2 The Symbolic Meaning of Chinese Day-choosing Behavior Chen-Hsin Lo Institute of Anthropology Tzu Chi University Abstract The so-called day-choosing

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "2 The Symbolic Meaning of Chinese Day-choosing Behavior Chen-Hsin Lo Institute of Anthropology Tzu Chi University Abstract The so-called day-choosing"

屐柑袭
7 years ago
Views:

1 1

2 2 The Symbolic Meaning of Chinese Day-choosing Behavior Chen-Hsin Lo Institute of Anthropology Tzu Chi University Abstract The so-called day-choosing behavior means that Chinese refer to certain calendars to choose an auspicious or to avoid an unlucky day for a special event. This article explains why some events need to choose a special time, and the thinking model behind this day-choosing behavior. The author, firstly, examines the content concerning day-choosing including the events of day-choosing, the establishment of spirits system, the alternative when it is impossible to choose an auspicious day, as well as the nature of time in day-choosing. Secondly, in day-choosing behavior, time is manipulated as a tool, therefore, different concepts about time will be explained. The time concepts include sociocultural time and sacred time. The former is used in the profane sociocultural activities, while the latter is associated with supernatural world activities. Afterward, the significance of day-choosing is discussed. The conclusion points out that day-choosing is applied to sacred time concept which implies a special worldview and thinking model. The activities held within a chosen time have an extraordinary meaning for the actor: to transfer a person, family or social group from one position to another. The author suggests that day-choosing is a symbolic behavior. It is the actor who makes use of the time strategically to integrate human activities to supernatural world. The purpose is to allow the human s transitional activities to incorporate or not to influence (offend) the supernatural world activities so that the actor or the participants will pursue good fortune and shun the course of calamity. Keywords: day-choosing, time, symbolic, thinking model

This article explains why some events need to choose a special time, and the thinking model behind this day-choosing behavior.

3 3 Farmer's Almanac Gardening Calendar Astrology Calendar

4 4 sociocultural time sacred time 104B.C. Gregorian Calendar 1988:78-80

5 5 1994: :

6 6 1984: % 60.3% 1984:

7 :29 4 rites of passage van Gennep,

10 :

12 :

13 13

14 14 actor Fabian, 1973:24 Wagner, 1981:73 Evans-Prichard Nuer Evans-Prichard, 1969:94) Wisconsin Madison) Nuer Evans-Prichard Nuer (oecological time) structural time(evans-pritchard, 1969:94) Evans-Prichard Nuer Evans-Prichard, 1969:104 A. I. Hallowell Saulteaux (Hallowell, 1955: ) Geertz Geertz

(oecological time) structural time(evans-pritchard, 1969:94) Evans-Prichard

15 15 (Geertz, 1973:391) Sorokin Sorokin, 1964:189 local clock Sorokin Sorokin, 1964:169

16 16 Ohnuki-Tierney Ohnuki-Tierney, 1984:176)

17 17 Wagner (Wagner, 1981:73) Wagner -- practice theory

18 18 Sorokin sociocultural time synchronization co-ordination sequential timingsorokin, 1964:172) Sorokin Marcel Mauss magical time (Mauss, 1972:45-46 Henri Hubert magical time religious time [the "empty" ones]( Sorokin, 1964:183

Marcel Mauss magical time (Mauss, 1972:45-46 Henri Hubert

19 19 Leach (Leach, 1976:34-35 [ ] ) 1971: :

20 :1) Eliade dream time Eliade, 1964:103 shaman Eliade Center of the World Eliade

21 21 Eliade, 1964:492) 1986: :17-18 Tambiah Tambiah participation causality 18 Tambiah1990:109 Anzac DayRemembrance Day 19 Carol Gilligan mail voice vs. female voicetambiah 1990:97-100

22 22 Tambia, 1990: Tambia mentality modes of thought multiple orientations to reality ordering of reality innateness Tambiah

23 : : agent van Gennep transition

24 24 van Gennep rites of passage) van Gennep separation) transition) incorporation) van Gennep Mauss HubertLeach communication Geertz Kenneth Burke Geertz, 1973:141)

25 25 Nuer ) )

26 26

27 [1982] Bourdieu, Pierre 1977Outline of a Theory of Practice. London: Cambridge University Press. Cleugh, M. F. 1970Time and Its Importance in Modern Thought. New York: Russell & Russell. Durkheim, Emile1915The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: The Free Press. Eliade, Mircea1964Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Translated from the French by Willard R. Trask. New York: Pantheon Books.

28 28 Evans-Pritchard, E. E.1969The Nuer. New York: Oxford University Press. Fabian, Johannes 1983Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Object. New York: Columbia University Press. Fraser, J. T.1966The Voices of Time. New York: George Braziller. (1987) Time: The Familiar Stranger. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press. Freedman, Maurice1994The Study of Chinese Society: Essays by Maurice Freedman. Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc. Geertz, Clifford1973The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers. Gorman, Bernard S. and Alden E. Wessmaneds. 1977The Personal Experience of Time. New York: Plenum Press. Hallowell, A. Irving1955Culture and Experience. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. Kearney, Michael1975World View. California: Chandler & Sharp Publishers, Inc.. Leach, Edmund1976Culture and Communication: The Logic by which Symbols Are Connected. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mauss, Marcel1972A General Theory of Magic. Translated from the French by Robert Brain. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Moore, Wilbert E.1963Man, Time, and Society. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Munn, Nancy D. 1992The Cultural Anthropology of Time: A Critical Essay. In Annual Review of Anthropology. 21: Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko 1984 Illness and Culture in Contemporary Japan: An Anthropological View. New York: Cambridge University Press. Sorokin, Pitirim1964Sociocultural Causality, Space, Time. New York: Russell & Russell Inc.. Tambiah, Stanley1990Magic, Science, Religion, and the Scope of Rationality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. van Gennep, Arnold1960The Rites of Passage. Translated by Monika B. Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Wagner, Roy1981The Invention of Culture. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

14 2 8 26 1 12 345 6 26273-277 1 26 Joseph Bosco

6 ( 1 ) 13-13228 14 2 8 26 1 12 345 6 26273-277 1 26 Joseph Bosco 15 2 3 2 26276 3 198998 16 2 8 Primitive Classification Durkheim and Mauss 1963 Purity and DangerNatural Symbols Douglas 1966, 197, 1975