试论殷商时期的祖先崇拜与祭祀形式

Worship of Ancestors and How People Offer Sacrifices to Ancestors in the Yin and Shang Dynasties

殷商时期人们尊崇的鬼神非常多,但对祖先神的崇拜却尤为突出。这种崇拜主要表现为他们频繁而复杂地对其祖先进行祭祀活动。安阳殷墟出土的甲骨卜辞表明,殷人对自上甲以来的先公先王先妣进行祭祀的形式大致有四种,即单祭、合祭、特祭和周祭。对祖先进行频繁复杂的祭祀活动又反映出当时人们对灵魂的认识和由此而形成的灵魂观念。

Lots of spirits were worshiped in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, especially many ancestors. This was reflected by offering complex sacrifices to ancestors frequently. Bones and tortoise shells show there are four sorts of sacrificial offerings to ancestors from shangjia（ 上甲 ） , namely offering sacrifices singly,offerlng sacrifices jointly, offering sacrifices particularly and offering sacrifices. These can reflect the view of the people in the Yin and Shang Dynasties on soul.