告庙与巡游：论《穆天子传》文本之“帝德”叙事——兼谈历代典籍贬低“穆王西巡”的原因

Sacrifice and Westbound:The Narration of Mu Wang Virtue in “Biography of Mu Tianzi”——At the Same Time,it Discusses Why King Mu Was Depreciated by Ancient Books

《穆天子传》有真实和虚构不同看法,西巡之地名、路线上更是纷歧百出。但庄严肃穆、恢宏盛大、充满天子威仪的“告庙”却不太可能出于虚构,只能理解为文本忠实纪录了帝王重大的政治活动。同时《穆天子传》还是穆王巡游纪程,从对细节的阅读中,可以祛除“穆王八骏”的主题遮蔽,并非“嬉游享乐”,而是国家对具有战略意义的良马的需求。也可以看出穆王实际上是勇气、智慧、德行兼备的人物,作者的写作,实际上起到的是宣扬穆王“德行”的作用。历代典籍贬低穆天子及《穆天子传》的原因,主要源于夷—夏文化的冲突,随着华夏边缘意识的产生,夷—夏文化的冲突与对抗趋于激烈。无差别对待华夷,甚至主动融会华夷文化的穆天子,在“夷夏之辨”的历史形成期,不幸成了反面教材的典型,颇受后世有意的排斥和贬低。

There are different opinions on the true and fictional biography of Mu Tianzi,and there are many differences on the place names and routes of the westbound journey. However,serious and important sacrificial activities are not fictional,but can only be understood as the text faithfully records the important political activities of the emperor. At the same time,"Biography of the Son of Mu " is also the itinerary of King Mu. From the reading of details,the theme of " Eight Juns of King Mu"can be removed. It is not"play and enjoy",but the demand of the country for good horses with strategic significance. It can also be seen that King Mu is actually a person with courage,wisdom and virtue. The author’s writing,in fact,plays a role in publicizing King Mu’s "virtue". The reason why the ancient books belittled Mu Tianzi and Biography of Mu Tianzi was mainly due to the conflict between Chinese and foreign nationalities. With the emergence of Chinese marginal consciousness,the conflictconfrontation between Chinese and foreign cultures tended to be fierce. Mu Tianzi,who treated Chinese and foreigners alike,even took the initiative to integrate Chinese and foreign cultures,unfortunately became a typical example of negative textbooks during the historical formation period when Chinese and foreigners formed opposites,which was intentionally rejected and belittled by later generations.