Old Oral History Public Welfare

The Paper︱Can everyone do oral history?

The Paper︱Can everyone do oral history? On the morning of January 31, 2015, 6 high school students I received training on oral history in an old red-brick house in Wangjiasha Garden, Jing'an District, Shanghai.

This is a history-themed activity of the public welfare organization "Build Home". These high school students will go to nursing homes during the winter vacation to write down their personal histories for the 80-90-year-olds, using words, pictures, Photos create "memory boxes" for the elderly, "leaving memories for the future." What is oral history? Can anyone do oral history? How to do dictation? Historian Gu Xunzhong shared his experience in the oral history work of those who witnessed the "Cultural Revolution" over the years during the training.

What is oral history? Oral history refers to oral, audio history, which is a record of people's special memories and life experiences. "The conditions for the rise of oral history are the development of technology. The emergence of tape recorders and cameras has made it possible to present audio and video information of historical records.

Its value lies in leaving the memory of the parties involved and supplementing traditional written records and artifact history. The oral accounts of key figures may even change and correct the errors in written records. More importantly, it allows ordinary people to step onto the stage of history and restore history to the history of ordinary people. ”

< p> Gu Xunzhong said. Oral history researcher Yang Xiangyin once introduced in the book "Dialogue with History - The Theory and Practice of Oral History" that the term oral history officially came into being in the 1940s.

According to the American Oral History Association: "In 1948, Columbia University historian Alan Nevins began to record the memories of prominent figures in American life. Since then, oral history has "It was founded as a new means of contemporary historical document research." As early as the 1950s, China's historians began to use social surveys and oral history methods to collect data and vigorously promote the "New Four Histories" - family history, factory history, and social history. History, village history.

From the central to local CPPCCs at all levels, there are cultural and historical materials and publications, as well as relevant management departments. In recent years, modern oral history has attracted increasing attention. Participants include not only historians, but also scholars in sociology, anthropology, folklore and other fields.

Some universities and professional research departments have successively established specialized research institutions on oral history, and related works have been published one after another. For example, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences launched the "Oral History" series in 2003. In the second half of 2004, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Oral History Research Association was established, and "Oral History Research," the country's first academic collection of oral history theories and methods, published its first volume in October 2014, and will be published every June and December thereafter. What topics have been chosen for oral history-related works in recent years? At the end of the last century, the British BBC Radio and the British National Library Sound Archives jointly sponsored the largest oral history project in British history - "Talk of the Century: BBC Millennium Oral History Project" (://sounds.bl.uk/accents -and-dialects/millenium-memory-bank), select people from different regions, classes, occupations, and genders to recall their experiences and feelings in the past century and express their longing for the 21st century.

"Talks of the Century: BBC Millennium Oral History Project" The Oral History Center of Stanford University in the United States conducted oral interviews with student soldiers who returned from the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, and invited these soldiers to read out their stories at commemorative events. Wartime emails with family members highlight the role of voice in writing history (://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/november/veterans-day-events-110812.). In China, the cultural and historical compilation work sponsored by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the local CPPCC Cultural and Historical Materials Committee has collected a large number of oral materials during the Puppet Manchukuo rule and compiled them into "Changchun under the Puppet Manchukuo Rule", "Changchun University during the Puppet Manchukuo Rule", etc.

Previously, the main information on this period of history came from the official. Documents, newspapers and magazines were full of remarks that confused right and wrong, while oral narratives constructed a different perspective of history.

It can be seen that the topic selection of oral history is often loyal to the requirements of the times, and also implies a shift in historical focus.

For example, the 1960s had extraordinary significance in American history. Important events such as the feminist movement, the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement and the anti-apartheid movement all took place in this era. Accordingly, with the During this period, with the rise of social history, American oral history made breakthrough progress. But oral history is not only suitable for grand historical topics, it can also be used for writing personal histories.

Through the narrative of an ordinary historical witness, we can know how people at that time viewed some historical events. How to do oral history? The practice of oral history has developed a certain model, which can be basically divided into the following stages: before the interview - identifying the object, background research, type determination, and outline formulation; during the interview - gaining trust, listening carefully, paying attention to interaction, and being independent Space, data collection; after the interview - recording transcripts and written transcripts are formed, important content is approved, handed over to interviewees for verification, and data is archived and preserved.

Background research is the key to a successful interview. In addition to data preparation, you can even conduct preliminary interviews to establish a good working relationship with the interviewee. “Document preparation is a way for you to get closer to the interviewee,” Gu Xunzhong said. “In formal interviews, gaining the trust of the other party is the first priority, especially when you are not familiar with the other party. .

Knowing the events that the interviewee (may) have experienced in advance may give the other party a sense of intimacy and even help the other party recall the relevant content.” Yang Xiangyin reminded, “The most taboo thing about preliminary interviews is. This situation is very likely to occur if the communication is too detailed. ”

When he first met with an old professor, he chatted for more than two hours without any preparation because of the speculative topic. But in the formal recorded interview, the old professor was no longer willing to repeat the last conversation.

When preparing the interview outline, you can set questions that allow the interviewee to express himself freely, or you can set questions that only require a clear answer (yes, no, specific data, time, place). In a formal visit, you can talk "from near to far", that is, starting from things around you, "What is your son doing now?", "How is your health recently?" or "from far to near", starting from The other party may be impressed by the past when talking about it.

However, it is impossible to prepare perfectly in advance. The most important thing is to be careful in communication. An old man over 75 years old will write a biography based on his life experience and historical knowledge (

Wei Yuanfeng, a 75-year-old man, tells history - I joined the army when I was 18 and participated in the Kinmen Artillery Battle. He has achieved "third-class merit" three times!

Wei Yuanfeng, a native of Bainitang, Wengshan Village, Gaodeban, Haicheng District, Beihai City, joined the Chinese People's Communist Party in 1955 and joined the Chinese Communist Party in the army in 1956. , was a soldier of the 505th Artillery Regiment of the *** Unit 0145 (served as gunner), experienced the 1958 Kinmen Artillery Battle, and had achieved "third-class merit" three times

Old man Wei Yuanfeng said: I. He joined the army in 1955 and was demobilized in 1959. The Korean War ended in 1953. In 1957, the United States wanted to return to North Korea and launched the second Korean War. In 1958, due to the heavy troops of the People's Liberation Army, the United States invaded the Wakashima Island in Fujian. The fleet was stationed in the Taiwan Strait, and the Kinmen Artillery Battle took place. The Kinmen Artillery Battle lasted for several years. At that time, the 505th Artillery Regiment of ***0145 Unit was ordered to go to the Fujian front line to participate in the artillery bombardment of Kinmen. I was a soldier of the 505th Artillery Regiment and served as the gunner ( Equivalent to a squad leader (usually 7 people for small guns and 9 people for large guns), he participated in the bombardment of Kinmen and achieved "third-class merit" three times. In 1963, he was awarded the honorary certificate of "Returning Home with Glory" and was demobilized and discharged in 1959. Later, he was assigned to work in the district shipyard (as deputy section chief of the Security Section). In 1963, he was assigned to work in the Juntun Brigade (as deputy secretary of the branch). In 1965 and 1966, he was transferred to Qinzhou to engage in social education. After the social education ended in 1967, he was transferred to Dongdong. Worked at Xing Forestry Farm (as director), and was transferred to Gaode Commune in 1968. He successively worked in Gaode Transportation Team (as captain), Gaode Bamboo Weaving Club (as secretary and president), and worked in the Agricultural Machinery Factory (as secretary) , worked in the electric power plant (as factory director), and worked in Gaode Construction Team (deputy manager).

In the late 1970s, I returned home to work as a farmer (without a pension). I gave birth to three sons and mainly made a living from farming. My life was relatively poor. My spouse died of illness in 1995, and I now live alone.

According to convention, these veterans who have experienced battles and made meritorious service will have a certain status in people's minds and be respected, and relevant departments will provide certain subsidies for their lives, etc. But after the old man returned to his hometown to work in farming, he received almost no subsidies from any department. The old man said: People who have served in the army with him will be given certain subsidies according to the policy after they return home from the army. But people who have had such an experience like him, the now seventy-five-year-old Wei Yuanfeng, don’t seem to care that much about not receiving *** subsidy care! Oral personal history resume survey. An old man has been dead for many years. I want to find out the life history of the old man.

If you are an old man with a non-agricultural household registration in the city, you will have a personal file. The files of retired seniors are kept at the local Social Security Bureau, and you can check them there. Generally, the elderly people who have passed away now are over 60 years old. After a series of political movements such as registration, elimination of counter-revolutionaries, Four Cleans-ups, and clean-up of class ranks, it can be said that the background of the original Chinese people in mainland China is very clear. If you want to inquire, you should do so as soon as possible. For ordinary people's files, there is a time limit for preservation. It will be destroyed after expiration.

If it is an elderly person who has retired to the countryside, it turns out that he is a state cadre or a veteran. It is also easy to check. Go to the local armed forces department, resettlement office and other departments to check. If there are "historical problems" in that area, it is more difficult to check, because different departments or temporary departments organized and were responsible for different movements in different periods to compile their materials, but the investigation and understanding of these people are clearer.

If you don’t have time and want to hire a professional company to investigate, they should also follow this path. You can find a private investigation or detective company, the name is different in different places. Read the following article and complete the following questions: Oral History and Urban Memory Jin Guangyao Oral History

(1) When answering this question, pay attention to the "therefore" in the underlined sentence. According to this, we know that the answer is in the previous article, and this question corresponds The answer range is the third paragraph of the article. The answer can be summarized based on the content of the paragraph: it can enrich the details of historical memory; it can deepen or even change the understanding of history itself; it can record and preserve information about ordinary people's daily life. ( 2) The key to understanding the meaning of this sentence is to connect the context. “Although there are differences, contradictions and even conflicts between the oral accounts of individuals in this group, these different narratives will have a countervailing effect, thus providing a narrative that is closer to the historical truth. "The information provided by the elephant toucher is contradictory, but taken together, it is a relatively complete information about the elephant." Based on these two sentences, the meaning of the sentence can be understood. (3) To summarize the discussion ideas of the article, use "First...secondly...then...finally..." and other words are connected. This article first discusses the value and role of oral history; secondly, points out that oral history will also have errors or distortions (deviations and mistakes) and analyzes the reasons; finally, Call for the development of oral history work. Answer: (1) It can enrich the details of historical memory; it can deepen or even change the understanding of history itself; it can record and preserve information on ordinary people's daily life and other aspects. (2) Between individuals in a group There are differences, contradictions and even conflicts in the oral accounts, but taken together, they provide more complete information about history and provide a narrative that is closer to the historical truth. (3) First, discuss the value and role of oral history; secondly, point out that oral history will also There are errors or distortions (deviations and errors) and the reasons are analyzed; finally, a call is made to carry out oral history work. Oral family history: 1,000 words of the story of grandparents (interview + postscript)

I have always thought that family history is an extremely mysterious and serious existence, and only those famous families who have been in the family for hundreds of years will compile family history. History, because they have a glorious and proud past.

It wasn’t until I read the teacher’s sample essay that I realized that ordinary people’s family histories can be so exciting. In order to briefly describe this family history, I learned a lot about the past from my parents that I never knew.

Grandpa’s grandfather, I don’t know what to call him anymore, let’s just call him grandpa. Grandpa lived in the late Qing Dynasty and was a landlord.

The family is located in a small rural village in Henan, and may not have been severely damaged by the war. Or maybe the British, French and Eight-Power Allied Forces had not yet invaded, and the specific age cannot be verified.

The landlord families at that time may not have great wealth, but at least they had enough food and clothing.

There are fields, land, and domestic servants. They all perform their duties under the strict and decadent traditional feudal hierarchy. The brothers and sisters in the family live a luxurious life like young masters and young ladies in the Qing Dynasty. However, the peaceful life cannot withstand the crushing force of the times, and the influence of the general environment has also caused this decadent family to collapse.

In the late Manchu Qing Dynasty, the country's political system was decayed, and the British illegally smuggled opium to China for capital accumulation. It is conceivable how many Chinese people were poisoned by this and were intoxicated by the temporary pleasure caused by opium smoking. A group of Chinese people allowed themselves to be decadent, either walking, lying down, or standing in a smoky room and indulged in... But unfortunately, the three seniors in the clan were members of this group of fallen Chinese people. Dad said that because the era was too long, the specific It is impossible to verify which seniors smoked opium. The three seniors squandered their family property to smoke opium and emptied the family property until the fragile family shell could no longer support it, so they sold off their property: selling objects, selling servants, selling real estate, selling land...the family's savings were like a flood. With the rapid loss of power, the already shaky feudal family soon collapsed.

Drugs can really destroy people, families and futures. In the late Manchu Qing Dynasty, one opium addict was enough to destroy an entire family, let alone three of us! This was the beginning of suffering for a family that once had no worries about food and clothing. Grandpa's descendants experienced the war years, which were difficult years. The eight-year war of aggression against China made this already fragmented family even worse. They survived in the cracks of the war and were always on guard against Japanese invasion.

I heard from my grandpa that when the Japanese occupied our village, they looted and plundered our village, and they almost lost their conscience. But fortunately, they did not do anything worse than animals - such as massacre. So the family line continues.

My grandfather was born in the 1840s. He survived the most difficult years of the war and was fortunate to grow up in New China. He served as a soldier when he was young, and during the famine years, poverty, hunger, and various life pressures made his grandfather work hard at that time, just to have a full meal.

Grandpa said: When he was the most hungry, he even ate the bark of the tree... "Is the bark bitter?" I asked. "As long as I can fill my stomach, who cares."

During the Great Leap Forward and the People's Commune period, my grandfather had already married my grandmother and had my uncle. For the sake of the family, my grandfather worked hard in the production team. While he was young and strong, he did the most tiring work and the hardest errands, and became the captain of the production team.

However, hard work cannot fill the family's stomach - the clothes are torn and mended, and they eat black flour steamed buns, boiled vegetables, no meat, no oil, and they eat for a long time Not having enough food leads to severe malnutrition. Sometimes he works until his eyes turn black. He relies on his consciousness to support his walking, as if he will faint the next second when he swings the hoe. However, he can only grit his teeth and persevere for the sake of the family's livelihood. After all, my grandfather’s father was a descendant of a landowner, and he had a bit of ink in his belly, so no matter how poor he was, he still received an education from an early age.

"How bold a person is, how productive the land is." At that time, newspapers exaggerated and unrealistically described production results. Grandpa said that he deeply blamed himself. He didn’t understand why he had to falsely report the results. Isn’t it good to be honest? But he had to obey the orders of the mayor and secretary in order to survive.

Grandma’s family has always been at the bottom of society and is extremely poor. "We couldn't even call it school at that time.

What were you going to school for? We went to the vegetable field to pull weeds, hoe the ground, and feed the pigs. You couldn't learn anything. You had to help when you got home at night. My family was exhausted from farm work, and it was really not easy to live at that time."

Grandma said. When my grandfather was in the production team, my grandmother was doing farm work at home while taking care of the children.

After I separated from my great-grandmother, I was too poor and had no house to live in. I once lived in the "Kang House" (a house where tobacco is processed) of the production team. In addition to processing tobacco, bricks are also made here, which they call "kilns."

The walls have turned black due to long-term smoke; the window paper can no longer protect against wind and rain, and the walls made of dirt seem to collapse after being washed away by a heavy rain. Grandma worked in the "kiln factory" during the day and mended Grandpa's clothes in the middle of the night under a dim light. The years were difficult, but the family was still happy.

Due to his outstanding performance, my grandfather was assigned to work in the Wugang Steel Plant after he retired. At that time, he should be considered an iron rice bowl! After the land reform, I was allocated land. Following the national household responsibility system policy, my life gradually became more comfortable. With savings, I built my first house - two large tile-roofed houses. To this day, the courtyard of our hometown is expanded on the basis of these two large tile-roofed houses.

Many years later, my grandfather was transferred to Wuyang Highway Bureau as an accountant. Let’s talk about my mother’s side of the family for now.

My great-grandmother (my mother’s grandmother) is a lady from a landlord’s family. She got married at the age of 16 and suffered many hardships throughout her life.

I met my grandma when I was very young. At that time, my grandma’s feet left a deep impression on me. That is a pair of real three-inch golden lotus.

A pair of feet is no bigger than my palm. The feet are triangular and slender. The toes are deformed and stick to the center of the soles of the feet. The insteps are highly arched. It is hard to imagine what the bones of these feet look like. My mother told me that this was the abuse of women in the feudal era.

Think about how many days and nights my great-grandmother shed tears because of these bound feet when she was young, and how many late nights she could not sleep because of the extreme pain. I still remember that my mother and grandma went to buy shoes for my great-grandmother, and they visited the children's shoe section... When I was a child, I still didn't understand why I had to go to the children's shoe section to buy shoes for the elderly. It turns out that these feet can only wear children's shoes! The three-inch golden lotus is not. An ancient story tells the story of an old man who was carried to a cave and abandoned by his descendants

Once upon a time, there was a country where the old man was abandoned. The king stipulated that old people who lived to the age of 60 should be sent to the mountains to starve to death. Qiu San sent his 60-year-old grandfather to the mountain, feeling very sad. Qiu San could not bear to leave his grandfather, so he took the grandfather back to the village and hid him at the risk of being sentenced. Soon a neighboring country sent two snakes, asking the king of Qilao to identify which one was a male snake and which one was a female snake. Neither the king nor the ministers recognized him. After Qiu San heard about it, he went to ask his grandfather. Grandpa said: "Put the snake on the silk cotton. The one that crawls out is the male snake, and the one that doesn't move is the female snake." Qiu San helped the king identify the male snake and the female snake. The envoy of the country left in despair. A few days later, the neighbor brought two more pieces of wood to the king and asked him which one was the male tree and which one was the female one. The king had no choice but to send someone to invite Qiu San. Qiu San waited for the errand to leave and quickly went to ask his grandfather. Grandpa said: "The ones that float on the water are male trees, and those that sink to the bottom are female trees." Qi Laoguo was saved from two humiliations, and the king wanted to reward Qiu San. But Qiu San said: "This is all the solution that my 60-year-old grandfather came up with." The king then understood that the old man had rich experience and wisdom, and a country could not live without the elderly. From then on, the name of Abandoning Lao Country was changed to Jing Lao Country.

This is not history, just a story. Oral history 800 words

Any material that is transmitted orally or written down based on personal hearing and experience can be called oral historical materials; it can be presented in the form of oral historical materials, memoirs, investigation records, interviews, etc., but it cannot It’s called oral history. The connotation of the concept of oral history is: collecting and using oral historical materials to reproduce a certain stage or aspect of the historical development process. Oral historical materials are limited to providing various materials for studying history, while oral history focuses on interpreting history in its own unique way. Therefore, oral history is the researcher's study of his life or a related event based on oral historical materials from interviews with interviewees, combined with documentary materials, and historical records that have been audited to a certain extent. It is the processing, arrangement and improvement of oral historical materials. , rather than the restoration of interview historical materials.

Advantages

1. Most of the people and things involved in oral works were less known to people in the past, and they have a certain "revealing" nature. The vivid oral narratives of the parties are both It satisfies people's psychology of exploring secrets and helps people understand the truth of history;

2. It pays great attention to the review and description of historical details, and the richness and vividness of history are highlighted, thus turning the boring Restore the history into flesh-and-blood history;

3. The oral history works have vivid language, rich pictures and texts, are in line with the reading interests of the general public, and are highly readable.

Disadvantages

1. Oral history is derived from memory, is highly subjective, and unstable;

2. It is difficult for oral history to be purely neutral and Without intervention, the narrator's memory can sometimes be unreliable or intentionally exaggerated.

Therefore, the more specific the plot, the more attention should be paid to it. Unless there is a major attack, it is impossible to remember it so clearly;

3. It is almost impossible to make everything in oral history consistent with "objective facts". Even if the narrator does not intend to make a forgery and is sincere in telling the truth, the memory of historical events will not be able to remember historical events due to the conditions of what he saw and heard at the time, the inevitable distortion of diachronic memory to a certain extent, and the inevitable addition of subjective factors. It is impossible for the narrative to completely conform to the objective reality of the past. Can an oral family history only be written about one person?

"Oral history" emerged in the West in the 1940s, and attracted great attention in China in the 1980s

Since 2000 Since the beginning of this year, we have entered into exploration in mainland China. Some people predict that oral history will become the main method of preserving and managing history in the future.

"Oral Family History" is a second-level brand registered in the National Trademark Office of the "Oral World" series of products. The purpose of "oral family history" is to record personal experiences, write family virtues,

inherit the national spirit, and accumulate human culture.

"Oral Family History" is produced by the Crystal Island Film and Television Company's oral family history team's professional outreach producers, interviewers

, videographers, photographers, lighting engineers, scene notes, Post-production directors, editors, transliteration proofreaders, book editors

, album editors, art editors, typesetting and printing production and other work processes are completed collaboratively, and are completed by the user's parents and grandparents at home. As the main narrator, children, grandchildren, and other relatives serve as secondary narrators to jointly tell the story of the family

A brand-new service product that "records personal experiences and writes family virtues" to tell the story of the family's history and hope for the future of the family.