从汉字看由灵降俗的龟文化

Turtle Culture in Chinese Characters: A Distorted Change of Turtles from Spirits to Vulgarians

在中华文化中,龟最初是神异、尊贵的灵物,后来逐渐演变为怯懦、无耻的俗物,经历了由神秘到俗化的扭曲变化。这些痕迹在汉语字词、考古实物、民间习俗和文化艺术中被保留下来。汉字中“龟”与“它”(“蛇”)近似的结构,以及人们对“龟与蛇交”的解释,为后世“龟”由灵降俗的变化埋下了种子。上古时期,龟是多个氏族部落的图腾崇拜物,殷商时期成为神秘尊贵的占卜神器,自春秋战国开始走下神坛,逐渐演变成怯懦胆小的“缩头龟”譬喻之语、屈辱嘲讽的“绿帽”指代之语,以及“王八”等詈骂之语。

In Chinese culture,turtles were originally divine and noble spirits,but later they evolved into cowardly and shameless vulgarians,undergoing a distorted change from mystery to vulgarization.The changing traces have been preserved in Chinese words,archaeological objects,folk customs and cultural arts.The approximate structure of the Chinese characters“turtle”(龟)and“it”(它)in“snake”(蛇)and people’s interpretation of“the mating between turtle and snake”have laid the foundation for the changes of“turtles”from spirits to vulgarians.In ancient times,turtles were totem worships of several clan tribes.During the Yin and Shang dynasties,they became mysterious and divine divination artifacts.Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,they have gradually evolved from spirits into“head-tucked turtles”to refer to timid people figuratively or“lv mao”and“wang ba”in Chinese to humiliate or ridicule those cuckolds ironically and abusively.