在廣義的文化語境下,中國"月老"型故事中的月老形象在兩千年的歲月中如何傳承和變異?何以至今仍被人們口口相傳?故事中的元素是如何隨著它們與文化核心價值的關系變化而變化的?只有當外來故事中的關鍵元素與本土文化有相似的特征,方能滿足本土觀眾的需求,并融入本土;反過來,這些關鍵因素又深化了故事中隱含的信仰和價值觀,而且故事的改變預示了我們日常生活中文化整合的前奏。

Focusing on the"Moon Man"(or matchmaker)in the tale"Predestined Wife"(ATU 930A)in Chinese examples,this article applies the historic-geographic method in a broad cultural context by exploring how the Moon Man figure in the tale has been transmitted and transformed over the past two millennia and is still alive in oral tradition,and how elements in tales rise and fall because of their relations to the fundamental values in the culture.This author argues that any key element in an"imported"tale must have familiar characteristics enabling it to adapt to the local audience and take root and,in turn,strengthen hidden beliefs and values,and that the transformation or migration of tales is the precursor of cultural integration that continues in our everyday practices.