“诗”字本义为祭歌考

A Textual Research of the Original Meaning of "Shi(poetry)" As the Sacrificial Song

关于"诗"字的本义,古今不外两种解释,一是"志也"说,一是主祭者之"言"说,但这两种解释均有偏失。据"诗"字古文""为会意字及"ㄓ"指祭祀,可知""字的本义即ㄓ之祭祀中的"言"。上古祭祀一般为歌舞或乐歌祭祀,那么,ㄓ之祭祀中的"言"即歌,""("诗")之本义即祭歌。"诗"与""、""二字,在字义和造字上可以相互发明。"诗"字本义为祭歌,可证于"诗"在《周礼.春官.龠章》中的使用,还可证于《诗》。

It is all accepted that there are two explanations of the original meaning of “Shi（poetry）” from ancient times up until now. One is that “Shi （poetry）” is the “records” （“zhi”）, while the other, the “utterances” （“yan”） of a priest. However, neither of the two explanations is completely perfect. As the ancient form of “Shi（poetry）” ：“ ” is a kind of associative compounds, with “ ” meaning sacrificial names, the original meaning of “ ” is undoubtedly “言” of the sacrifice of “”. The ancient sacrifices are generally held by dancing or singing. Therefore, “言”of the sacrifice of “ ”is singing songs. And the original meaning of “ ”（poem） is definitely sacrificial songs. The character “诗（poem）”is related closely with “時” and “畤”. They can be invented by each other on meanings and forms, and evidences for the original meaning of “Shi （poetry）” can be found in Zhouli and The Book of Songs （Shi）.