唐宋道士“马湘”“马自然”考辨——以唐宋道教丹道转型为背景

Textual Research on the Taoist Priest "Ma Xiang" or "Ma Ziran"of the Tang and Song Dynasties:Taking the Transformation of"Dandao"(“丹道”) in the Tang and Song Dynasties as the Background

自从元人赵道一《历世真仙体道通鉴》分别为马湘、马自然立传以来,道教内外人士一般认为我国古代道教史上有两个较为知名的马自然:一个是晚唐的道士马湘(字自然),一个是宋代刘海蟾的弟子马自然。明人胡应麟《少室山房笔丛》壬部《玉壶遐览(三)》即言:“二马自然:一马湘,字自然;一姓马,名自然,见《太平广记》及《仙鉴》等。”[1]现代学者对唐马湘和宋马自然二人亦有所关注,如李剑国先生所著《唐五代志怪传奇叙录》卷五《<续仙传>叙录》便简要考录了沈汾所撰唐代马湘传记的版本流传和故事节引情况。

Ma Xiang is also called Ma Ziran,a famous Taoist priest in the Tang Dynasty.He mainly engaged in activities from the Taihe reign(827—835)of the Emperor Tang Wenzong to the Dazhong reign(847—860)of the Emperor Tang Xuanzong in the Tang Dynasty.He was proficient in strange skills,and also the external alchemy.He has had a high social influence since the late Tang and Five Dynasties.In the Song Dynasty,a disciple of Liu Haichan was also named Ma Ziran,and his identity as inner alchemy expert was well-known.However,Ma Ziran in the Song Dynasty were not a real person,but a deliberately created name after Ma Xiang of the Tang Dynasty.From Ma Xiang of the Tang Dynasty to Ma Ziran of the Song Dynasty,there was an obvious process of identity evolution which also reflects the transformation of Taoism from the coexistence of various skill(including external alchemy)to internal alchemy.