楚墓偶数用鼎制度辨析

The Analysis of a System Using Ding Vessels in Even Numbers in the Chu Tombs

很多人认为偶数用鼎制度是楚的特色,但从周礼文献的相关记载看,周代在祭祀时是普遍使用偶数鼎来盛放祭品的;从商周时期各地的考古发现看,墓葬随葬“偶鼎”的现象起源至少可上溯到早商时期,经过西周中期以来的礼制变革,形成东周常见的以相同形制配对的偶鼎制,其流行范围也不限于楚地;偶数鼎在楚墓中随葬的整体比例并不是很高,而且呈现出阶段性的变化。因此,所谓楚墓“偶鼎特色”并不如学者所强调的那样彰显,其背后也并不具有部分学者所构想的社会意义。

Many scholars argue that Chu features a system using Ding vessels in even numbers.However,based on the texts described in Zhou Li,it was common in Zhou dynasty to hold the sacrificial offerings within Ding vessels used in even numbers during the ritual sacrifice.Archaeological records collected from the Shang and Zhou periods have showed that using Ding vessels in even numbers in the burial goods could be traced back as early as the early Shang period.Through the ritual reform during the middle period of Western Zhou,using Ding vessels of the same type in even numbers became common in the Eastern Zhou period;its popularity was not limited to the Chu region.Using Ding vessels in even numbers only accounted for a small proportion of burial goods in the Chu tombs and changed over the time.It is not evident for it to be a distinguishing feature of Chu tombs.It also may not have so much social meaning as many scholars have suggested.