《苗族史诗》（ButterflyMother：Miao（Hmong）CreationEpicsfromGuizhou，China）published in 1983 by Ma Xueliang and Jin Dan，which supplied a comprehensive introduction，extensive notes，and even a few passages of the original epic in Miao romanization.Fortunately，there has been a shift in the direction of the recognition of the value of context surrounding these texts in China，as reflected by numerous projects on epic traditions of China enacted by scholars including Chao Gejin in the Institute of Ethnic Literature in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In the process of recognition and appreciation of oral and less recognized script traditions in China，which has been enabled by advances in digital technology，there has been a decided increase in the volume of scholarship and translation of these literatures.In very recent years many volumes of research and translated works have appeared by scholars working in various parts of the country，including the aforementioned Institute of Ethnic Literature in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences，China Normal University and Peking University in Beijing，Zhongshan University in Guangzhou，Dalian Minzu University，Southwest Minzu University in Chengdu，and other centers of ethnic minority literature research.Publishing houses such as Yunnan Minzu Publishing House and Liaoning Normal Publishing House have published extensive bilingual translations of ethnic minority epics and folk literature，as well as academic studies of these works.Such publications help raise the profile of ethnic literature in China and have the potential of gaining more recognition worldwide.The challenge of gaining worldwide attention to any sort of Chinese literature has been large，due to the linguistic barriers and the challenge of supplying frameworks of interpretation.While certain works such as theDaoDe Jing《道德经》（The Classic of the Way and Virtue），Sunzi’sSunziBingfa《孙子兵法》（The Book of War），and to a lesser extentHonglouMeng《红楼梦》（Dream of Red Mansions） andSanguoYanyi《三国演义》（Three Kingdoms） （the latter to some extent via video games） have gained wide recognition outside China，the majority of works in translation are consumed by academics，which is a limited audience.Among the world of ethnic minority literature，theGesarepic of Tibet and surrounding regions，is likely the best known of the traditional lore，while Alai’s novelChen’aiLuoding《尘埃落定》（Red Poppies） is likely the best known work of ethnic minority authors abroad.That is not to say that progress has not been made.Overall，there is presently a much higher awareness of Chinese ethnic minority literature among readers outside China than twenty years ago，as reflected by increasing publications in academic journals and the appearance of translated volumes of ethnic minority folk tales，songs，and epics issued by foreign publishers.Improving the situation will require more creativity in finding markets for Chinese scholarship and texts that reflect the diversity and richness of the multi-ethnic Chinese tradition，which has so many flowers in its basket.Concerted work among researchers，multilinguistic translation teams，and distribution and marketing outlets are crucial in this process.An example of a very successful work of non-Western （i.e.outside the overwhelming influence of Homeric epics as literary standard），is thePopolVuhof the Mayan people of Central America，based on a manuscript transcribed into Spanish in the early 18th century，but forgotten and left unpublished in complete form until the mid-20th century.The text has by now appeared in numerous editions in several languages，including Chinese.It is valued not only as an amazing example of traditional epic literature，but has，in concert with the ancient Mayan ruins and colorful living Mayan culture，has entered the imaginations of millions worldwide and has contributed to the generating or tourist dollars in Guatemala and the Mayan areas of central America.This awareness，however，could only have been achieved by dedicated inter-national constellations of researchers，translators，and publishers acting decisively within international publishing markets.

In presenting his vision of a multi-ethnic garden of Chinese literature，Prof.Xu advocates the stance that “［l］iterature not as a reflection to life，but literature as life itself.” He draws upon several examples of Chinese ethnic minority traditional oral and written literatures from a wealth of choices.These begin with his nuanced discussion of the epicGesarofLing（versions of which are shared by several ethnic groups），and continues with discussions of other northern epic traditions，and the more recently “discovered” southern and southwestern epic traditions，which have gained notice largely since the 1950s，with early recognition being given by foreign scholars such as Joseph Rock and pioneering Chinese ethno-linguist Ma Xueliang.Prof.Xu discusses in detail Miao，Naxi （Mosuo subgroup），and other traditions.Prof.Xu recommends utilizing a cross-disciplinary approach to frame each literary item，supplying background and context for a full appreciation of their respective natures and merits.Such an approach demands a panoply of areas of expertise （and proper institutional support），which in many cases might require a collective effort to achieve.The approach would ideally include theory and experience gained from the perspectives of linguistic analysis，poetics，translation studies，folkloristics，ethnomusicology，intertextuality，examinations of museum exhibits and private collections，etc.Paramount to these efforts is on the ground fieldwork in places of transmission and circulation of living traditions，involving local literati and the living transmitters （if available）.

In particular，the discussion ofYaluWang《亚鲁王》（King of Yalu） （an epic/ritual tradition in Miao areas of central Guizhou province），involves dimensions of local cultural，ecological，and historical context，all of which have been well-researched since the tradition came to the attention of scholars in the early 2000s.Prof.Xu makes the point that although we now have rich samples of the tradition recorded in writing via transliteration and translation （in part made possible by advancements in digital technology），it is important to be aware that as long as there is a viable living tradition of performance，the epic will exist in multiform formats，as has been noted by other scholars of epic.This viability of the oral performance dimension of the tradition is dependent on the cultivation ofdonglang东郎，the folk tradition-bearers who have for what may be centuries transmitted the transmission in local，living contexts.Prof.Xu also takes theYalu Wangtradition as an example of a style of expression that does not fit neatly into scholarly categories.The tradition has been described by scholars as both an “epic” or as “ritual performance”——as the rich tradition shares traits of both of these terms.As for the category of epic，Prof.Xu suggests this term，based on content of several other southwestern creation epics，can now include the standard “heroic” and “creation” epic categories，as well as a category in which these terms are combined，namely “heroic-creation” epics.Within the third category could be placed not onlyKingofYalu，but theMiaoOralEpics，Le’eteyi《勒俄特依》（Book of Origins） of the Yi ethnic group（Nuosu subgroup），the eponymous epic of the Zhuang ethnic group calledBuluotuo《布洛陀》，etc.，all of which feature heroes or what Finnish epic-scholar Lauri Honko has called “exemplary characters” of various sorts.

Prof.Xu’s intention is not to attempt to artificially “upgrade” the value of any of these texts，but to make efforts towards the creation of an aesthetic that allows the unique features of a given tradition to be appreciated on culturally appropriate terms.While there are certainly relations and resonances between evolving modes of appreciation for the various traditions，it will be interesting to see the convergences that result in the larger scale panorama of aesthetics that may ultimately result in a multi-ethnic，multi-aesthetic space encompassed by what Prof.Xu envisions as “bu tong er he” 不同而和（different but in harmony），and fully available to the world.