Archaeology

Guo Lixin
Book Review
Olga Gorodetskaya. Xia Shang Zhou: Cong Shenhua Dao Shishi [Xia, Shang,
Zhou Dynasties: from Myths to Historical Facts]. 537 pages, 150 b&w
illustrations. 2013. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Press; 978-7-5325-6759-1
hardback ¥148.

Abstract:
Shen&Ming (the spiritual and brightness) is one of the key concepts in Yi-Zhuan (Book of Changes), and is put to use comprehensivly in the thoughts in pre-Qin period and Han dynasties. In the theories of different schools, the concept of Shen&Ming is related to Heaven & Earth, involving in the process of creativity, neither is the sacrifice object nor the spiritual being. The author finds out that the concept of Shen&Ming relates with themoral of Heaven& Earth in the materials of pre-Qin and Han dynasties. The ancient thinkers held that the running of the things between Heaven & Earth originated from the moral and were arranged by the Shen&Ming. The moral of Shen &Ming is the cause of creativity, with the innate character is vatality. The concept of Shen & Ming in Xun Zi.s thought keeps
the idea of Heaven & Earth and centres in the key concept of human being. Xun Zi regards the Shen & Ming as the unique product of Dao which is similar to the idea of the Daoist school of Yellow Emperor and Lao-Zi. Xun Zi discusses the issue of the way that the gentlmen cultivate their mind with the concept of Shen & Ming which is used to elaborate the idea of Heaven & Earth by the Daoist school
of Yellow Emperor and LaoZi. Xun Zi researches the ethic with Shen & Ming which is succeeded by the Neo-Confucinism in the Song dynasty.

戰國時期百家爭鳴過程中，思想家，用通用的思想範疇來辯論自然、人生、社會問題，其中有一些概念範疇源自「易」的思想，「神明」便是《易傳》關鍵概念之一，亦在先秦兩漢思想範疇中，頗為廣泛使用的概念。各家「神明」概念都與「天地」有關，並涉及天地自然造化之過程，古代「神明」不是作為某種祭祀物件而存在，也不表示神祇和鬼神的意義。
筆者搜集歸納有關先秦兩漢「神明」之資料，則發現「神明」一詞之用意牽涉天地萬物之「德」概念。古人認為，天地萬物之死生運行皆源自「德」，皆由神明之安排，但「神明」並不具備造物主身份，而是天地合德概念。「神明之德」被視為萬物造化的原因，若以兩個字來表達「神明」的本質，則應是「生機」一詞。郭店《太一》闡明了「神明」體現天地的相輔，於是「神明」的作用即是天地之間的媒介、氣化主宰者，故為「生機」。
荀子的「神明」觀念，保留天地觀的出發點，但同時集中於微觀宇宙──「人」的核心概念。荀子對「神明」的定義近於黃老學派既將「神明」視為「道」的唯一產物，又看作知「道」的唯一依據。只是黃老學派以神明論及天地觀，而荀子藉此來探討儒家的「君子養心」之議題。荀子之外，養生學派也將「心」視為「神明出」的器官，然而養生學派的觀點是在表達「神明」是人中的「生機」，而荀子藉此「神明」觀，來探討認識論的倫理問題。荀子的神明觀，被宋明理學所繼承。

關鍵詞：先秦思想、易學、荀子、天地、神明、德、心

Abstract: The paper delineates origins of portraitart in the Qin Dynasty on the basis of comparative analysis of archeology findings and literature sources. Historical context of Qin conditioned demand for portraits and widespread image divination practices prompted the portrait art to reach a high level. The short Qin Dynasty brought up many important innovations in Chinese culture,
including the portrait art. The Qin terracotta sculpture was a result of replacement of human sacrifices at funerals (co-interment) with claymodels. However, it also revolutionized the tradition, producing portraits of famous officials and unifiers of the country.
All images of military and civic officials were made with unique individual characteristics. The purposes might be that the emperor wished that the people who had helped him unify thewhole country and protected him, would continue to protecthim in the eternal afterlife and that he wanted to create amemorial to his deeds, and make its participants famous. However, this memorial was
not supposed to be available formortals ---it was created as a report to the Qin emperors ancestors. Both purposes were religious in essence, and conformed to funeral practices, but they also reflected new-arising thinking in the Qin period. Hence Chinese culture saw the portrait art in the Qin Dynasty.
秦始皇陶俑:墓俑或功臣肖像?
摘 要:文章用出土文物与文献记载的互补考证,探讨秦代时历史思想的需求以及/相术0的经验联合所衍生的肖像艺术。短期的秦帝国在许多方面造成中国文化的突破,肖像艺术的形成也是其中之一。秦始皇帝的陶俑,继承了墓俑传统,但同时用墓俑的/旧瓶0装肖像的/新酒0成为统一天下的英雄/功臣肖像0。在郦山附近所陪葬的秦始皇的武官、文官陶俑,各有个体的面貌。此一造形具体人物的目的有二:让此一帮助始皇统一天下的可靠禁军继续保护他的永生;使参与统一天下而保卫统一者的英雄永垂不朽,以纪念统一天下之大事。不过此种/纪念0并不是给民众看的/纪念馆0,而是用以祭告秦国先王神人。这两种目的,同样兼含丧葬信仰以及历史思想两种需求。由此中国文明便产生了肖像艺术。
  关键词:秦汉史;秦始皇兵马俑;肖像;陪殉;墓主像;相术

This study focuses on the worship of the double-mouth dragon in the shamanic culture of the Yellow River basin, evidenced by patterns of ritual vessels, ancient myths and oracle bone inscriptions. The double-mouth cult strongly influenced Shang and Zhou cultures. On the one hand, the doublemouth dragon and twin dragons became the most important motif on ritual objects; on the other hand, the pictogram “shen” (spirit) very likely evolved from the double-mouth dragon motif.
Keywords: Three dynasties, Shamanism, Chinese ritual bronzes, oracle bones inscriptions, mythology, dragon
由禮器紋飾、神話記載、文字論夏商雙嘴龍神信仰
摘要
本文以黃河流域禮器的紋飾、傳世神話、卜辭和銘文互補參證，發現華夏巫覡信仰中有頗為關鍵的雙嘴龍的崇拜。此種崇拜濫觴於中原夏人巫覡文化，且影響商周信仰的發展。此一崇拜的重要性由兩方面可見，一是雙嘴龍和雙龍成為禮器紋飾的主要母題，另一方面，「神」的古字很可能即由雙嘴龍符號發展而來。
關鍵詞：夏商巫覡文化、禮器紋飾、甲骨卜辭、天神、夔龍、饕餮

This study is based on authentic Shang-Zhou documents. Conducted analysis showed that there were three types of time cycles in Shang-Zhou era: natural, ritual, and historical. There was no concept of “linear time” in early China; the concept of cyclic time dominated. This was caused by observation of recurrent cycles in the nature. The Neolith agricultural cultures very early discovered laws of correspondence of rotations of heavenly bodies and season changes. Both the solar calendar of solstices and equinoxes and the lunar calendar are “natural time”-based.
However, over time, time measurement units grew beyond natural seasonal time cycles. In Shang period, a new time measurement unit was established, beside natural time, the cycle of sacrifices to ancestors, si. Si is the full cycle of sacrifices to all past wangs and their spouses. This is not the natural time, but it is not the historical time yet. This is a special kind of the ritual time. The length of si periods depends on number of ancestors. Their number had been growing; the ritual cycle was growing too. The natural and ritual cycles could not be harmonized; therefore, the ritual cycle could not become the foundation of time keeping. The record for the year of king’ ruling, using nian character, appeared only on bronzes of Yi-wang period (the first half of the 9 century B.C.). The period of king’s ruling as the unifying cycle for time-keeping demonstrates natural time, combined with the historico-societal definition. That was the birth of the historical time in the Chinese civilization.

The deification of the snake as a chthonic deity, symbolizing the underworld and unable to get into the Heaven could be traced in Semitic cultures to the ancient Egypt. These beliefs had been based on the natural properties of snakes. The Chinese dragon, unlike them, is a sky dweller. This contrasts to the natural properties of snakes as well as beliefs of peoples who deify snakes. The dragon takes its original image from insects. Only insects could transform from a snake’s body to a bird. Only insects could temporarily die (in the chrysalis), and get to the sky, resurrected. The ancient people deified insects, and this gave origin to the formation of the image of dragon and the cult of the dragon. Various shamanistic cultures worship insects, their natural transformations and ability to develop wings. Such deification of insects was present in the ancient China. If we may suggest an analogy, the Chinese dragon is close to the Egyptian scarab. The origin and development of the respective beliefs are not related, but their main idea, symbols and structures are similar. The first king of Xia, Yu, was, according to legend, a hornless dragon. Charaters «yu» and «chong» (worm and pupa) could be traced to the same form. The ancient epigraphic could be a proof that the dragon and the worm are synonyms.

The paper based on comparative analysis of archeological data, paleography, written sources, and anthropological sources. This analysis showed that Shang rituals utilized the standard five-color schema: black, bloody-red (character  ), yellow and cyan (expressed by the character 幽-you which later become denoting “black”).
Shang ritual put stress on matching color of sacrificed animals to the secret symbol of the prayer. The Yijing tradition partly preserved the imagery of ancient rituals in meanings of colors “幽玄”.
In the Shang period “幽” color combined the image of landscape of mountain heights, including the green of foliage and sky’s blueness. This is also reflected in the ancient form of the character, having “mountain” as the key. But reflection on the unclearness of those altitudes conditioned the change of its hue to black.
The “玄” (xuan) character originally was a short form of “幽”. However, in the Zhou period the colors separated. “玄” conveyed the image of sky’s blueness, and the meaning of “幽” narrowed to the color of grass and foliage, changing its space orientation from “top” to “East”. Later, the character “青”(qing) with the key “life” replaced “幽” as the symbol of the East. I.e., since the Han period, the notion “you” became vague.

Abstract: Last years, the author has been studying the worship of double-mouth dragon in shaman culture of Huang-he basin, evidenced by patterns of ritual vessels, ancient myths and oracle bones inscriptions. The double-mouth cult strongly influenced Shang and Zhou cultures. On one hand, double-mouth dragon and twin dragons became the most important motif on the ritual objects; on the other hand, depicting the double-mouth dragon as sign evolved into "shen" (spirit) pictogram.
The article develops, on the basis of earlier research finds, the study of the origins of the belief in the sacrality of the wang-king. In earliest shamanistic beliefs of the hua-xia, wang had been a shen-ren (holy man) born from the holy dragon. He is the Son of the Spirit (shen-zi). Wang inherits, from his Holy Ancestor body, the highest wisdom, and ability to be equal to the Heaven and Earth, he is able to become the Great King and Shaman, to
rule the peoples of the Under-the-Heaven. These beliefs, many changes notwithstanding, had persisted in the culture of the imperial China, up to the last Qing dynasty.
Keywords: Chinese Mythology; Shamanism; Oracle bones inscriptions; Spirit; Dragon; Wang-sage; Dark Lord of the North