牵牛织女传说的考察

The Investigation of the Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid

出石诚彦是日本第一位专攻中国神话学的学者。《牵牛织女传说》在八十五年前对牵牛织女传说研究中一些关键问题加以探讨并得出精辟的或很有启发性的结论。论文分两部分。第一部分《关于银河的认识》引证了先秦以来文献得出结论:在现存的古文献形成之时,银河和汉水就用同一名称来称呼了。并从人的认识规律和古代中国人对天体称谓的一般规律上提出解释。论文认为"中国绝大多数有名的河流在地势上都是由西向东流的,唯独汉水是由北向南流的,这个方向正好和银河的方向一致"。这个看法至少反映了我们的祖先对天象观察的细致真切以及将之比喻为地上的汉水的确切性。论文引述了古代其他一些民族对银河的命名。如古埃及人把银河叫作"天上的尼罗河",古希腊人等"将银河看作死亡灵魂的聚焦地",对认识秦人以"汉"命名银河和以其始祖女修为织女星座之名等,很有帮助。论文的第二部分《关于"牵牛织女相会"的研究》,先引述了新城新藏之说,认为二十八星宿的说法是在中国的周朝初期形成的,当时牵牛织女的故事已经家喻户晓,故虽然距离黄道稍远,但还是列入二十八星宿之中。在战国时期经过重新整理,以黄道附近一个星代替牵牛星,改称原来的牵牛星为"河鼓"或"右牵牛",从而清楚地说明了织女星与女星、牵牛星与牛宿的关系。论文说,由于牵牛星可按农时观察到,因而成了农业的象征。"牵牛织女相会"的传说发源于周,兴盛于汉代。织女星和牵牛星在一年的周期运动中有变化,而两星最接近的时间在七月初,所以形成唯七月初七相会一次的情节。关于喜鹊搭桥情节的形成,论文引了《中国的鸟》一书中的调查结论指出:几乎在中国所有的地区都有喜鹊栖息地,也会成群结队飞,因而使人们联想到喜鹊飞上天结成鹊桥的场景。这对于认识虽然"牛郎织女"的传说各地在情节上会有些变化,而"鹊桥相会"的情节各处一样,是有意义的。

Izushi Yoshihiko is the first Japanese scholar specializing in Chinese mythology.The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid(1928) shows an accurate and instructive conclusion of some key issues of the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid.The first part of the article is about the realization of the Milky Way.Quoted the historical documents since Pre-Qing period,it tells that the Milky Way and the Han River had been using the some name before the extant ancient documents was written.It also explains the reason from the laws of understanding and the principle of naming the stars by the ancient Chinese.The second part of the article is the study of the meet of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid.By qouting Shinjou Shinzou's works,it suggests that the view of 28 stars was formed in early the Zhou dynasty,when the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid had been widely known.Therefore,although the two stars,Altair and Vega are a little far from the ecliptic,they are included in the 28 stars.It clearly expounds the relation between Vega and the Nv Star(女宿),Altair and the Niu Star(牛宿),and explains the meeting on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the legend,which associates with the periodic motion of the two stars.Moreover,cited from The Birds in China,its explaination of the formation of the' bridge of magpies' plot is worth thinking.