试论中国古代铜鼓

THE BRONZE DRUMS OF ANCIENT CHINA

铜鼓是我国西南和南方少数民族的重要文物,随着我国文物考古工作的飞跃发展,关于铜鼓的搜集和研究工作也取得了很大成绩。一些省市的博物馆,不仅把大批传世铜鼓集中妥善保护,并且发掘了一批新的铜鼓。现在各地收藏的铜鼓约在一千面左右,发表的铜鼓专著和论文已有多种,为研究西南和南方少数民族古代历史和文化,提供了有价值的材料。由于铜鼓不断有新的发现,加之少数民族社会调查工作的深入开展,我们认为,现在已有可能对铜鼓研究中长期存在的一些问题,进行综合性研究和新的探索。本文试对铜鼓的分类、年代、分布、图象、使用方法、社会作用等问题,提出自己粗浅的看法;并对当前各方面比较注意的铜鼓起源问题,略作推阐。

Discoveries of ancient bronze drums have often been made in the regions inhabited by minority nationalities in south and southwest China. A recent statistics shows that there are more than a thousand bronze drums in museum collections throughout the country. Of these thirty-five were excavated after liberation. Basing himself on a study of datable specimens, the author has divided the ancient bronze drums of China into six types in the following chronological order : Bronze drums of different types vary not only in date but also in geographical distribution. Judging from the specimens with known provenances, the geographical distribution of ancient Chinese bronze drums may be listed as follows: Type A——central Yunnan Type B——Yunnan, western Kweichow and Kwangsi (west of the Liu and Ch'ien Rivers), southern Szechwan Type C——Yunnan, Kweichow, Szechwan, Kwangsi and parts of Kwangtung Type D——Kwangtung (west of the Pei Chiang River including the Island of Hainan) Type E——Yunnan, Kweichow, Kwangsi, Szechwan and other regions Type F——Border region of southwestern Yunnan Their developmental sequence may be shown as follows: The decorative designs found on the drums consist largely of realistic portrayals of the life and customs of the time and include such motifs as the gourd-pipe dance, shield dance, dragon-boat race, cattle-slaughtering and mill-swinging. As indicated by the designs of the bronze drums unearthed from the Shih-chai-shan cemetery, apart from being tokens of authority and wealth, the bronze drums also served as musical instruments in sacrificial rites, at which occasions they were either placed flat or suspended on a stand. The author believes that they were probably developed from a wooden prototype. So far, Type A, which is the most primitive type, has only been found in central Yunnan. Type B is distributed over a much wider area. The Yunnan region is noted for its rich deposits of copper and tin and the early smelting of both ores. It is, therefoe, very possible that the casting of bronze drums began in this region. According to the 'Description of the Hsi Nan Yi' of the Shih Chi, the region was then inhabited by the Yeh-lang, Tien, Mi Mo and Ch'iung Tu Tribes. Very likely the casting of bronze drums was first introduced by one of these tribes.