Research of Yueh-Related Cultures in Terms of Comparative Folklore in Circum-East-China-Sea Area.

关注东亚人类学和历史研究的学者普遍认为，越文化对史前日本弥生文化的形成起着决定性的作用。然而，对于环东海地区实际发生的文化过程的认识，需要从比较民俗学的角度进行深入的厘清；这只是因为历史文献和考古遗迹几乎没有告诉我们不同的民族和他们独特的文化。我们试图通过深入的乡村实地调查，以及相当广泛的考察各种民俗的地理分布来找到它们。在第一年，我们在福建省沿海地区广泛地走了一圈，这让我们了解了外国来华研究人员所面临的一些困难，主要是官僚主义的不便。在第二年和第三年，我们成功地与杭州大学的研究人员合作，在浙江省北部和中南部地区建立了我们的研究计划，除了我们中的一些人在日本发表了几篇文章外，我们很快将在中国出版两本书，中国研究人员也贡献了一些文章。

Scholars concerned with anthropological and historical research of East Asia generally agree on the decisive influence of Yueh culture on the formation of Yayoi Culture in pre-historic Japan. Knowledgc of actual cultural process occurred in the Circum-East-China-Sea area needs, however, an in -depth clarification in terms of Comparative Folklore ; it is simply because historical documents and archeological remains tell us little about various ethnic groups and their distinctive cultures.Our assumption is : folk customs found among Han and non-Han peoples in the southeastern coastal area of China mainland still keep, in the form of "cultural survivals," those cultural elements which are descended from ancient Yueh culture, that is to say, what we call "Yueh-related" elements. We tried to find them through intensive field research of villages as well as rather extensive looking into the geographical distribution of various folk customs.In the 1st year, we walked around widely along the coastal area of Fujian Province, which helped us to get acquainted with some difficulties, mainly bureaucratic inconveniences, confronting foreign researchers of China. In the 2nd and 3rd years, we successfully managed to construct our research plan in northern and middle-southern districts of Zhejiang Province with satisfactory cooperation with men from Hangzhou UniversityBesides several articles published in Japan by some of us, we will soon publish in Chinese two books, collections of articles contributed also by Chinese researchers.