CulturalChildhoods不同文化的童年1 WhenIlookbackonmyownchildhoodinthe1970sand1980sandcompareitwithchildrentoday,itremindsmeofthatfamoussentence"Thepastisaforeigncountry:Theydothingsdifferentlythere"<fromL.P.Hartley'snovelTheGo-Between>.Eveninarelativelyshortperiodoftime,Icanseetheenormoustransformationsthathavetakenplaceinchildren'slivesandinthewaystheyarethoughtaboutandtreated.每當(dāng)我回顧20世紀(jì)七八十年代我的童年時(shí)光,并將它與現(xiàn)在孩子的童年相比較時(shí),就會(huì)想起句名言："往昔是異國(guó)他鄉(xiāng),那里有著不同的習(xí)俗"〔可參見(jiàn)L.P.哈特利的小說(shuō)《傳信人》。甚至在相對(duì)短暫的一段時(shí)間內(nèi),我也能夠察覺(jué)到兒童的生活以及人們對(duì)待兒童的方式上所經(jīng)歷的巨大變化。2.LookingfurtherbackIcanseevastdifferencesbetweencontemporaryandhistoricalchildhoods.Today,childrenhavefewresponsibilities,theirlivesarecharacterizedbyplaynotwork,schoolnotpaidlabour,familyratherthanpubliclifeandconsumptioninsteadofproduction.Yetthisisallrelativelyrecent.Ahundredyearsago,a12yearoldworkinginafactorywouldhavebeenperfectlyacceptable.Now,itwouldcausesocialservices'interventionandtheprosecutionofbothparentsandfactoryowner.回顧更久遠(yuǎn)的歲月,我可以看到現(xiàn)在和古代童年生活的巨大差別。如今的兒童責(zé)任很少,他們生活的主要內(nèi)容是玩耍而非工作,上學(xué)而非勞動(dòng),在家里呆著而不是和外界交往,消費(fèi)而非生產(chǎn)。這種變化也是最近才顯現(xiàn)出來(lái)的。一百年前,12歲的孩子在工廠打工是完全可以接受的事情,而現(xiàn)在,這會(huì)招來(lái)社會(huì)服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu)的介入,其父母和工廠主會(huì)被起訴。3.ThedifferencesbetweentheexpectationsplacedonchildrentodayandthoseplacedontheminthepastareneatlysummedupbytwoAmericanwriters,BarbaraEhrenreichandDeirdreEnglish.ComparingchildhoodsinAmericatodaywiththoseoftheAmericancolonialperiod<1600–1776>,theyhavewritten:"Today,afouryearoldwhocantiehisorhershoesisimpressive.Incolonialtimes,four-year-oldgirlsknittedstockingsandmittensandcouldproduceintricateembroidery:Atagesixtheyspunwool.Agood,industriouslittlegirlwascalled'Mrs‘insteadof'Miss'inappreciationofhercontributiontothefamilyeconomy:Shewasnot,strictlyspeaking,achild."有兩位美國(guó)作家,芭芭拉·埃倫里奇和迪爾德麗·英格利希,她們簡(jiǎn)要地概括了過(guò)去和現(xiàn)在人們對(duì)兒童的期待的差異。在比較美國(guó)現(xiàn)在的兒童和殖民地時(shí)期〔1600–1776的兒童時(shí),她們寫(xiě)道："今天,如果一個(gè)四歲的孩子能自己系鞋帶就很了不起了。而在殖民地時(shí)期,四歲的女孩會(huì)織長(zhǎng)筒襪和連指手套,能做復(fù)雜的刺繡,六歲就能紡毛線了。一個(gè)善良勤快的女孩被稱為‘夫人’而不是‘小姐’,這是為了表彰她對(duì)家庭經(jīng)濟(jì)的貢獻(xiàn),嚴(yán)格說(shuō)來(lái)她不是一個(gè)孩子了。"Thesechangingideasaboutchildrenhaveledmanysocialscientiststoclaimthatchildhoodisa"socialconstruction".Theyusethistermtomeanthatunderstandingsofchildhoodarenotthesameeverywhereandthatwhileallsocietiesacknowledgethatchildrenaredifferentfromadults,howtheyaredifferentandwhatexpectationsareplacedonthem,changeaccordingtothesocietyinwhichtheylive.對(duì)兒童的看法不斷變化著,這使得許多社會(huì)科學(xué)家宣稱童年是一種"社會(huì)建構(gòu)"。他們用這個(gè)術(shù)語(yǔ)來(lái)說(shuō)明不同的地區(qū)對(duì)童年的理解是不一樣的,雖然所有社會(huì)都承認(rèn)兒童與成年人有區(qū)別,至于他們之間有何不同,人們對(duì)兒童又有何期待,不同的社會(huì)給出了不一樣的答案。SocialanthropologistshaveshownthisintheirstudiesofpeopleswithverydifferentunderstandingsoftheworldtoWesternones.JeanBriggshasworkedwiththeInuitoftheCanadianArcticandhasdescribedhow,withinthesecommunities,growingupislargelyseenasaprocessofacquiringthought,reasonandunderstanding<knowninInuitasihuma>.Youngchildrendon'tpossessthesequalitiesandareeasilyangered,cryfrequentlyandareincapableofunderstandingtheexternaldifficultiesfacingthecommunity,suchasshortagesoffood.Becausetheycan'tbereasonedwith,anddon'tunderstand,parentstreatthemwithagreatdealof toleranceandleniency.It'sonlywhen theyareolderandbegintoacquirethoughtthatparentsattempttoteachthemordisciplinethem.社會(huì)人類(lèi)學(xué)家在研究那些跟西方國(guó)家持有不同世界觀的民族時(shí)也表明了這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)。瓊·布里格斯研究過(guò)加拿大北極地區(qū)的伊努伊特人,她描述了在這些社會(huì)群落中成長(zhǎng)是怎樣大體上被看成是一個(gè)獲得思想、理性和理解力〔伊努伊特人稱之為ihuma的過(guò)程。小孩子不具備這些素質(zhì),所有才容易生氣,常常會(huì)哭,無(wú)法理解群落所面臨的諸如食物短缺之類(lèi)的外在困難。由于無(wú)法跟他們講理,即便講了他們也不明白,父母對(duì)他們很寬容、很溫和。一直要等到他們年齡大一點(diǎn),并開(kāi)始有自己的思想時(shí),父母才會(huì)嘗試著去管教他們,約束他們。6Incontrast,childrenon thePacificislandofTonga,studiedbyHelenMorton,areregularlybeatenbytheirparentsandoldersiblings.Theyareseenasbeingclosertomadpeoplethanadultsbecausetheylackthehighlyprizedqualityofsocialcompetence <orpotoastheTonganscall it>.Theyareregularlytoldoffforbeingclumsyandachildwhofallsovermaybelaughedat,shoutedat,orbeaten.Childrenarethoughtofasmischievous; theycryorwanttofeedsimplybecausetheyarenaughty,andbeatingsareattheirmostseverebetweentheagesofthreeandfivewhenchildrenareseenasparticularlywilful.Parentsbelievethatsocialcompetencecanonlybeachievedthroughdisciplineandphysicalpunishment,andtreattheirchildreninwaysthathaveseemedveryharshtooutsiders.相反,根據(jù)海倫·莫頓的研究,太平洋島國(guó)湯加的兒童經(jīng)常挨父母和哥哥姐姐的打。人們認(rèn)為兒童和成年人相比更像瘋子,因?yàn)樗麄內(nèi)狈Ρ淮蠹铱粗氐纳鐣?huì)能力〔湯加人稱之為poto。小孩子經(jīng)常因?yàn)楸渴直磕_而挨罵,他們連摔跤都會(huì)被嘲笑、呵斥,甚至被打。人們認(rèn)為兒童很頑皮,都是因?yàn)樘詺馑麄儾趴摁[,或者要東西吃。在大人看來(lái),三至五歲的兒童尤其任性,因此他們打這個(gè)年齡段的孩子也打得最狠。父母?jìng)兿嘈?只有靠訓(xùn)導(dǎo)和體罰才能使孩子獲得社會(huì)能力,所以他們用一種在外人看來(lái)非常嚴(yán)厲的方式對(duì)待孩子。Inothercases,ideasaboutchildrenareradicallydifferent.Forexample,theBeng,asmallethnicgroupinWestAfrica,assumethatveryyoungchildrenknowandunderstandeverythingthatissaidtothem,inwhateverlanguagetheyareaddressed.TheBeng,who'vebeenextensivelystudiedbyanotheranthropologist,AlmaGottlieb,believeinaspiritworldwherechildrenlivebeforetheyarebornandwheretheyknowallhumanlanguagesandunderstandallcultures.Lifeinthespiritworldisverypleasantandthechildrenhavemanyfriendsthereandareoftenveryreluctanttoleaveitforanearthlyfamily<afictionalaccountofaspiritchild'sjourneybetweenthespiritandtheearthlyworldisgiveninBenOkri'snovel,TheFamishedRoad>.Whentheyareborn,theyremainincontactwiththisotherworldforseveralyears,andmaydecidetoreturnthereiftheyarenotproperlylookedafter.Soparentstreatyoungchildrenwithgreatcaresothatthey'renottemptedtoreturn,andalsowithsomereverence,becausethey'reincontactwiththespiritworldinawaythatadultsaren't.在其他的例子中,有關(guān)兒童的觀念則截然不同。例如,西非的一個(gè)叫孟加拉的很小的族群認(rèn)為,不管說(shuō)什么、用什么語(yǔ)言說(shuō),小孩子都能聽(tīng)明白,并且能理解。另一位人類(lèi)學(xué)家阿爾瑪·戈特利布對(duì)孟加拉族進(jìn)行了廣泛的研究,孟加拉族人認(rèn)為小孩子出生前居住在靈界,在那里他們通曉人類(lèi)所有的語(yǔ)言,能理解所有的文化。靈界的生活很愜意,小孩子在那里有很多朋友,他們通常極不愿意離開(kāi)那兒,來(lái)到地球上的家庭中〔本·奧克雷的小說(shuō)《饑餓之路》就描述了一個(gè)小孩在靈界和人世之間往返的故事。他們出生后仍然與那個(gè)世界保持長(zhǎng)達(dá)數(shù)年的聯(lián)系,如果沒(méi)有得到良好的照顧,他們就可能要返回靈界。因此,父母?jìng)兿ば恼樟虾⒆?以免他們受到誘惑,回歸靈界,而且對(duì)他們也有幾分敬畏,因?yàn)樗麄兙邆浯笕怂痪邆涞耐`的本領(lǐng)。There'satendencytoviewchildrenintheUK,andintheWesternworldingeneral,asincompetentanddependent.Butthisisn'tthecasethroughouttheworld.Inmanysocietieschildrenworkandcontributetothefamilyinwhateverwaytheycanfromaveryearlyage.Agoodexampleofthisischildcare.IntheUK,itisillegalforachildundertheageof14tolookafteranotherchildunsupervised,becausethey'redeemedincompetentandirresponsible.Inothercultures,thisisnotthecase.MichelleJohnsonhaswrittenabouttheFulaniofWestAfricadescribinghowbytheageoffour,girlsareexpectedtobeabletocarefortheiryoungersiblings,fetchwaterandfirewoodandbytheageofsixwillbepoundinggrain,producingmilkandbutterandsellingthesealongsidetheirmothersinthemarket.在英國(guó)及其他西方國(guó)家,越來(lái)越多的人認(rèn)為兒童缺乏能力,依賴性強(qiáng)。但也不是全世界的人都持這種看法。在很多社會(huì)里孩子從小就開(kāi)始工作,尋找各種機(jī)會(huì)為家里掙錢(qián)。以看管孩子為例,在英國(guó),14歲以下的兒童在沒(méi)有成人監(jiān)督的情況下照看其他孩子是非法的,因?yàn)槿藗冋J(rèn)為他們?nèi)鄙倏春⒆拥哪芰拓?zé)任心。而在其他文化里,情況并非如此。米歇爾·約翰遜曾寫(xiě)過(guò)西非的富拉尼族女孩四歲就得照看年幼的弟弟妹妹,要打水、拾柴,六歲就得舂米、擠奶、做黃油,并和媽媽一起到市場(chǎng)上去販賣(mài)這些東西。9Acrosstheworld,amongtheYanamam?oftheAmazonianrainforest,anotheranthropologist,NapoleonChagnon,hasshownhowdifferentthesechildren'schildhoodsarefromWesternones,andalsohowdifferentlyboysandgirlsgrowupincomparisonwithotherpartsoftheworld.HehaswrittenhowaYanamam?girlisexpectedtohelphermotherfromayoungageandbytheageof tenwillbe runningahouse.Bytheageof12or13sheisprobablymarriedandwillhavestartedtohavebabies.Boysontheotherhand,havefarfewerresponsibilities.Theydon'tmarryuntillaterthangirlsandareallowedtoplaywellintotheirteens.Westernnotionsofchildhoodsimplydonot"fit"inthesecases,wherechildren'scompetenceandresponsibilitiesareunderstoodverydifferently.另一位人類(lèi)學(xué)家拿破侖·沙尼翁證實(shí)了在世界的另一端,地處亞馬遜雨林的亞那馬莫族孩子的童年與西方孩子的童年有什么不同,以及那里的男孩兒女孩兒們跟世界其他地方的男孩兒女孩兒的成長(zhǎng)方式的差異。他寫(xiě)道,亞那馬莫族女孩兒很小就得幫媽媽做家務(wù),到十歲就開(kāi)始管家。到十二、三歲時(shí)可能就結(jié)婚生子了。男孩兒的責(zé)任則要少得多,他們比女孩兒晚結(jié)婚,可以玩到十八九歲。西方的童年觀在這里根本不適用,因?yàn)檫@里的人們對(duì)兒童的能力和責(zé)任有著完全不同的理解。10Socialanthropologistsaskquestionsabouthowchildhood,andtheroleofchildren,isseenwithinthecommunitiestheystudy,ratherthanhowitfitsintoWesternideasaboutchildhood.Bydoingthistheyseektoavoidimposingoutsideideasontopeoplewithverydifferentunderstandingsoftheworldorofmakingvaluejudgmentsonotherpeople'swaysofraisingtheirchildren.WhileWesternersmighttakeexceptiontoeight-year-oldgirlsworkingor to12-year-oldgirlsmarrying,withintheirowncommunitiessuchactivitiesareseenasanormalandpositivepartofchildhood.Indeed,seenthroughtheeyesofnon-Westerners,many"normal"Westernchildcarepracticesareseenasextremelybizarreandpossiblyharmfultochildren.Placingchildreninroomsoftheirown,refusingtofeedthemondemand,orlettingthemcryratherthanimmediatelytendingtothem,areviewedverynegativelyinmanysocietiesandleadsometothinkthatWesternersdon'tknowhowtolookafterchildrenproperly.社會(huì)人類(lèi)學(xué)家探尋的是在他們所研究的族群里人們是如何看待童年,以及兒童扮演的角色問(wèn)題,而不是研究那些地區(qū)的童年觀是否符合西方的觀念。他們這么做是為了避