| Founded in 1872,the Shen Newspaper is known as the ’encyclopedia of modern Chinese history’ and is the longest-running and most influential Chinese newspaper in modern China,and is of great reference value for the study of modern social life.Using relevant reports from 1912 to 1937 as the main textual document,this article adopted documentary research and classification methods to sort out and portray the life of the New Year Festival in the Republic of China,and to explore the profound relationship between festival heritage and social change,to provide lessons for the development of festival heritage today,so as to expand the perspective of festival research and enrich the study of folk festivals.The text consists of three parts: the introduction,the body,and the conclusion.In the introductory part,l introduced the origin of the study,analyzed the object of the study,and the Republican New Year Festival.Then l presented an overview from two perspectives: the study of the collation of the Shen Newspaper and the study of the festival’s heritage,so as to explain the significance of the study and the research methodology of the thesis.The main part of the thesis is discussed in five chapters.In the first chapter,l analyzed the background and stage characteristics of the coexistence of the two New Year Festival in the Republican society,from the practice of life in the traditional Lunar New Year to the political practice of changing the calendar in the Republic of China.After 1927,when the solar calendar was dominant and the lunar calendar was supplementary,the Republican New Year developed rapidly,while the national Solar New Year continued to flourish.In Chapter 2,the traditional Lunar New Year celebration was reviewed,and the custom of the busy New Year preparations and New Year celebration in the Republic of China are sorted out from three perspectives: food,costume and socializing.The society is more open and tolerant.The Lunar New Year relying on the old calendar shows the overall characteristics of inheriting the old and welcoming the new.In Chapter 3,l explored the process of institutionalizing the solar New Year under the Republican calendar reform,and sorted out the content of New Year celebration.The government established New Year’s Day on the new calendar as a solar New Year’s Day,and through top-down official propaganda and institutional requirements,New Year’s Day on the Gregorian calendar gradually became established on the basis of the customs of the old calendar New Year’s Day,showing a half-new,half-old development in general.In Chapter 4,l analyzed the changes to the Lunar New Year Festival.The public’s reflection on the extravagance and hedonism of the old customs has contributed to the modernization of the lunar New Year Festival in an open and inclusive manner,combining East and West.The traditional Lunar New Year is actively reflective and transformative,embracing social change in a proactive manner.In Chapter 5,l explored the choice of New Year festivals and the innovation of ideas,and delved into the psychology of festivals in the Republican period.In order to adapt to the changing rhythms of society,the public accepted the solar New Year while not forgetting the lunar New Year,and the psychology of the New Year was characterized by ’two New Year Festival in one year’.In the concluding section,l summarized the findings of the thesis and reflected on the shortcomings of the research.External pressure and impact cannot profoundly change the values of folklore;only the awakening of people’s own consciousness,their spontaneous demand and initiative to improve their behavior,can truly promote the transformation and development of folklore. |
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