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.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.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

NGUYEN THI THANH NGA

TRADITIONAL CULTURAL SYMBOLS IN

T HE CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETED IN HANOI

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-level dissertation 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

INTRODUCTION

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 Cherry Blossoms 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 a country Kawabata's strangely talented pen represents the quintessence of Japanese aesthetic thinking and soul: aesthetic, sentimental but still full of philosophy 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 approach and research on Kawabata's works

1.4 In Vietnam, there have been various studies about the author Kawabata as well as his works from the perspective of decoding symbols But in fact, there has not been any in-depth research on traditional cultural symbols in Kawabata novels Therefore, implementing this research, we believe in suggesting various interesting things for the readers loving Japanese 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 Western culture in his works; thereby clarifying the ideas and aesthetic concepts governing Kawabata's creativity

Select and decipher the most typical symbols that appear with high frequency in Kawabata’s novels The thesis points out the good, the beauty, the uniqueness, and the novelty It is the result of the process including absorbing the quintessence of Western literature, inheriting and innovating 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; explain the basis of formation, and using the traditional cultural symbol system in Kawabata novels

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

Thirdly, surveying Kawabata's major novels from the perspective of cultural symbols, we evaluate and affirm the writer's great successes and contributions 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 belief symbols (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 the characteristics of traditional Japanese culture Through the interpretation and analysis of the meanings of typical symbols in Kawabata's novels, the thesis aims to interpret the combination of East-West culture, tradition, and modernity 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 to evaluate the role, and the meaning of symbols in Kawabata's works and affirms the author's talent in creating unique and creative symbols The thesis points out the close connection between traditional Japanese and Westen modern culture It also shows the close relationship between literature 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 of Kawabata’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 attracting special attention and the love of readers Regarding the symbolism, researchers have mentioned, but there is not any work researching the subject 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 and works are loved by Vietnamese readers His works come to readers in a rich 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 Thi Mai 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 Thi Mai Lien, Tran To Loan, Thuy Khue, Khuong Viet Ha, Huu Ngoc, Hoang Thi My Nhi) These studies show that Kawabata has received great attention 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 The systematic view in the thesis helps us to rearrange and explore more deeply 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 relationship between culture and symbols in literary works; to explain the basis of formation of symbols in Kawabata’s novels; to survey and classify the system 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 an action, etc It can represent an idea or establish a certain relationship that is known by the majority, and recognized by the community It can open new layers of meaning Symbols are highly concise, associative, conventional,

and generalizable So they can express and convey values and ideas quickly 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 of the thesis are accurate and scientific, we make a distinction: symbols and signs; 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 is determined 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 distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, that encompasses, not only art and literature but lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions, and beliefs (2001)

From the concept of the symbol and the definition of culture, we can understand 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 a certain culture In other words, they are symbols having special meaning to identify unique cultural values of a community or nation

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

2.2.2 Traditional Cultural Symbols

Understanding in the simplest sense of the word, “Tradition” is the inheritance of valuable social heritage passed from generation to generation Tradition is not only a relic of the past but also a bridge connecting new values

From the research process, in our opinion, traditional cultural symbols are signs, signals, and representatives of positive material and spiritual values They represent the national cultural identity They are preserved 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 of humanity

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 cultural symbols of humanity and the nation - of their communities to reshape and add new layers of meaning

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

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

To discover the meaning of symbols in literary works, we must penetrate 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 novels are 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 Japanese throughout 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 were imbued with the thought and artistic spirit of the times - an era in which the values of each nation were fostered and tested through friction with universal human values Western literature had certain influences on

Kawabata's works, especially the novels of James Joyce, and Marcel Proust, 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 aesthetic concept that influences Kawabata's works

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

Kawabata composed during the period Japan had various changes before the invasion risk of Western culture and lifestyle The traditional culture 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 nature and 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

Work

Frequency appear (times)

Religion

Beliefs

Shinto Symbol

The Old Capital 67

The Sound of the Mountains

23

Symbol group

Traditional cultural symbols

Work

Frequency appear (times)

Thousand Cranes 13

Mirror

Thousand Cranes 28 Beautiful and Sad 21

Meditation symbols Tea

The Old Capital 7

Thousand Cranes 329 Beautiful and Sad 13

Traveler

The Old Capital Takichiro

Thousand Cranes Kikuji The Sound of the

Mountains

Shingo

Sleeping Beauty Eguchi

Beautiful and Sad Oki Toshio

Traditional

Art

Symbols

Textile art symbols Kimono

The Old Capital 232

Thousand Cranes 17 The Sound of the

fabric

Symbols of performing arts, theater

Geisha

Sleeping Beauty 3

Samisen Snow Country 37

Noh mask The Sound of the

Mountains

45

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

"traveler" in Y.Kawabata's works, instead of surveying the frequency, we surveyed 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 has examined, and applied to systematize, and classify cultural symbols in Kawabata's novels according to specific criteria These are the bases to explain the formation, use, and creativity of the rich symbolic system in

Kawabata'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 own symbolic world In the next chapters of the thesis, we study the traditional inheritances 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, and cultural practices, etc In Japan, Shinto folk beliefs are naturally combined with Buddhism So, the aesthetics of Japanese literature is also deeply influenced by Shinto and Zen Buddhism

The thesis does not study symbols in religion as an object that thoughts and prayers focus on We focus on the religious symbols appearing in Kawabata’s novels to understand more about their ability to express 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 the origin We found these religious meanings through surveying symbols derived from traditional Japanese culture which include cherry blossoms, white snow, mirrors, cranes, and hot waterfalls, are the soul of traditional Japanese 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 in religious 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 is reminiscent of the precariousness and floating of human destiny, the impermanence of life, and especially the rapid fading of beauty Kawabata writes about cherry blossom in the mind of a person regretting traditional values 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-natural phenomena Snow contains mysterious deep meanings, the inner strength

of nature, and the universe It is said that the harsh, and violent nature also brings a violent shade to the Japanese mentality Northern Japan being a place of snow, creates sacred and mystical emotions This is also the destination 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's compositions 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 high symbolic 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 but also 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 also the value that people always aim for, and find in the journey finding the true 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 white snowflakes is the expression of eternal beauty in the spiritual world, beyond the concept of life - pure survival The Japanese love pristine, and defective 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, she sees not only her shadow but also another figure being like her That is her mother from whom she inherits both beauty and soul It is the shadow of the eternal woman and traditional beauty in ancient Japanese literature The myth of the Japanese Sun Goddess giving birth to humans also partly shows the femininity in their aesthetic conception

Mirror has also become a familiar symbol in the works of various modern twentieth-century writers such as Murakami, Tanizaki, and Kawabata In particular, the mirror has a symbolic meaning for the character's self-reflection journey This helps the character to reorient his gaze 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 usual joy - anger - love - hate on the face that cannot be recognized by themselves Characters in Kawabata's works, whether male or female, like

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