美同学者托马斯门罗曾经笑言:乌干达人用来驱逐病魔的面罩,最终可能成为某些巴黎人挂在客厅墙上的装饰品。这个例子看似怪诞,却揭示了一个严肃而具普遍意义的课题,即:某些具有特殊用途的工艺品,当原有的用途衰亡之后,一部分成了文化史上的过眼烟云,而另外一些则产生出新的功能,甚至可以起到创作者本身从未梦想过的新的社会用途,从而获得新的生命。 The same scholar Thomas Monroe once said with a smile: Ugandans used to expel the mask of the disease may eventually be some Parisian hanging on the living room wall decorations. This example, which seems seemingly weird, reveals a serious and universal topic: some handicrafts with special uses have, after the decline of their original purpose, become over-looked in the history of culture while others have been produced New functions can even take on new social uses that the creators themselves have never dreamed of, thus gaining new life.