地域社会史研究中的族群问题——以“潮州人”与“客家人”的分界为例

饶宗颐教授在倡导潮学研究时,实际上把“潮州学”的研究对象定义为潮州地区的人文现象,而非与“客家人”相对应的另一方言群体(即现代所谓讲“潮州话”的人群)。这样的论说,蕴含了有关地域划分与族群分类关系的深刻的方法论意义。实际上,一直到20世纪40年代为止,“潮州人”从来没有作为一个与“客家人”相对应的概念被使用;族群问题的核心是文化或“教化”,而不在于血统。与“身份”和“认同”有关的社会心理内容,在关于移民社会的研究中具有重要的意义;“客家”或“福佬”作为“族群”存在和繁衍的缘由,并不在于其自然意义上的“血统”的正统性或纯洁性,而是植根于语言、民俗等文化方面的基础;所谓“族群”的认同,实际上是“文化”的结果。饶先生所表达的有关族群分类的观念,是以对地方社会历史变迁的高屋建瓴的把握为基础的。

Population Issues in the Local Social History Study——A Case Study of Boundary Between "Chaozhou People" and "Hakka People"

Professor Rao Zongyi restricts the objects of “Chaozhou Studies” to the cultural phenomena in Chaozhou area rather than the dialectal population other than Hakka.In other words,Professor Rao refers to those who speak Chaozhou dialect.This statement embodies the profound significance of methodology about the relation between area allocation and population grouping.Actually,until 1940s,there was never a notion in use which corresponded to Hakka,for the key to population issue is culture or “education,” rather than blood ties.The social psychological contents relevant to identity and identification are of great significance in the study of immigrant society.The existence and reproduction of Hakka or fulao(福佬) does not lie in the so-called orthodox or the purity of blood in the natural sense,but in the cultural foundation like language and conventions.The population identification is a cultural result.Professor Rao's notion on population categorization is based on the understandings of the changes of the local social history.