卜辞中的祡祭与柴地

The Chai Sacrifice and the Chai Place in the Oracle Bones

卜辞"■"字即后世"柴"字之初文,一用作祭祀动词,即文献之"祡祭"。殷商祡祭其祭祀目的以求祐、求雨求年成为主,祭祀对象不仅有自然神,还包括祖先神,燔燎用物主要是牛羊豕等动物甚至人牲,与两周堆柴加牲燔燎以祭天的祡祭相比较,有明显区别。"■"字的第二种用法即为地名,也即汶水上游支流柴汶流经地柴城,在今山东新泰境内,武丁时期曾在柴地设置戍卫,同时亦偶行田猎。与柴地相关联的龙方,则位于今山东泰安东境。柴地与龙方地望的考定,颇有助于卜辞东土地理的复原,同时于廓清晚商方国、民族等问题亦多有裨益。

In the oracle bones, the character chai （[止木]）is the original character of the chai （柴） in later time. It is used as a verb, meaning ＂to offer sacrifice with wood fire＂, as seen in the Chai Sacrifice in ancient literature. The chai sacrifice in late Shang Dynasty was launched largely to pray for blessing, rain and harvest, the gods prayed to were not just natural gods, but ancestors, and the sacrifices were largely ox, goat, pig, and even human being, very much unlike the chai sacrifice in the two Zhou Dynasties, which used only animals to offer sacrifice for Tian （the highest god）. The character chai （~） was also used as a name for the place chai, which was located in the upstream of the wen river, to be more exact, its branch chai wen river, today＇s Xintai city of Shandong Province. The Shang emperor Wuding once instituted stationary army in the chai place, and some times hunted there. The long state related to the chai place was located in today＇s Tai＇an. An investigation into the exact location of the two places will help recover the geography of the east territory in the oracle bones, and solve other issues like the territory states and nationalities in late Shang Dynasty.