试论“谶”与“纬”的区别——兼与钟肇鹏先生商榷

The Differences between "Chen" and "Wei

"谶"本是假托神意兆示人间吉凶的预言;而"纬"则是相对于"经"而言的,是指汉代方士化的儒生与儒学化的方士以神学迷信观念阐释儒家经典的著作。由于"谶"与"纬"曾一度在两汉时期合流,并形成盛极一时的"谶纬"思潮,因而古人往往将纬书称为"谶纬",或单称"谶"。于是后世人们也多将"谶"与"纬"相提并论,甚至有人认为"谶"与"纬"名异实同。本文对"谶"与"纬"产生和发展的历史进行了考察,认为"谶"与"纬"既有联系又有区别,两者同中有异,并非同一概念。

Chen' is originally a kind of prophecy that predicted the good or ill luck of the human world in the name of deities. 'Wei' (weft) opposite to 'Jing'(wrap),refers to those works written by alchemized Confucian Scholars and Confucian alchemists who interpreted Confucian canons according to the concepts of theology and superstition. 'Chen' and 'Wei' had once merged in Western and Eastern Han dynasties and became the popular trend of 'Chen Wei' Thought. The books about charms, omens, etc. were always named 'Chen Wei' or 'Chen' in ancient times. So 'Chen' and 'Wei' were usually mentioned in the same breath or were regarded as one thing with different names by subsequent generations. This article, which investigates the history of the emergence and development of 'Chen' and 'Wei', argues that though 'Chen' and 'Wei' are related to each other, they are different from each other, the two being different concepts.