考古发现的东汉时期“天帝使者”与“持节使者”

Unearthed Archaeological Evidence of ‘Tiandi shizhe’ and ‘Chijie shizhe’ in the Eastern Han Dynasty

东汉时期出土的镇墓文中,"天帝使者"是最常见的发信者称谓,同时画像石及墓葬壁画中也发现了一些持节使者的图像,二者具有一定的相似性,都是东汉初期道教活动的反映。本文对镇墓文中"天帝使者"的身份及其与天帝、地下冥神、死者灵魂之间的关系进行了分析。同时也对墓葬图像中的持节使者形象与天界及死者灵魂的关系作了类似的分析,并与镇墓文中"天帝使者"作了对比。

＇ Tiandi shizhe＇ was the commonest sender in the epitaph of tomb guardians during the Eastern Han Dynasty. In addition, the image of envoys with holding posture had been identified on the iconographies from pictorial stones and tomb murals. These two lines of evidence are relevant to a certain extent and may reflect the activities of initial Taoism among commoners during the Eastern Han period. This article attempts to analyze the identity of ＇tiandi shizhe ＇ and its relationship with ＇tiandi ＇ （天亮）, ＇dbahmingshen ＇ （地下冥神）, and the spirits of dead mentioned in texts. Similarly, this article tries to illustrate the relationship between the iconography of ＇tiandi shizhe ＇, heaven, and the spirits of dead. In the end, the author will also compare the iconographic and textual records related to ＇tiandi shizhe ＇.