“不穀”新探

New Exploration of “No cereals”

“不穀”是古代王侯的谦称,主要使用于先秦时期。从语言角度看,“不穀”由否定结构凝固为词,与之相关联的词有“五穀”“百穀”“后稷”“社稷”等。从历史文化语境看,用“不穀”,即“不能使穀物生长丰收”,表示谦虚则有其深刻的社会内涵和思维特点,是早期社会的历史性反映。

“No cereals”is the self-deprecatory appellation of the ancient princes,mainly used in the pre-Qin period.“Bugǔ”has been solidified from the negative structure in the view of language,and there have many words associated with it,such as“the five cereals”,“the whole cereals”,“the god of the land and the god of grain”,“the state”and so on.Seen from the historical and cultural context,people express modesty with“No cereals”,that is,“couldn’t let cereals grow and harvest”,because it has profound social content and characteristics of thinking;therefore,“No cereals”is the historical reflection of the early stage.