The Manchu Story-telling 满族说部

时间：2006年
Date: 2006
类别：民间文学
Category: Folklore Literature
地区：吉林
Region: Jilin Province
编号：Ⅰ—12
Project No. I-12
申报地区或单位：吉林省
Name of Applicant (region or institution): Jilin Province
吉林省东南部的长白山是满族的发祥地，满族先民自古就在这片广袤、美丽而神奇的沃土上繁衍生息。满族说部是满族及其先民口耳相传的一种古老的民间长篇说唱艺术，满语称“乌勒本”（ulabun），汉译为传或传记。其形式与内涵迥异于听讲普通民间故事，多由族中长者漱口焚香宣讲，常配以铃鼓扎板，夹叙夹唱，意在说“根子”、敬祖先和颂英烈，听者谦恭有序，分外虔敬。满族说部植根于满族及其先民讲古的习俗之中，考其源，盖出于满族氏族对先代英雄的崇拜。
The Changbai Mountains in the southeast of Jilin Province are the birthplace of Manchu Ethnicity and their ancestors have multiplied in the vast, beautiful and magic land. The Manchu Story-telling is an old form of long-text chanting and telling folk art circulating among the Manchu Ethnicity and their ancestors, meaning ulabun in the Manchu dialect or biography in Chinese. Its form and content are both different from the telling of common folktales; it is mainly told by the chief of the tribe, narrating and chanting alternately, after rinsing mouth and burning incense and often accompanied by bells, drum and wood clappers. The purpose is to relate the ancestry, pay respect to the forefathers and eulogize the martyrs, with the audience listening in a humble, orderly and pious manner. The Manchu Story-telling was rooted in the practice of remembering the past of the ethnicity and ancestors in such a manner. To ascertain the reason, it may be roughly traced back to the worship of ancestral heroes by the Manchu tribe.
满族讲唱说部主要在氏族内以口耳相传，代代承继。早期多用满语说唱，清中叶后满语渐废，遂改用汉语讲唱，其中夹杂一些满语。满族说部风格凝重，气势恢弘，包罗氏族部落崛起、蛮荒古祭、开拓创业、英雄史传、民族习俗和生产生活知识等内容，被称为北方民族的百科全书。说部是满族及其先民历史的记忆，书中提及的历史内容有的鲜为人知，有的弥补了我国北方历史文献记载之不足，是民族史、疆域史、民族关系史以及人类学、社会学和民俗学研究的珍贵资料。有的说部已被翻译成俄文、日文、英文、意大利文、德文、朝鲜文等多种文字出版，丰富了世界文化宝库。
The Manchu narration-chant story-telling has been basically handed down generation after generation by mouth and ear. In the early stages, it was mainly performed in the Manchu dialect and later presented in Chinese with occasionally-dotted Manchu dialect after the Manchu dialect had began to be abandoned in the mid-Qing Dynasty. The Manchu Story-telling is usually performed in a measured tone and in a grand style, ranging from the rise of the tribe, the primordial days and ancient sacrifice, exploration and enterprise, biography of heroes, custom and lifestyle, knowledge of production and living; it was actually regarded as an encyclopedia of the north ethnic groups. The Manchu Story-telling is a recalling of the history of Manchu Ethnicity and their ancestors and some of the content mentioned in it are hardly known by people. Some even serve to make up for the inadequacy of historical documents of the north area of China and constitute the invaluable assets for studies of ethnic history, boundary history, history of ethnic relations, anthropology, sociology and custom and social practice. And part of it has been translated into a couple of languages including Russian, Japanese, English, Italian, German and Korean, adding to the splendor of world culture.
满族说部蕴藏丰富，但讲说与传承者多系特殊群体，现已人数不多，开展抢救性保护工作刻不容缓。近年来，满族说部作为课题已列入社科院科研项目和“中国民族民间文化保护工程”国家试点项目，搜集记录下来的已达十余部，并通过阶段性成果专家论证。但是，未及记录的说部仍有很多，抢救保护的任务相当繁重。
The Manchu Story-telling has a rich reserve but those capable of performance and heritance are a privileged group of people, who are now in a small number. Hence the urgent need of preservation and salvation. In recent years, it has been listed under the program of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the national pilot project of China Folk Culture Preservation Program. The stories collected and recorded are up to more than 10 volumes and have passed the assessment of stage-by-stage results by experts. However, there are still many that have not been recorded yet. The task of salvation still remains urgent and heavy.