殷墟卜辞中的“舞”字新考

A New Study on the Inscribed Chinese Character for “Dance” in Yinxu

殷商时期,"舞"字有两种字形:"■"和"■"。"■"是"■"的初文,"■"则是殷商王朝的通用字形。"■","双手执牛尾而舞",是舞蹈作为国家祈雨祭祀活动的象征,是国家权力渗透"取形造字"的体现。"■"不仅体现了祭祀活动的神圣性和神秘感,还体现了作为祭祀活动的礼仪等级性。"■"是"手拉手群体而舞"的"远取诸物"的结果,当"■"作为"舞"得到权力的肯定而通行时,"■"作为一种字形,至少已完全被边缘化,不为殷商王室所使用。但随着商灭周兴,作为殷商王朝的国家祈雨祭祀舞蹈制度遭废止,作为"舞"的"■"字,也退出了历史舞台。特别是到了春秋战国时期,礼崩乐坏,人们对"舞"的认识,开始从"双手执牛尾而舞"转向"手拉手的群体性舞蹈",作为"舞"之初文的"■",又重新成了关注的对象。在"■"的基础上,下部增加两脚向下跳踏的形状"舛",形成"舞"字。至秦代篆书和汉代隶书,发展成了楷书的"舞"字。对殷墟卜辞中"舞"字的考证,并不仅仅是对字形变化的考证,更是对殷商时期舞蹈活动的考证。殷墟甲骨卜辞中的"舞"字的存在与变化,一定是殷商社会与舞蹈自身的双重作用的结果。

There were two glyphs for“Dance”in the Shang Dynasty:■and■.“■”was the archaic,original,form of“■”,while“■”was the more commonly used.The glyph■denoting“dancing with both handsholding the oxtail”,derives from the ancient rain dances of ancient Chinese culture,and can be seen as a representation of the local state power within the language,which is a manifestation of State power in character formation.“■”embodies the sacredness and mystery of sacrificial activities,as well as their widespread usage at the time.“■”for“dancing in groups holding hands”is the result of“fetching things from a distance”.When■was recognized as a symbol of power,■was marginalized and discarded by thecourt of the Shang Dynasty.However,with the fall of the Shang Dynasty and the rise of the Zhou Dynasty,the State dancing ritual for rain praying and offering sacrifices was abolished,and the character“■”signifying“dance”disappeared from usage.In the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period,the ritual was disrupted.People’s understanding of“dance”began to shift from“dancing with both hands holding the oxtail”to“hand-in-hand group dance”.■,whichwas the original representation of“dance”,became the main symbol again.On the basis of“■”,at the lower part was added the shape“舛”,which,with two feet jumping down,forms the modern character for dance.The character was officially scripted in the Qin Dynasty,and commonly used in court documents in the Han Dynasty,before its widespread common usage today.The study of the Chinese character for“Dance”found in the Yinxu is not only analyzes changes in the shape,but also examines the dancing activities during the Shang Dynasty.The existence and transformations of the character for“Dance”inscribed in the oracle bone was the direct outcome of social and dance developments within the Shang Dynasty.