西王母住地名称辨析

Analysis on the Name of the Residence of the Queen Mother of the West(西王母)

关于西王母的住地名称,文献中有不同说法,有昆仑、玉山、龟山(蛇巫之山)、弇山(弇兹山、崦嵫山)、少广以及阴山等。这些说法都有同一语源,即“眼”的原始音。古人将日、月统称为眼,“眼”的原始音不断分化为日、月以及其他语音。西王母的原型是月亮,其最初神格是月神,所以她的住所名称都由“眼”这个词的原始语音发展而来。

As for the name of the residence of the Queen Mother of the West,there are different versions in the literature,including Kunlun,Yushan,Guishan(Shewu Mountain),Yanshan(Yanzi Mountain),Shaoguang and Yinshan.These names all have the same etymology,that is,the original sound of“eye”.The ancients collectively referred to the sun and the moon as eyes,and the original sound of“eye”continued to differentiate into the“sun”,the“moon”and other sounds.The prototype of the Queen Mother of the West is the moon,whose original deity is the moon god,so the name of her residence is developed from the original pronunciation of the word“eye”.