When the people of Hamelin, Germany had a problem with rats, they called the Pied Piper. With his bewitching pipe and enchanting music, he lured the rats away from the city and into a watery grave. But when the people of Hamelin refused to pay the Pied Piper what they had promised, he turned his entrancing music on their children, leading them away to never be seen again. This key moment in a familiar fairy tale carries many insights. It is, at once, a commentary on social values, a vivid example of family tragedy, and a bit of personal psychology. Folklore is compacted wisdom-literature that yields more information with each reading.
當德國哈默爾恩的人們遇上鼠疫的難題,他們請來了一個花衣魔笛手。借助其魔笛的迷人樂聲,他把老鼠引出城,引進水里淹死。但當哈默爾恩的人們拒絕兌現承諾——向魔笛手支付報酬時,魔笛手轉而向他們的孩子們奏起迷樂,引孩子們出走,不再出現。在這個耳熟能詳的童話故事里,這一關鍵的情節隱含著很多深層的東西。它既反映出社會價值觀,又鮮活地展現了某種家庭悲劇,還呈現了一點個人心理。民間故事是一種濃縮的智慧文學,每看一次都能獲取更多信息。
There is much we can learn by reflecting on the stories heard in childhood. Magical characters are likely to remain in the imagination for a lifetime. Fairytale is a sub-genre of folktale, something that is handed down from person to person for generations; one of the most important identifying features of a folktale is that it belongs to an entire culture, rather than to an individual. That is why folktales give us many insights into the cultures from which they spring.
通過回想童年里聽過的故事,我們可以從中學到很多東西。種種奇幻人物角色很可能會一輩子留在我們的想象空間里。童話故事是民間故事下面的一個分支流派,口耳相傳,代代流傳。民間故事最重要的特征之一是它是某種文化共有的,而非屬于個人。這就是民間故事能讓我們深入了解其文化淵源的原因所在。
My own first hearing of many of the old stories was in the places where they originated. Throughout my childhood our family would travel abroad for several months every few years. There were six children. My parents came up with an ingenious and life-changing idea: have us study the local tales. When we were in Denmark, we visited the home of Hans Christian Andersen, and discussed his stories, such as The Little Mermaid. In Germany, we went to the village of Hamelin, where the tale of the Pied Piper takes place. In Baghdad, it was Arabian Nights. In the temples of India and Japan, the tales of Asia came to life. Seeing how the adventures reflected their settings and how the stories are still alive in those places was a powerful experience.
我初次接觸到那些源遠流長的童話故事,很多都是在故事的起源地。在我的整個童年時期里,我們一家隔幾年就會出國旅行好幾個月。家里有六個孩子。我們的父母想到了一個巧妙的主意,而這也影響了我們的一生,那就是讓我們學習當地傳說。當我們在丹麥時,我們參觀了漢斯?克里斯蒂安?安徒生的故居,還對他寫的童話進行了一番討論,比如《小美人魚》;在德國,我們去了哈默爾恩村——花衣魔笛手那個童話的起源地;在巴格達,我們研究童話《一千零一夜》;而在印度及日本的寺廟里,亞洲的童話故事躍然眼前。看著那段段冒險如何反映其文化背景及那些童話如何依然在其起源地經久不衰,那是種令人震撼的體驗。
Various people can imagine the tales quite differently. I had heard the stories before and had pictures in my mind about what the places looked like. When I saw, for example, the spot in Germany where the Pied Piper supposedly led the children away, it didn’t look exactly the same as I had imagined. In a way, noticing that difference made me aware of how our creativity works. It shaped my sense of the world.
不同的人對童話的想象是千差萬別的。我之前對那些故事早就有所聽聞,并在腦海里想象了一番故事發生地的景象。比如,當我在德國看到那個按推測應該是魔笛手引孩子出走的地方,它看上去和我之前想象的并非完全一致。在某種程度上,發現這種差異使我知道了我們的創造力是如何發揮作用的。它塑造了我對這世界的觀感。
I later learned how these stories portray life issues in miniature. These tales are psychological mirrors that can become more complex as we mature. Bedtime stories have enormous influence over our identities. People identify with certain characters in the stories they heard in childhood. To some degree, many live out these stories, largely unaware of how much the old tales may be shaping our lives.
我后來認識到,這些故事其實就是生活的縮影。這些童話就是反映心理的鏡子,隨著我們成長成熟,故事寓意變得愈發復雜。睡前故事對于我們的個性塑造影響巨大。人們認同自己童年里聽到的故事中的某些人物。在某種程度上,很多人會按著這些故事的`發展軌跡來生活,卻沒有意識到這些源遠流長的故事可能對我們人生的塑造起著如此大的作用。
The story of the Pied Piper reminds us that every parent has to deal with letting go of their children and every former child has to cope with feelings about what it means to leave home. If we take the tale as a reflection of the inner landscape, we see that all the characters can represent aspects of our own personalities. The village leaders may symbolize a practical, thrifty side that does not sufficiently appreciate our magical qualities or artistic abilities. If we cheat the imagination of appropriate time and resources, things may go badly. Creativity and play engage the childlike energies that can leave us in a state of depression if they depart.
花衣魔笛手的故事提醒我們,每個父母都得面對放手讓孩子高飛的情況,而每個孩子都得品嘗到離家獨立的滋味。如果我們視童話為對內心境況的映照,我們會看到所有的角色都代表著我們個性中的方方面面。村中的領導干部也許象征著我們現實而節儉的一面,這一面不會很欣賞我們那些不可思議的特性或藝術才能。如果我們“欺騙”了想象力,不予其適當的時間和資源來發展,事情可能會變糟。創造力和游戲玩耍這些活動包含人們那孩童般旺盛的活力于其中,而如果這種活力消失,我們可能會陷入消沉狀態。
Mythic stories make up a kind of collective dream that we all have together. If we want to understand our dreams, in many respects, we can look at these stories and study them. A talking animal in a story is often the voice of nature. Among other messages, we are being reminded that we are also animals. We are walking around in animal flesh. We sometimes forget this in our excessively mental, all too industrial culture. We are, first of all, animal creatures. We are not just visitors to nature, or merely caretakers of nature. We are nature. Guiding animals are crucial in mythic stories. Psychologically, this might well represent the wisdom of the body. Meanwhile, sinister or wicked characters may represent aspects of ourselves that have been neglected or rejected.
虛構的故事拼湊出的是一種我們所有人共有的夢想。如果我們想理解我們的夢想,從許多方面來講,我們可以看看這些故事,好好研究一下。故事里會說話的動物所發出的通常就是自然的聲音。在其傳達的其他信息當中,它們提醒著我們,人類也同樣是動物。我們以一副“皮囊”行走于世。置身于過度強調“精神世界”,全盤工業化的文化當中,我們有時會忘記這一點——我們首先是動物。我們不僅僅是偶爾走到自然里參觀游玩或對其照料看管。我們屬于自然。在虛構的故事中,起引導作用的動物是關鍵角色。在心理學上,這也許很好地表現了肉身存在的智慧(編者注:這里意指會說話的動物其實為人類的化身。因為人類過分關注其“社會性”而忽視了自身的“動物性”,而這些會說話的動物提醒了人們其“動物性”,因此我們不能忽視其智慧)。同時,邪惡或不道德的角色可能代表的是我們自身那些被忽略或被抹殺掉的方面。
The ancient tales have their own lives, each with unique, eccentric qualities. Part of the richness is that the same story will have different lessons for each listener. Stories can speak to us in several ways: The practical aspects of our personalities appreciate the assistance provided in prudent decision-making. Our playful energies find the stories to be great fun. The quiet, spiritual side is grateful to have some time invested in reflection. The effects of what we learn might last for a lifetime.
那些古老的故事有其各自的生命力,每個故事都有著獨特而怪異的特性。其豐富內涵部分表現于同一個故事對于每個聽眾來說意味著不同的經驗教訓。故事能通過好幾種途徑把信息傳達給我們:我們個性中現實的一面會感激在謹慎抉擇過程中來自別人的協助。我們頑皮的一面會感覺那些故事樂趣無窮。而我們安靜、靈性的一面則會因為投入時間反思而收獲感動。我們從童話故事里學到的東西其影響可能持續一生。
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