再论“巴”之本义为五步蛇——与曹定云先生再商榷

A Further Discussion on Agkistrodon Acutus as Basic Meaning of “Ba” ——A Discussion with Mr. Cao Dingyun

巴人因"巴"而得名,"巴"最早是一种动物名(五步蛇),后来逐渐演变为地名(有五步蛇的地域)和族称(在巴域生活的族群)。甲骨文■(巴)字正是契合了巴人的这一特征,巧妙地将人与蛇的形体融合在一起。而巴式青铜器上的核心纹饰"手心纹",同样可以解释为人与蛇(或称"族群"与"蛇头")的组合,寓意为"祖先"与"图腾"之间的亲密关系,这更是在考古学上证明巴人是崇拜五步蛇的民族。

The Ba people is named by ＂Ba＂ which was the name at the earliest for an animal（agkistrodon acutus）, and later evolved into the place name（the region in which agkistrodon acutuses live） and the ethnic group name（ethnic groups living in Ba places）. The inscription■（ba） on bones or tortoise shells totally agrees with the Ba people＇s characteristic of combining human being and snake body tactfully. And the core decoration ＂palm lines＂ on the Ba-style bronze wares can also explain the combination of human being and snake（also call ethnic group and snakehead）. The combination that means the close connection between ＂ancestor＂ and ＂totem＂ archaeologically proves that the Ba is an ethnic group worshipping the agkistrodon acutus.