説“餕”

On the Character Jun

Abstract

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

禮書所記食饌及祭祀之儀，有餕之禮，學者每以“食餘食”説解。然餕禮之實際性質、形式及意義，卻鮮有深入考察。餕禮貫穿食生人與食死人之禮，不但見諸平常燕食，並見於昏禮、接子禮、饗禮。同時，又是祭末大節，屬於重要儀軌。本文梳理不同場合的餕禮，並嘗試辨説相關記載的解讀問題，包括《禮記·内則》“子婦佐餕”應分佐食、餕餘二事；《禮記·祭統》“百官進”應指百官在堂下餕餘。經考證，各式餕禮的場所、形式、人數等具體内容得以釐清，並歸納十三項進行餕禮時的基本禮儀及原則。本文並考餕禮的多元意義。不同場合的餕禮，其側重點容有不同。日常餕禮由卑者進食，尊者餘食，確保尊者每次享用新鮮食物，具有尊尊之義。昏禮餕餘展現私親之義，以確立成婦。祭禮的餕則著重惠澤福祉的遞降，又兼示貴賤之道。祭後頒胙及致膰，則可視爲祭末餕餘在廟外的延伸。然餕禮之義，實乃歸本於孝養之道。透過卑者爲尊者侍食，尊者反報餘食的模式，展現養禮中孝養與福惠的升降互動。餕禮的尊卑上下交通，展示出奉侍與反饋的另一禮儀維度。至於餕禮的餘食，承載著恩惠和福祉，具有特殊的象徵意義。

The Chinese character jun 餕 refers to a ritual of eating and sacrificial ceremonies as recorded in traditional documents on rites. Scholars tend to gloss the ritual as “eating the leftovers.” The nature, forms, and significance of the ritual, however, have remained understudied. Jun is a common ritual that appears in ceremonies for both the living and deceased. The ritual is evident not only in daily etiquette, but also at wedding ceremonies, rituals for receiving a newborn, and the grand feasts. In addition, it is an essential part of sacrificial ceremonies. This article reconstructs the jun ritual in different settings in an attempt to clarify some misunderstandings of related written records, including the phrase zi fu zuo jun 子婦佐餕 in the “Neize” chapter of the Liji, which should be understood as two separate words: zuo (serving food) and jun (eating the leftovers). Also, the phrase baiguan jin 百官進 in the “Jitong” chapter of the Liji should mean the numerous officers eating the leftovers down the hall. Through the examination, we confirm the actual connotations of jun, such as its venue, forms, and number of participants; and summarize thirteen rules of the ritual. Another focus of this article is an investigation of the multiple significances of the ritual. Its usual practice is that the lower class eats the leftovers from the upper class (defined by status or by age), to make sure that the upper class can always be served a fresh meal. It carries the significance of respecting the noble and upper class. The jun ritual at wedding ceremonies shows the intimacy of the newly wedded couple and the harmony of their family. In a sacrificial ceremony, jun adheres to the rules of distributing meats according to the hierarchical order to let the god’s grace reach everyone in the temple, including the inferiors. This represents the distribution of grace from both the god and the ruler, also showing the hierarchy. The banzuo 頒 胙 and zhifan 致膰 after the ceremony can be seen as the extension of jun outside the temple. However, the core significance of jun is filial piety. That the superiors give back leftovers after they have been served by the inferiors illustrates a low-high filial interaction and blessing, a different dimension of reciprocity. The leftovers in the ritual are significant as they carry a symbolic meaning of grace and favor.