Монгол тууль судлалын зарим нэг асуудалд

Controversial Issues in Research on Mongolian Epics

The purpose of this study was to examine the results of studies on Mongolian epics and problems with the studies in an effort to suggest some of the right directions for future research and the necessity of research. Studies conducted by western researchers, especially Russian ones, have been given a heavy weight in research on Mongolian heroic epics. A lot of studies approached Mongolian heroic epics from a perspective of the poetics of history or from a standpoint of literature, such as comparing them with other genres of oral literature, investigating their relationship with documentary literature or comparing oral versions with documentary ones. In and after the late 20th century, lots of studies approached these epics from a viewpoint of anthropology or folklore, and the matter of passing heroic epics onto the next generations was highlighted. Korean researchers have already pointed out that there s something wrong with the way that the West looks at East Asian heroic epics by its own standard for western ones. In this study, the results of recent Korean studies on oral epic poetry were introduced, and it s suggested that the Korean methodology also should be applied to research on Mongolian heroic epics. That is expected to make a contribution to building a theory of oral epic poetry as well. As for another problems with the studies of Mongolian heroic epics, the necessity of the standardization of terms, the necessity of classification and the necessity of research on the comparison between Mongolian heroic epics and the oral epic poetry of surrounding countries, especially those of East Asian countries, were all suggested. Specifically, comparative research between Mongolian and East Asian heroic epics is expected to be instrumental in determining the transition of heroic epics.