Although the wheel of anthropological development has turned to 2 1 century, many investigation items and methods set in Inquiry and Records of Anthropology still have guiding significance today. Anthropologists who enter the field investigation for the first time are often at a loss, unable to adapt for a long time, and don't know where to start the investigation, so the most important thing for an anthropologist who is going to conduct a field investigation is to have an investigation guide. The translator of this book is a recruit who has just entered the field of anthropology. In the past few field surveys, he was also deeply distressed by the lack of a work guide, so he came up with the idea of translating this field survey manual into Chinese. Translation is not only a dialogue with the original author, but also an in-depth study. When translating this book, the translator has read it word for word from beginning to end, and this experience has happened many times in his mind. As a preface to the translation of Anthropological Inquiry and Records, this paper intends to discuss three issues: ⅰ. Editor and main author of this book; Two. The publication basis and main contents of this book; ⅲ. Field investigation in the eyes of anthropologists.

Ⅰ. Editorial organization and main author of this book

To talk about the author group of this book, we must first know the two institutions that led the publication, revision and perfection of this field work manual: the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Anthropology Society.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) is the largest and most influential non-governmental science popularization organization in Britain. It is a charity independent of the government and was founded in York in 183 1 by Scottish scientist David Brewster and others. The British Association for the Advancement of Science first appeared as an academic group similar to a professional society. Its function is to hold forums to provide opportunities for scientists to discuss scientific research and ideological development in Britain and abroad. Its goal is to promote a better understanding of science-including its basic principles, procedures and possible consequences. The measures taken by the association to achieve its goals are organizing conferences, congresses and lectures, cooperating with other scientific and technological groups, and supporting scientific research and publication of scientific materials. One of the most important and famous activities of the British Association for the Advancement of Science is to hold its annual meeting in the central towns of Britain in turn every year. This is the largest conference of its kind held in Britain, and it is also the only scientific conference held regularly, which allows scientists and ordinary people to participate equally. People from 17 main disciplines attended the annual meeting: agricultural science, anthropology, biochemistry, botany, chemistry, economics, education, engineering, forestry, geography, geology, physics and mathematics, physiology, psychology, sociology and zoology. The association also often debates on issues of interest to some countries or places and conducts special research on these issues. A considerable part of the association's activities is to popularize science to young people through special lectures and conferences. With the increasing social function of science, the association focuses on the relationship between science and society and its consequences. With the development of science, it has gradually developed into a scientific organization serving the public, and 80% of the funds come from various donations and sponsorships. The main donors are non-governmental organizations, such as Wellcome Trust and Royal Society, and government organizations, such as the Office of Science and Technology.

The Royal Anthropological Society (RAI) is the oldest anthropological academic organization in the world, dedicated to promoting the development of anthropology in depth and breadth. The association is a officially registered non-profit independent charity organization. The daily work of the association is the responsibility of the Council. Every year, all members elect a chairman and several directors to form the board of directors. The earliest history of this association can be traced back to the British Aboriginal Conservation Association founded by 1837. In the early19th century, the association launched the Quaker movement against the African slave trade. 1843 In February, the London National Association was separated from the Indigenous Protection Association. The Institute for Ethnic Studies in London is "a center and repository for collecting and systematizing the observation results of all races". (1) Almost from the very beginning, members of the society were divided on the issue of racism. Between 1863 and 1870, two societies emerged, namely, the Ethnology Association and the Anthropology Association. 187 1 year, these two competing societies merged to form the British Anthropological Society. It was not until 1907 that the British Anthropological Society was allowed to add the title of "Royal". All departments of the Society have established their own professional organizations according to their respective fields of interest, but the academic exchange forum provided by the Society takes anthropology as a whole, including social anthropology, biological anthropology and material and cultural research. Since its establishment, the Royal Anthropological Society has always been an important link between domestic scholars and foreign administrative officials and missionaries, and has also provided a meeting place for people who have studied primitive ethnic groups.

The first five editions of Anthropological Investigation and Records were edited and revised by members of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Due to the outbreak of World War II and the death of some anthropologists, the Association handed over the revision and publication to the Royal Anthropological Society on 1949. Before the sixth edition, the main editorial board was Harden, the leading figure of British anthropology at that time, and famous anthropologists such as seligman and Rivers were responsible for compiling the original edition. [②]

Alfred Kurt Hadong (1855- 1940) is one of the founders of modern anthropology in Britain. He is the only anthropologist in Cambridge University for 30 years. It is precisely because of his teaching and scientific research contributions that anthropology has achieved its due position in empirical science. Harden specialized in anatomy and zoology in his early days and taught at Dublin University. During the period of 1888, when he visited the Torres Strait in South America, he was attracted by the living customs of the local aborigines, and then his research direction shifted to the field of anthropology. 1887 published his first book, Introduction to Embryology Research, and then published a series of papers on marine biology. 1893 went to Cambridge University to teach physical anthropology. 1898 puts forward some basic techniques of field investigation in modern anthropology, paying special attention to the method of applied genealogy. 1909- 1926 has been teaching ethnology at Cambridge university, and he has written The Evolution of Art (1895), A Study of People (1898) and The Headhunting of Black, White and Brown People (/kloc

Seligman (1873- 1940) is one of the founders of modern anthropology in Britain. He engaged in medical and psychological research in his early years, and then went to Melanesia for investigation, turning his interest to anthropology. Seligman has been teaching at the London School of Economics and Political Science for a long time and was a visiting professor at Yale University in the United States. He and his wife visited Melanesia and the Nile Sudan many times, and analyzed them from the aspects of race, culture and society, which became a model of field investigation in British social anthropology. In addition to melanesians in British New Guinea published by 19 10, he has also written Vader Man (191) and Non-Christian Tribes in Nile Sudan (1930).

William hales Rivers (1864- 1922) is a British anthropologist and a researcher at St. John's College, Cambridge University. At first, he studied medicine and physiological psychology. After 1898 participated in the psychological test of the investigation team of Cambridge University in Melanesia, he turned his interest to anthropology. Later, he conducted in-depth field investigations in Todala and Melanesia. With regard to the development of culture, he tends to spread theoretical views and interpret Melanesian cultural characteristics as the result of interaction brought by immigrants in different periods. He revised Morgan's theory and thought that Malaya ethnic system was not the earliest type, but a relatively late type, which reflected the decline of prohibition of intermarriage and the disintegration of clan system. Rivers' works in anthropology mainly include Toto Renda (1906), Melanesian Social History (19 14), Medicine, Witchcraft and Religion (19 10), etc.

C. Daryl Fuld (1902- 1973) is one of the main editors of the sixth edition of this book, and is famous among British anthropologists for his research on African anthropology. In many of his works, Ford has deeply discussed the relationship between kinship, environment and society, and how anthropologists in developed cultures should influence anthropologists in indigenous cultures to conduct academic research. His field investigation in southeastern Nigeria promoted people's study of the Yako people in the Cross River. Ford was the editor-in-chief of Africa Quarterly and Africa Highlights Quarterly, and served as the president of the International African Society for 30 years. His works mainly include Marriage and Family in Africa, Belief and Habitat, Economy and Society, etc.

[① ]http://www.therai.org.uk/ .

[2] See Wu's Dictionary of Anthropology, Shanghai: Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, 199 1 year.

[3] Huang Jianbo: "Where are the Fields-Some Thoughts on Anthropology Field Work", "Guangxi Ethnic Studies", 2007(3).

[4] Ivan prichard: Social Anthropology, translated by Chen Qilu and Wang Zhaoxing, Taipei: Tangshan Publishing House, 1997, p. 73.

[⑤] He Guoqiang, editor-in-chief: Collection of Cultural Research Reports on the Phoenix Mountain Area in East Guangdong, introduced by He Guoqiang, Hong Kong: International Yanhuang Culture Publishing House, 2003, p. 18.

[6] Radcliffe-Brown: Methods of Social Anthropology, translated by Xia Jianzhong, Beijing: Huaxia Publishing House, 2002, p. 180.

[7] Guta and Ferguson: The Orientation of Anthropology: the Boundary and Foundation of Field Science, translated by Luo Jianjian, Beijing: Huaxia Publishing House, 2005, p. 3.

[8] George Stoke, Jr., The Magic of Ethnographers and Other Papers in Anthropology History. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,/kloc-0 1992.pp282

[9] He Guoqiang, editor-in-chief: A Collection of Cultural Research Reports on the Phoenix Mountain Area in East Guangdong, with a preface by Zhou Daming, Hong Kong: International Yanhuang Culture Press, 2003, p. 6.