英文摘要:Proverbs are the intelligence of the ancestors. They reflect the spirit of an era, the collective intelligence of each ethnic group. Though the form of the proverb is short and simple, its form has long been in circulation and common recognition. Proverbs belong to a broadly defined part of social literature, widely spread among common people by way of oral literature. A proverb of less than ten words is often a rich metaphoric recollection of human activities, implying important or interesting principles. The artistic techniques in proverbs, abundant in social color, are linguistic pearls that the common people refined out of their daily lives from ages past.Yilan proverbs are a kind of local folk language peculiarly created or circulated in the Yilan area. They not only reflect the natural and human behaviors in the Yilan area, but also fully and accurately reveal the common experiences and ideas of the people there. This research of Yilan proverbs places emphasis on the relation between proverbs and local human development. Aside from preserving the oral literature of the area, this study will probe into the geographical environment and the social structure of the Yilan area, showing the importance and closeness of the cultural development in the region. This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter One, 猦Introduction睌, describes the motivation for and approaches to research as well as the study of related areas. This scholar睌s studies are collected and used to clarify definitions of proverbs. This chapter also categorizes the differences among the neighboring language areas and explains the way of collecting and recording proverbs, the principles of the phonetic symbols used, the use of literal translation and method of classification. Chapter Two, 猦Geographic Nature and Human History of the Yilan Area in Brief睌 sums up the natural environment and human history of the Yilan area, and cross references the intimate bond between proverbs and formal history. Chapters Three and Four are 猦Contents of the Proverbs in the Yilan Area睌 which contain 186 items extracted from the massive quantity of proverbs in Yilan, categorize the proverbs in accordance with their content and nature. The categories are divided into natural phenomenon, seasons, and human development. In these two chapters, the topics are further broken down into 10 sections which are 猦Geographical Traffic and Regional Name睌, 猦The Seasons and Climate睌, Activities of Industry睌, 猦Ethnic Development and Activities睌, 猦Life and Social Conduct睌, 猦Social Turmoil and Ethnic Conflicts睌, 猦People and Historical Anecdotes睌, 猦Customs, Religion and Characteristics of People睌, 猦Folk Opera睌, and 猦Slang and Tag Lines睌 respectively. The major source of reference of recorded proverbs is of 硱The History Series in Yilan County : I-Lan Oral Literature硰. Each proverb is listed, explained and analyzed phrase by phrase, and is marked with phonetic symbols word by word. Since derivation and circulation are closely linked with regional social structure and geographic nature, Chapter Five, 猦Characteristics and Cultural Meaning in the Proverbs of the Yilan Area睌 analyzes the content and behavioral characteristics in the proverbs of Yilan. The chapter then looks into the cultural meaning of the proverbs, mainly the naturalenvironment and human history reflected in the proverb, and the characteristic personality of the Yilan people separately revealed by the proverbs. Chapter Six, 猦Conclusion睌, concludes with the function and value of proverbs in the Yilan area, and offers personal insights and suggestions for the future study thereof.