《说文》对天干地支的说解刍议

Interpretation For the Ten Heavenly Stems and The Twelve Earthly Branches by "Shuowenjiezi"

《说文》中,许慎把“天干”、“地支”都解释为万物在一年中的萌发—生长—成熟—衰亡的循环系统。因为许慎的说解中充满了阴阳五行思想,向来颇受非议。对远古文化背景及古代文献的审视,发现许说并非完全虚妄。天干代表的是太阳在一天当中的生息循环系统,地支代表的是万物在一年中的生息循环系统。

Xushen interpreted the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches as a system of the cycle of the seasons in ＂Shuowenjiezi＂. As Xushen＇ s interpretation is full of the thought from Yin and Yang and Five Elements（ metal, wood, water, fire and earth） ,it has been blamed sternly. Through a number of case studies for ancient cultural background and ancient documents, this paper proves that Xushen＇ s interpretation for the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches is not full wrong. The Ten Heavenly Stems represents a system of the sun＇ s birth and death cycle and the Twelve Earthly Branches represents a system of the creature＇ s birth and death cycle.