秦簡《日書》中的出行禮俗與信仰

劉增貴

    本文以睡虎地秦簡《日書》中的出行禮俗史料為線索,證以考古發現及傳世文獻,對秦漢以前出行的時日禁忌、方位信仰、出行儀式、禍祟防衛、行神崇拜諸問題加以疏釋,藉此反映中國古代社會的一個側面。

    全文以出土文獻釋證的方式,呈現古代出行禮俗與信仰。除了在文獻解讀上糾繆補闕,考釋清釐外,本文重心之一在於破解《日書》出行宜忌之術數原理,指出五行生剋原理對行忌的影響。例如本文發現凡屬水、屬金之日,利於出行;屬土之日,不利出行;這與行神屬北方水,而金能生水,土剋水有關。其次陸行與水行不同,陸行土盛多險阻,故忌屬土之日,水行水盛多風波,故忌屬水之日,這類數術原理的破解,不只有利出土文獻解讀,更清楚呈現古人避忌出行之因,反映了出行者的心理。

    在出行法術儀俗方面,本文考證了從始行到中途防衛的法術與儀式,指出行者將自身模擬為禹,以禹之名命行神佑助,在此情況下,禹不是行神,被禹所令者才是行神。本文進一步檢驗了史學界流行的「禹為行神說」,認為不能成立。更重要的是,指出《日書》中自有行神,即「常行」或「大常行」,與禹無關,從其祭祀日的五行屬性來看,正是利金水忌土者,與古代「五祀」中屬北方水的行神相合,也可能與《山海經》中的「大行伯」有關。

關鍵詞:出行 禮俗 日書 宜忌 行神

  

Journeying Ritual and Belief in Ch’in ‘Almanacs’

Tseng-kuei Liu

Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

    The Shuihudi Ch’in ‘almanacs’ include allusions to rituals associated with journeying. Using these hints, augmented by archeological findings and traditionally transmitted writings, I will in this article examine pre-Ch’in practices associated with journeying, such as taboo days, beliefs asscoiated with directions, rituals for journeys, apotropaic practices and reverence to spirit of the path. This analysis will help reveal this aspect of ancient Chinese society.

    Using a philological interpretive method to examine the unearthed documents, I will present ancient rituals and beliefs associated with journeying. Besides clarifying and correcting mistakes made by previous studies, this paper will focus on analyzing the numerological basis for the sanctions and interdictions on journeys in the Almanacs. This will demonstrae the influence of the notion of generation and destruction of the five-phases on taboos related to journeying. For example, days correlated with water and metal were suitable for journeying, while days correlated with earth were not. These taboos were based on the notion that the spirit of the path was correlated with water and north, metal can generate water, while earth blocks water. Further, taboos associated with journeys by land and water differed. On land, the earth is teeming with dangers and obstacles, hence days correlated with earth were tabooed; while in water, the dangers are wind and waves, hence days correlated with water were tabooed. Analysis of this numerological scheme not only aids our understanding of the unearthed documents, but clearly reveals the reasoning for the taboos related to journeying, reflecting the motivations of ancient travellers.

    In discussing ritual practices related to journeying, this article will examine apotropaic methods and rites for setting out and those related to the journey itself. The traveller was to embody Yu, and use Yu’s name to command the help of the spirit of the path. Yu himself was not a spirit of the path, but those under Yu’s command were. I therefore will re-examine the common historical notion that “Yu was a spirit of the path” and show it is untenable. More importantly, I will show that the spirits of the path of the Almanacs, namely “Constant Path” and “Great Constant Path” are unrelated to Yu. From the perspective of the sacrificial days correlated with the five phases, the suitability of metal and water while proscribing earth, is compatible with the ancient scheme of “five sacrifices” in which the spirit of the path was correlated with water and north. It is also possible that this spirit is related to the “Great Elder of the Path” of the Shanhai jing. 

Keywords: journey, ritual practice, almanac, suitable and taboo, spirit of the path