秦简《归藏》“苍苍其羽”新证

New Evidence for the Meaning of Cangcang qi yu in the Guicang

王家台秦简《归藏·师》有"(龙)飞而冲天,苍苍其羽"一句,该卦辞亦见于传本《归藏》。句中"苍苍"不应训为青(青黑)色,该句也并非形容飞龙翅膀的羽毛颜色或翅膀受伤发青。从先秦两汉文献描述神物(动物)和飞龙羽翼时的描述重点、主要描述目的以及"苍苍"在上古汉语的语用习惯看,"苍苍"应训为"广阔"或"繁盛"义,"苍苍其羽"描述的应是飞龙羽翼的宽广宏大及其气势,或是翅膀羽毛的繁盛,目的是通过描写飞龙羽翼的宏大气势来凸显飞龙一飞冲天的恢宏气象。

The statement of Long fei er chong tian, cangcang qi yu(龙)飞而冲天,苍苍其羽affiliated to hexagram Shi in the Guicang(Return to the Hidden) on the bamboo slips unearthed at Wangjiatai(corresponding to the hexagram Shi■, #7, in the received version of Yi jing) is also available in the received version of Guicang. Neither does the term cangcang 苍苍 refer to green and blue, nor does this sentence describe the color of the flying dragon’s feathers or the blueness resulting from its injury. According to the emphases and purpose in describing the sacred creatures and flying dragons in literatures before the Han(206 BCE-220 CE) dynasty, and pragmatic habits in using the term cangcang in ancient Chinese language, here cangcang ought to refer to broadness and luxuriance. What the sentence describes ought to be the broadness and extraordinary momentum or the luxuriance of its feathers, aiming to highlight the grandiosity shown in the dragon’s soaring up into the sky by sketching the grand momentum of its wings with luxuriant feathers.