巴蜀墓葬中的“操蛇神怪”与早期道教

On Gods and Spirits with Snakes in Hand Discovered in Ancient Ba and Shu and Early Taoism

东汉中后期至成汉时期的巴蜀墓葬中出现了一批一手执蛇、一手执物,口吐长舌,面容凶煞的物质文化遗存。本文从实物分布与文献记载入手,探讨这类考古材料与早期道教之关系:操蛇神怪的集中出现,是早期道教信仰在巴蜀地区墓葬文化中视觉的、物质的、观念的显现。

Inside tombs dating back to mid and late Eastern Han and Chenghan Kingdom period discovered in ancient Ba and Shu,a number of figures of gods and spirits have been unearthed.These fierce-looking figures have been found with a snake in one hand,an object in the other and a long tongue sticking out.Given the distribution of relics and literature,in this article the author discusses the relation between archaeological evidence and early Taoism,and points out that gods and spirits with snakes in hand used to be the visualization,materialization and embodiment of early Taoist beliefs in tombs discovered in ancient Ba and Shu.