“Creation of traditions”: Study on the contemporary Zhong Yuan Festival of Singapore
创造传统：当代新加坡中元节研究
曾玲
厦门大学历史系
Abstract
The contemporary Zhong Yuan Festival （中天节）is an outgrowth of Southern China traditions that happened during the period of Chinese migration preceding Second World War. It represents the evolution of ‘institutional social practice’ on the other. The tradition refers to the historical memory of ancestors’ homeland, as well as the identity of Chinese culture, according to which it is further created with reference to the socio-historical development of Singapore after its independence. Therefore, there exists the ‘creation of tradition’, which demonstrates the continuity between the traditional Zhong Yuan Festival of China and that of contemporary Singapore. The creation of tradition represents not only the religious meaning of ghost praying in the Chinese tradition, but also the characters of Singaporean society. Zhong Yuan Festival has become an important component of festival culture for the Singaporean Chinese. As a result, the Zhong Yuan Festival of Singapore presents a meaningful case for the study of the creation of tradition by way of which the tradition transforms according to the ‘institutional social practice’ and the continuity of cultural principle.
Key words: Singapore, Zhong Yuan Festival, Pray to the wild ghosts, Creation of tradition
摘要
当代新加坡的中元节，是在承继了华南原乡与移民时期的“中元普渡”传统而形成。在这一历史演化进程中，浸透了中国传统文化意义与“制度化社会实践”的中元节，不仅承载了新加坡华人对祖籍地的历史记忆与对中华文化的认同，亦显示当代新加坡中元节与中国传统中元节一脉相承。另一方面，历经新加坡的历史发展与时代变迁，当代新加坡中元节在坚持中国传统中元节孤魂崇拜宗教意涵的同时，已创造出具有新加坡特色之形态，并成为新加坡华人节庆文化的重要组成部分。新加坡中元节为研究“作为持续性的文化原则和制度化实践或文化传承”的“传统”所具有的华人社会文化之建构的意义，提供了一个有价值的研究个案。
关键词：新加坡、中元节、孤魂崇拜、创造传统
