“青牛”与老子形象的神仙化——以老子“出关”故事为考察中心

“Qing Niu”and the Deification of Lao Tzu’s Image——Focusing on the Story of Lao Tzu’s“Exiting Customs”

老子形象的神仙化是早期道教发展过程中的重要一步。《列仙传》《列异传》等汉晋时期的仙道题材小说,继承《山海经》《楚辞》等书神话内容的动物叙事模式,在老子“出关”故事中增加“青牛”“紫气”等文化事象,基本上实现了对老子形象的重塑。牛在商周时期的宗教信仰和社会生活中,扮演着相当重要的角色;青色在先秦时期的“五色”“五方”观念中,则被视为东方之色、生命之色。因此,就其与道家、道教思想的关联而言,老子“出关”过程中所骑乘的“青牛”,其实可以看作“德性”与“长寿”的象征。在魏晋以后的文学作品中,“青牛”或用以营造玄远、清幽、平和、宁静的诗歌意境,或用以衬托、凸显“太上老君”的无上神力,体现了不同文体各异其趣的审美取向。

The deification of Laozi’s image was an important step in the development of early Taoism.Lie Xian Zhuan,Lie Yi Zhuan and other immortal-themed novels in the Han and Jin Dynasties,inherited the animal narrative mode of the mythological content of books such as Shan Hai Jing and Chu Ci,and added cultural events such as“green cow”and“purple air”to the story of Lao Tzu’s“exit”,thus basically realized the reconstruction of Laozi’s image.Ox played a very important role in religious belief and social life in the Shang and Zhou dynasties;cyan was regarded as the color of the East and the color of life in the concept of“five colors”and“five squares”in the pre-Qin period.Therefore,in terms of its connection with Taoist,the“QingNiu”that Lao Tzu rode in the process of“exiting customs”can actually be regarded as a symbol of“virtue”and“longevity”.In the literary works since the Wei and Jin Dynasties,the“Blue-Green Cow”was used to create a poetic,mysterious,peaceful and quiet mood,or to set off and highlight the supreme power of“Tai Shang Lao Jun”,which showed that different styles have different aesthetic orientations.