Tom tat luan an tieng anh:Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata

Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

NGUYEN THI THANH NGA

TRADITIONAL CULTURAL SYMBOLS IN

PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTORS:

Scientific supervisor: PhD Dao Thi Thu Hang

Assoc.Prof Nguyen Thi Mai Chanh

Reviewers 1: Assoc.Prof PHUNG NGOC KIEN

Institute of Literature

Reviewers 2: Assoc.Prof NGUYỄN THU HIEN

Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Reviewers 3: Assoc.Prof NGUYEN LINH CHI

Hanoi National University of Education

The dissertation is defensed in the presence of the university-leveldissertation committee, in Hanoi Pedagogical University,at on (date) (month) (year)

The Thesis can be found at:

- National Library of Hanoi,

- Library of Hanoi University of Education

1 Reasons for selecting subject

1.1 Yasunary Kawabata (1899 - 1972) is one of the greatest writers

of modern Japanese literature He is the first author of the CherryBlossoms Land, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968.Kawabata's talent, wisdom, and thought has been crystallized and reflected

in the works capturing the culture of Japan

1.2 A literary work is like a mirror reflecting the culture of acountry Kawabata's strangely talented pen represents the quintessence ofJapanese aesthetic thinking and soul: aesthetic, sentimental but still full ofphilosophy Its bridge is symbolic This is also the most characteristic way

to express the writer's thoughts, feelings, and artistic views

1.3 We found that throughout Kawabata's works, images,phenomena, and objects are all derived from Japanese traditional culture.They have capable of perfectly expressing the meanings and conceptions

of life Therefore, through this search, we hope to contribute an approachand research on Kawabata's works

1.4 In Vietnam, there have been various studies about the authorKawabata as well as his works from the perspective of decoding symbols.But in fact, there has not been any in-depth research on traditional culturalsymbols in Kawabata novels Therefore, implementing this research, webelieve in suggesting various interesting things for the readers lovingJapanese literature and Kawabata

All of the above reasons are the scientific basis allowing us to choose

the research: Traditional cultural symbols in Y Kawabata's novels.

2 Research objectives and tasks

2.1 Research objectives

The dissertation aims for three purposes:

Explain the origin of traditional cultural values in Kawabata's novels;analyze the relationship between traditional Japanese and modern Westernculture in his works; thereby clarifying the ideas and aesthetic conceptsgoverning Kawabata's creativity

Select and decipher the most typical symbols that appear with highfrequency in Kawabata’s novels The thesis points out the good, thebeauty, the uniqueness, and the novelty It is the result of the processincluding absorbing the quintessence of Western literature, inheriting andinnovating cultural traditions imbued with Japanese national identity

2.2 Research tasks

The thesis focuses on three main tasks:

Firstly, introduce symbols, and cultural - literary symbols; explainthe basis of formation, and using the traditional cultural symbol system inKawabata novels.

Secondly, we make systematic statistics of traditional culturalsymbols in Kawabata's novels Next, classify symbols, and clarify the roleand the meaning of cultural-literary symbols in Kawabata's works,contribute creating other layers of meaning of the symbolic system intraditional Japanese culture

Thirdly, surveying Kawabata's major novels from the perspective ofcultural symbols, we evaluate and affirm the writer's great successes andcontributions to modern Japanese literature

3 Objects and Scope of Research

3.1 Research Objects

The thesis explores traditional Japanese cultural symbols in Y.

Kawabata's novels We focus on two typical aspects: religious and beliefsymbols (Shinto, Zen Buddhism) and traditional artistic symbols

3.2 Research Scope

- Scope of the survey: The thesis studies the symbols of traditional

Japanese culture in Y Kawabata’s great novels translated and published

in Vietnam in The anthology of works of Y Kawabata (2005), Labour

Publishing House (East-West Cultural and Language Center)

includes: Snow Country (1935 - 1947), Thousand Cranes (1951), The Old Capital (1961), The Sound of the Mountain (1952), House of the Sleeping Beauties (1969), Lake (1954), Ho Chi Minh City Literature

Publishing House

- Research scope of the subject: Exploring cultural meanings from a

symbolic perspective as one of the best aspects of expressing thecharacteristics of traditional Japanese culture Through the interpretationand analysis of the meanings of typical symbols in Kawabata's novels, thethesis aims to interpret the combination of East-West culture, tradition, andmodernity in his novels

5 New contributions of the thesis

The thesis detects and classifies cultural symbols in Kawabata

novels It explains and analyzes the symbols from various angles toevaluate the role, and the meaning of symbols in Kawabata's works andaffirms the author's talent in creating unique and creative symbols Thethesis points out the close connection between traditional Japanese andWesten modern culture It also shows the close relationship betweenliterature and culture

6 Thesis structure

In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, References, and Appendix, the thesis is structured into four chapters:

Chapter 1 Research Issues Overview

Chapter 2 Symbols and Traditional Culture in Y Kawabata's Novels

Chapter 3 Religion Beliefs Symbols

Chapter 4 Traditional Art Symbols

Chapter 1 RESEARCH ISSUES OVERVIEW

The task of this chapter is to summarize the research situation ofKawabata’s novels and cultural symbols in his novels; determine the point

of view and approach of the thesis

1.1 Research on Y Kawabata’s novels and traditional cultural symbols in Y Kawabata’s novels in the world

Immediately after Kawabata won the Nobel Prize for literature,various researches on Kawabata novels appeared in the following

aspects: Biographical Approach (works of Anders Osterling, Mary Jo

Moran, and Donald Keene), Interdisciplinary research (the works

of Edward G Seidensticker, Anders Osterling, Francis Mathy, Katsuhito

Takeda, Setsuko Tsutsumi, Peter M Carriere, Nawang Sari, and Yuli

Christiana Yoedo); Poetics (works of Reiko Tsukimura, Gwenn R.

Boardman, Mishima Yokio, Makoto Ueda, Itasaka, J Thomas Rimer,Sidney DeVere Brown, Shuichi Kato, Fedorenko, Peter M Carriere,Masaki Mori, Mitsuyoshi, Numano, Yuli Christiana, and Laura Ricca)

After reviewing, we find that Kawabata's novels are works attractingspecial attention and the love of readers Regarding the symbolism,researchers have mentioned, but there is not any work researching thesubject that we exploit

1.2 Research on Y Kawabata’s novels and traditional cultural symbols in Y.Kawabata’s novels in Vietnam

After winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Kawabata's name andworks are loved by Vietnamese readers His works come to readers in arich quantity with many quality translations, especially the trilogy

of Thousand Cranes, Snow Country, and The Old Capital At the same

time, there are researches on Kawabata in various different

aspects: Biographical Approach (the works of Vu Thu Thanh, Luu Duc Trung, Nguyen Nam Tran, Huu Ngoc), Poetics (the works of Nhat Chieu,

Dao Thi Thu Hang, Luu Duc Trung, Le Thi Bich Thuy, Nguyen Thi Huan,Nguyen Duc Ninh, Nguyen Nam Tran, Nguyen Tuan Khanh, Nguyen ThiMai Lien, Vu Thi Thanh Hoai, Thuy Khue, and Khuong Viet

Ha), Psychoanalytic (the works of Doan Le Giang, Dao Thi Thu Hang, Ha Van Luong, Hoang Thi My Nhi), Cultural (the works of Tran To Loan, Ha

Van Luong, Doan Le Giang, Nhat Chieu, Dao Thi Thu Hang, Nguyen ThiMai Lien, Tran To Loan, Thuy Khue, Khuong Viet Ha, Huu Ngoc, HoangThi My Nhi) These studies show that Kawabata has received greatattention from Vietnamese scientists

Sub-conclusion

Through the survey, we found that there are various ways to

understand and interpret cultural symbols and point out some typical

expressions from the works of various previous researchers This will be

an important clue and a basis for us during the researching project Thesystematic view in the thesis helps us to rearrange and explore moredeeply the symbols in Kawabata’s novels

Chapter 2 SYMBOLS AND TRADITIONAL CULTURE IN

Y.KAWABATA'S NOVELS

In this chapter, the main task is to study the concept of symbols,cultural symbols, traditional cultural symbols; to explore the relationshipbetween culture and symbols in literary works; to explain the basis offormation of symbols in Kawabata’s novels; to survey and classify thesystem of traditional cultural symbols as the basis for developing the thesis

in the next chapters

2.1 Symbols

2.1.1 Symbols definition

A symbol can be defined as an image, a character, a thing, or anaction, etc It can represent an idea or establish a certain relationship that isknown by the majority, and recognized by the community It can open newlayers of meaning Symbols are highly concise, associative, conventional,

and generalizable So they can express and convey values and ideasquickly and easily.

2.1.2 Distinguishing symbols from some other concepts

To clarify the "difficult to define and live" characteristics of symbol

so that the analysis and interpretation of the symbol in the next chapters ofthe thesis are accurate and scientific, we make a distinction: symbols andsigns; symbols and images; symbols and icons

2.2 Cultural Symbols and Traditional Cultural Symbols

Symbol is the basic unit of a culture The identity of a culture isdetermined by its system of symbols Therefore, to understand the concept

of cultural symbols, we must understand what culture is

2.2.1 Cultural Symbols

We choose the cultural definition of UNESCO: the set of distinctivespiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a socialgroup, that encompasses, not only art and literature but lifestyles, ways ofliving together, value systems, traditions, and beliefs (2001)

From the concept of the symbol and the definition of culture, we canunderstand the Traditional Cultural Symbol as follows:

Cultural symbols first are symbols (objects, meanings, concepts, etc)

gathered in a system of material and spiritual values, which are specific to acertain culture In other words, they are symbols having special meaning toidentify unique cultural values of a community or nation

Compared with ordinary symbols, cultural symbols must havedistinct features: they are products having material and spiritual values thatare distilled and handed down over time They bear the cultural identity ofthe community, and nation

2.2.2 Traditional Cultural Symbols

Understanding in the simplest sense of the word, “Tradition” is theinheritance of valuable social heritage passed from generation togeneration Tradition is not only a relic of the past but also a bridgeconnecting new values

From the research process, in our opinion, traditional culturalsymbols are signs, signals, and representatives of positive material andspiritual values They represent the national cultural identity They arepreserved and have the ability to pass on, transform through space, time,from generation to generation

2.3 The relationship between culture and symbols in literary

composition

2.3.1 Symbols in cultural life

In cultural life, symbols exist in the following forms :

The first is the object symbol, it exists in material life as specific images The second is the intangible symbol, they include symbols

expressing the concept of the universe, human life, all kinds of ideas,religious aesthetics, and customs of nations as well as the whole ofhumanity

The third is art symbols Existing in this form, cultural symbols often

include both material and spiritual values

2.3.2 Symbols in literary works

In literary works, symbols are usually constructed according to the

following mechanisms:

Firstly, literary symbols are taken from the treasures of culturalsymbols of humanity and the nation - of their communities to reshape andadd new layers of meaning

Second, writers can also combine their artistic senses with the

"collective unconscious" part hidden deep in the subconscious to createsymbols in literary works

Third, from practical observation, the writer chooses an inherentsymbol of a nation to build into a character in his work

To discover the meaning of symbols in literary works, we mustpenetrate the style of writing and the entire artistic world of writers

2.4 The basis of the cultural symbols formation in Y Kawabata’s

novels

Through the survey, we found that the symbols in Kawabata's novelsare formed from the following basic sources:

2.4.1 Traditional Japanese Culture

Symbols derived from religious beliefs, customs, and traditions, the

mixture of Shinto and Buddhism, have brought a unique spirit to the Japanesethroughout history Therefore, their aesthetic is also located in nature, voids,and epiphany - discovering the infinite in the finite

Traditional literature is also a unique area of Japanese culture,

which has a great influence on Kawabata's compositions

Traditional Japanese art is expressed by the ability to delicately

perceive the beauty of nature, society, and people

2.4.2 Western Culture

The element creating Kawabata’s difference is that his works wereimbued with the thought and artistic spirit of the times - an era in whichthe values of each nation were fostered and tested through friction withuniversal human values Western literature had certain influences on

Kawabata's works, especially the novels of James Joyce, and MarcelProust, and the psychoanalysis of S.Freud

2.4.3 The domination of aesthetic point of view, the imprint of Kawabata - the "melancholy traveler" in looking for beauty

Aesthetic conceptions of Beauty and Sadness – the important factor that governs the symbolic meaning in Y Kawabata's novels

Beauty and sadness always go hand in hand, perfect for each other.Beauty must be associated with sadness This is a traditional aestheticconcept that influences Kawabata's works

Social reality – influences Y Kawabata's thoughts and views on composition

Kawabata composed during the period Japan had various changesbefore the invasion risk of Western culture and lifestyle The traditionalculture of the nation is in danger of fading away

Imprints of life, governing the creative path of Kawabata

Various researchers believe that the life imprinting "Lonely natureand orphan identity" is also deeply embedded in Kawabata's works.Therefore, each work is a story of his own life

2.5 Survey and classification of cultural symbols in Y.

The Old Capital 67

The Sound of the Mountains

23

Symbol group Traditiona l cultural

symbols

Work Frequency appear

(times)

Hot waterfall

Thousand Cranes 13

Mirror

Snow Country 81

Thousand Cranes 28 Beautiful and Sad 21

Meditationsymbols Tea The Old Capital Thousand Cranes 3297

Beautiful and Sad 13

Traveler

Snow Country Shimamura

The Old Capital Takichiro

Thousand Cranes Kikuji The Sound of the

Sleeping Beauty Eguchi

Beautiful and Sad Oki Toshio

Sleeping Beauty 7

Beautiful and Sad 30

chijimi woven fabric

Snow Country 28

Symbols of performing arts, theater

Geisha Snow Country Sleeping Beauty 683Samisen Snow Country 37

Noh mask The Sound of the

(Traveler Symbol: Because of the dense appearance of the character

"traveler" in Y.Kawabata's works, instead of surveying the frequency, wesurveyed the name of the traveler in his works)

Sub-conclusion: Chapter II of the thesis has studied the concepts:

symbols, cultural symbols, and traditional cultural symbols The thesis hasexamined, and applied to systematize, and classify cultural symbols inKawabata's novels according to specific criteria These are the bases toexplain the formation, use, and creativity of the rich symbolic system inKawabata's works

The construction of a cultural symbol system with various meanings is not

a special creation of Kawabata His uniqueness is that he built his ownsymbolic world In the next chapters of the thesis, we study the traditionalinheritances and new features having "Kawabatastyle"

Chapter 3 RELIGIOUS BELIEFS SYMBOLS

Based on the survey results and symbol classification in Chapter II,

we interpret and analyze the symbols derived from Shinto, and Zen

3.1 The relationship between symbols and religion in Y Kawabata’s novels

Symbol presents not only in art but also in religious life, beliefs, andcultural practices, etc In Japan, Shinto folk beliefs are naturally combinedwith Buddhism So, the aesthetics of Japanese literature is also deeplyinfluenced by Shinto and Zen Buddhism

The thesis does not study symbols in religion as an object thatthoughts and prayers focus on We focus on the religious symbolsappearing in Kawabata’s novels to understand more about their ability toexpress aesthetic meanings

3.2 Shinto Symbol

In the 4th and 5th centuries, The Shinto religion appeared in Japan.Shinto upholding the concept of "animistic things" takes nature as theorigin We found these religious meanings through surveying symbolsderived from traditional Japanese culture which include cherry blossoms,white snow, mirrors, cranes, and hot waterfalls, are the soul of traditionalJapanese literature

3.2.1 Cherry blossom symbol

3.2.1.1 Cherry blossoms symbol in traditional culture

Cherry blossom is the kami (gods), so the Japanese offer flowers inreligious ceremonies The Cherry blossom is not only an image of nature,but also a living space, and a typical cultural symbol of Phu Tang country.

In traditional poetry, the Japanese expressed their love, observation,

and subtle sensitivity to nature An example of this is Haiku - the most

seasonally dependent poetry The Ten Thousand Leaves and The Tale of Genji had a wonderful nature depiction.

3.2.1.2 Cherry blossoms in Y Kawabata’s novels

The cherry blossom is mentioned 67 times in The Old Capital, 23 times in The Sound of the Mountain, and 20 times in Lake This image

plays an important role in Kawabata's art world

Cherry blossom - a symbol of pure and melancholy beauty

The cherry blossom has become a symbol of the pure beauty of the

character Chieko in the novel The Old Capital, Komoko, and Yoko

in Snows Country, or Otoko in Beautiful and Sad Those are sensitive souls

throbbed with emotion by nature and scenery beauty The Cherry

blossom becomes a symbol of the youthful and pure beauty of the female

characters in Kawabata’s works

Cherry blossom - a symbol of the fragile, and short-lived fate of beauty

The appearance with a high frequency of cherry blossom image isreminiscent of the precariousness and floating of human destiny, theimpermanence of life, and especially the rapid fading of beauty Kawabatawrites about cherry blossom in the mind of a person regretting traditionalvalues and the beautiful past of the nation

3.2.2 Snow symbol

3.2.2.1 Snow symbol in traditional culture

With Shinto beliefs, the Japanese find sacredness in all-naturalphenomena Snow contains mysterious deep meanings, the inner strength

of nature, and the universe It is said that the harsh, and violent nature alsobrings a violent shade to the Japanese mentality Northern Japan being aplace of snow, creates sacred and mystical emotions This is also thedestination of travelers on the journey to find the self

3.2.2.2 Snow symbol in Y Kawabata’s novels

The beauty of snow is mentioned various times, so Kawabata'scompositions filled with pure white color and clear atmosphere According

to our statistics, there are 132 times in Snow Country, and 15times in The Old Capital Besides, in Ho and Sleeping Beauty, the details relating to

"snow" are repeated 9 times, in which the color white of snow has a highsymbolic meaning in these works

Snow – the symbol of pure space, and fanciful world of beauty

The snow in Kawabata's works has a truly different beauty of nature

It is a vast space filled with white White is not only a symbol of purity butalso a color of vanity

Snow – The symbol of illuminating and purifying the soul

From the richness of white’s meaning in different cultures, Kawabata

aims for a noble meaning in artistic creation Snow Country becomes a

symbol of purity and chastity in the soul, and deep spirituality This is alsothe value that people always aim for, and find in the journey finding thetrue value of truth - goodness - beauty

Snow is also a symbol of the journey back to the pure and pristine depths of the soul

The momentary existence and instant dissolution of whitesnowflakes is the expression of eternal beauty in the spiritual world,beyond the concept of life - pure survival The Japanese love pristine, anddefective beauty, because nothing is perfect Therefore, Kawabata's stories

do not have an end, they all point toward the infinity of the spiritual world

3.2.3 Mirror symbol

3.2.3.1 Mirror symbol in traditional culture

In traditional Japanese literature, the mirror is associated with an

old story about the girl Phu Tang Every time looking in the mirror, shesees not only her shadow but also another figure being like her That is hermother from whom she inherits both beauty and soul It is the shadow ofthe eternal woman and traditional beauty in ancient Japanese literature.The myth of the Japanese Sun Goddess giving birth to humans also partlyshows the femininity in their aesthetic conception

Mirror has also become a familiar symbol in the works of variousmodern twentieth-century writers such as Murakami, Tanizaki, andKawabata In particular, the mirror has a symbolic meaning for thecharacter's self-reflection journey This helps the character to reorient hisgaze inward, as well as a way to find his true self

3.2.3.2 Mirror and its variations in Y Kawabata's novels

Mirror - a symbol of truth, authenticity

Looking in the mirror helps people identify themselves The usualjoy - anger - love - hate on the face that cannot be recognized bythemselves Characters in Kawabata's works, whether male or female, like

to look in the mirror and look at themselves This is an action repeatedmany times in his works