從出土文物看《儀禮》内容的時代

An Inspection on the Period of Time of Materials of Yili from Archaeological Cultural Relics

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

經籍著作的時代，和其内容反映的時代並不一定等同，需要分别看待。《儀禮》一書，筆者基本上同意沈文倬的觀點，即書本陸續撰成於春秋末期及戰國時代，而所載内容大多屬於西周曾經實行的禮典。但包括沈氏在内的學者對這些禮典的存在時代，論證較爲簡略，所以《儀禮》内容反映的時代，有待從多方面來論定。本文認爲能够確定時代的出土文物也可以運用在《儀禮》某些儀節的研究上，但不能徑用二重證據法來討論。方法是：如果殷周時代出土的文物反映了某些禮儀，到戰國時代業已不用，而《儀禮》仍然記載，這便説明了《儀禮》某些儀節源自殷周，亦即保留了殷周的禮儀。如果戰國時代出土的文物反映了某些禮儀，爲春秋時代以前所無，而《儀禮》亦未採用，這便説明了《儀禮》某些儀節保留了春秋時代以前的禮儀。以上二者均屬默證，但可局部證明：《儀禮》儘管陸續寫定於戰國時代，其内容卻反映了較早期的禮儀。

It is necessary to separate the times in the classics from the years of their completion. The author agrees with Shen Wenzhuo’s point of view that the Rites and Ceremonies (Yili) was completed during the late Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of Eastern Zhou, but the recorded ceremonial rites were practiced throughout Western Zhou. Scholars, including Shen, have paid less attention to dating these rites. To make a complete investigation of the time issue, this article proposes an alternative of dating back the rites in the Rites and Ceremonies by means of comparing with dated excavations, though not fully relying on “Method of Dual Evidence. “The rationale of my suggested method is that the Rites and Ceremonies retains rites that derive from the period of the Yin and Zhou, if they are indicated in excavations of this period but not continuously used until the Warring States period. In addition, if excavations, which date back to the Warring States period, show nothing about the rites used by the Spring and Autumn period and these rites are also not included in the Rites and Ceremonies, it refers that the book is a legacy of rites by this period. The above method is an argument from silence, but it partially proves that this ritual classic presents earlier rites than those during the time when it was completed, namely the Warring States period.