神化与人化——中国神话与希腊神话的差异

中国、希腊神话的最基本差异是中国神更为神化,希腊神则更人化。具体表现为:1.中国神“物以稀为贵”,高高在上,零散而不成系统;希腊神丰富而系统,犹如一个完整的人间世界。2.中国神远离尘世,道貌岸然;希腊神世俗化,有人的七情六欲。3.中国神体现“王道”,多施恩惠于人;希腊神颇为“霸道”,总与人作对。究其原因,中国人过早地把神政治化,成为统治阶级的工具;希腊神则经过几千年的传承,仍较真实地保持了原始风貌。而不同的生存环境、民族性格和文化传统是更为重要的原因。

Divinity and Humanity——On the Differences between Chinese and Greek Mythologies

The most fundamental difference between Chinese and Greek mythologies is that the Chinese gods are made more divine while the Greek gods look more human like.Particular expressions can be seen as follows: First,the Chinese gods are "rare",staying high above in the heaven and not systematic;while the Greek gods are plentiful and systematic,just like a complete world of human beings.Secondly,the Chinese gods keep themselves thousands of mile away from the earthly world;while the Greek gods seem more human with natural emotions;thirdly,the Chinese gods act as the delivery of "emperorship",contributing to the humans;while the Greek gods are more "dominating",always standing in a position of fighting against humans.The roots of such differences are that Chinese people tend to put gods in the circle of politics,making them the political tools of the ruling class;while the Greek gods,after a thousand years' tradition, have remained their most basic features.The different living environments,different national characters and differential cultural traditions are mainly responsible for these differences.