上古五帝神話及其科學内涵

The Myth of the Five Emperors in Ancient China and its Scientific Connotation

Abstract

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

上古以至秦漢，形成各類偉大神話。不一而足。在眾多神話之中，自春秋戰國以桸，產生兩組五帝傳説。其中一組重在歷史人物一面，在此不及申説。而 另一組始终不脱神話格局的五帝説，在指：太昊、少昊、黃帝、炎帝、顓頊。他們分別掌管水、火、木、金、土五星的運行，並東南西北中五個方向，以及春、夏、秋、冬四季變化。當是神通廣大。雖是如此誇誕，而其中卻涵概若干科學成分。

在這個五帝傳説中，表現的科學成分有四，一是五星運行、東西南北中方向、以及春夏秋冬四季變化，正表現天文氣象的自然現象知識。二是在對五帝 配合生命物種之論，確定了土地上動物五種分類，即是：羽類（鳳）、毛類（虎）、鱗類（龍）、介類（龜）、倮類（人）。三是五帝治理世界天地萬物所用工具不過是人生日常必不可少的繩子、圓規、矩尺、水準和權錘。毫無神權至上法力無邊意味。四是神在一年四季嚴格管理人類日常活動行止。而在其行止規定之中，正是要維護自然生態的生息傳衍。不可破土興工，不可伐木材，不可殺幼夭，不可聚眾，以妨農業。正是合於自然環境長久維護之宗旨。

Since the 8th Century B.C., two sets of legends about the Five Emperors of Ancient China had emerged. One of them was mythology-related. The Five Emperors — Tai Hao （太昊）, Shao Hao （少昊），Huang Di （黃帝） , Yan Di （炎帝）and Zhuan Xu （顓頊） —were each in charge of the running of the five planets of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn; the five directions including east, south, west, north and central as well as the changes of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. As a matter of fact, the legend of the Five Emperors did, to a certain extent, reflected the scientific knowledge of the Ancient Chinese.

The scientific connotations of the legend of the Five Emperors were firstly, the ancient people’s knowledge of astronomy and meteorology. Secondly, animals were classified into five main groups. Thirdly, that the tools used by the Five Emperors to govern Heaven and Earth were simply those used by ordinary people showed that the Chinese were practical. Finally, that the daily activities of human beings in the four seasons were severely restricted was in keeping with the idea of long-term environmental protection.