先秦两汉时期的双首龙玉器源流及其文化含义

The Origin and Cultural Implication of the Ancient Jade with Double-Headed Dragon in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties

双龙首璜主要以玉为主,最早见于史前红山晚期,至西周开始逐渐流行,在东周时期颇为兴盛,北及晋、中山,南至楚、吴越,乃至西汉南越国墓都有分布。随着双首龙玉器的流行,战国时期也出现了青铜的仿品,多分布于周和三晋地区。本文通过对史前到秦汉时期大量玉、铜类双首龙璜的研究,结合文献整理,认为这种双首龙造型表现的是古人心目中的虹霓之形,至迟从殷墟时代就将虹视为双首之龙,并能啜饮河水,见之于甲骨卜辞。传世文献中亦多有虹霓饮水、饮酒的记载,或言虹能化为龙,或又化为璜。在古人看来,虹能饮水导致干旱,却也能涸淫雨洪水,是灾祥一体的超自然神物,属于“阴阳不测之谓神”之属,因此古人重之,援其形制以为配饰。

The semi-annular pendants carved with double-headed dragon were mostly made of jade. They were first seen in the late prehistoric Hongshan Period, gradually became popular in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and flourished in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, widely spread to Jin, Zhongshan in the north, and to Chu, Wu and Yue in the south, and even scattered in the tombs of Nanyue in the Western Han Dynasty. With the popularity of double-headed dragon jade, bronze imitation products also appeared in the Warring States Period, mostly distributed in the Zhou and Sanjin areas. Based on studying a large number of semi-annular jade and bronze pendants carved with double-headed dragons through the prehistoric to the Qin and Han Dynasties, combined with the related literature and document, this paper finds that the semi-annular pendants with double-headed dragons demonstrated the shape of rainbows in the eyes of the ancient Chinese people. From the Age of Yin Ruins at the latest, the rainbow was symbolized as a double-headed dragon that was capable of ruling river water, which was recorded in oracle bone inscriptions. There are also numerous written legends in which the rainbow drank or turned into a dragon or a semi-annular jade pendant. According to the ancient Chinese people, the rainbow not only drank water or caused drought, but also dried up rain and flood, so it was often considered to be a supernatural creature of both disaster and good fortune, and treasured as a divine object with unpredictable Yin and yang. Therefore, generations of ancient Chinese people made exquisite accessories in the shape of rainbow.