释“三坟、五典、八索、九丘”

Analysis of "Sanfen,Wudian,Basuo and Jiuqiu"

《左传.昭公十二年》中所说楚史倚相“能读”的“三坟、五典、八索、九丘”,学界历来认为它们都是“古书名”。这虽然是正确的,但关于其内容和形态的种种解释却值得商榷。我们从字源学意义上对其进行综合考察后发现:“三坟”事实上就是当时占卜祭祀后埋藏于地下的书,“五典”就是置于供案上祭祀祖先神灵的书,“八索”就是当时结绳记事的书,“九丘”则是堆放起来供王和有关大臣阅读查考的书。它们都是以其存在形态而得名的,这才是它们的本来面目。

“Sanfen, Wudian, Basuo and Jiuqiu” that the minister in charge of history in Chu Kingdom was able to read were mentioned in Zhaogong 12th Year, Zuozhuan. They have been considered ancient book titles by the academic field. The idea is correct, but the explanation of their contents and form is not convincing. It is found from the angle of etymological meaning that “Sanfen” in fact refers to the books buried underground after divining or offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors, “Wudian” to those, put on the desks, for offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors, “Basuo” to those for records and “Jiuqiu” to those offered to kings and ministers for reference. They were, actually, entitled after their forms.