ISBN:780228 1 1 13

Page count: 729

Translators: Xu Yuxin, Wang Peiji, Zhang Zeshi.

Pricing: 88.00 yuan

Press: New World Press

Binding: paperback

Publication year: September 2006

Title: The Golden Branch (Volume I)

I dare not comment on Jin Zhi, even if I summarize it, I can't compare with the translator's preface, and I can only record some feelings. I have only read a few books in the complete works of Freud. It is also because a large number of quotations from the Golden Branch were found in Freud's works that we learned about the Golden Branch.

In fact, it is not clear how Fraser answered his first three questions about the golden branch after reading this book. There are too many branches of the golden branch. Every time I talk about a place, I'm afraid it's just a short story, and the author also quotes many quotations, and the examples finally drown out the logic. The rich examples did not make Fraser's argument more rigorous. At best, these examples can only prove that there seems to be some secret connection between the primitive customs in different regions. As for whether this connection comes from heredity or from more basic * * *, we don't know. Besides, these examples and Fraser's theory are only cross-references. The translator of this book thinks that Fraser's argument belongs to causal inversion, and we can't evaluate it. Fraser's contribution is only to give a more effective explanation of these materials, right or wrong is not important. Just like someone commented on Freud, the research of later generations basically appeared in the form of supporting or opposing his views, which is his greatness. I think Fraser is the same.

There seems to be a narrative danger in the writing style of Golden Branch, because there are too many examples cited, and readers will unconsciously overestimate the similarity of primitive customs in various places. This high degree of similarity and similarity universality is the basis of Fraser's argument, but the more I read it, the more confused I am: how are the examples chosen in the book and how subjective are the choices? I don't know. And I have to admit that many examples are interpreted by Fraser according to his own wishes. Because the book involves a few examples from China, we can feel that Fraser's understanding of these materials is not so thorough, or even misunderstood. So how can we ensure that Fraser's exposition of African, Latin American or Australian materials conforms to the actual situation? Anthropologists have always had two research methods. One is to study the object deeply, live together for a long time, and refine their opinions based on their own experience. The other is to bury themselves in the library and compare and summarize the information provided by the former. Each has his own strengths and his own losses. But the master will always be a library school, because many commentators (including us) are more or less library schools and like to look at problems on paper. The interpretation of an ancient custom has changed hands several times, and it is unimaginable how far it is from the truth.

I'm not a scholar, so I can't demonstrate Fraser's academic achievements more rigorously. I think ordinary readers read this book, that is, they get what they need and find their own little fun. I am interested in Golden Branch because it accurately describes some details of my life. When I was a child, I had a low fever for no reason. In superstitious terms, I lost my soul. My mother listened to other people's advice (seeing a doctor indiscriminately) and picked out a coat for me with a bamboo pole in the middle of the night. I didn't know what to do in the yard. After that, I went into the house, put my coat on my body and asked me, "Are you back?" I replied, "I'm back!" In this way, the lost soul found me through my coat and returned to my body. These are almost the same as the related descriptions in the Golden Branch. Another time, there were many boils on my face, which could not be cured repeatedly. It has been suggested that the paper money scattered by the undertaker should be wiped and buried, and the paper money will naturally heal when it rots. I made it after school, and it won't take long. Furuncle and paper money are linked by contact. When the undead take away the paper money, they also take away the furuncle, which is the most typical witchcraft in the golden branch. Of course, the paper money also touched me. Why don't you take me with you? I'm afraid the wizard who invented this witchcraft didn't think of it. ...

I was born in the city, and I hope that if I am in the countryside, there will be more relics of ancient customs that adapt to the golden branch. We wear formal clothes, take the subway and chat online, but inadvertently, we will still show what we inherited from our ancestors and will continue to pass it on from generation to generation, even if it looks beyond recognition.