是御龙升天还是河伯出游——再论楚帛画《人物御龙图》

Ascension on a Dragon or the Trip of the River God?

长沙楚墓出土的楚帛画《人物御龙图》历来被解释为是人物乘龙升天成仙,表现了灵魂不死的主题。研究表明,这幅帛画完全不是这样的主题,而是表现了河伯出游的神话故事;画中的乘龙者不是一般人物,而是自先秦以来就被广泛信仰的水神河伯。

The silk painting Riding the Dragon unearthed at a Changsha tomb has always been interpreted as a human being ascending to heaven on a dragon and representing the theme of immortality of the soul.But research indicates otherwise.It depicts the trip of the River God;the rider is not a human being but the River God which had been widely believed in since the Pre-Qin times.