宋代的执荷童子

The Image of a Boy with a Lotus Leaf in Song Dynasty

宋代诸多文献描绘了磨喝乐为童子执荷的形象。笔者通过考证,认为执荷童子的形象并非是磨喝乐而是佛教故事中的化生。随着文化的变迁,磨喝乐与化生这两种佛教形象在宋代民俗文化中因为共同具有"求子"、"宜男"的象征功能,因此在执荷童子形象来源上被张冠李戴。

In much of Song Dynasty literature, a Mahoraga was described as a boy holding a lotus leaf. However, textural research shows that the boy with a lotus leaf is not a Mahoraga, but a child in Buddhist tales that has been born from lotus through miraculous transformation. With the cultural evolution, the Mahoraga and the boy with a lotus leaf in Song Dynasty folklore became two Buddhist images people could pray to for a child or a son. Since then, the two images have been confused with one another.