“永恒时间”隐喻:古代青铜器涡纹的传播符号学阐释

The Metaphor of"Eternal Time":A Communication Semiotic Interpretation of Swirl Patterns on Ancient Bronze Ware

涡纹是青铜器上一种常见纹饰,其来源可以追溯到新石器时代早期的圆圈纹和弧线纹。本文引入传播符号学视角,结合符形、符义、符用三个维度,考察涡纹符号的母题。在新石器时代晚期,以“圆”为整体框架、以“旋”为表意核心的符形文本已发展成型,涡纹是进入青铜时代后这一符号在纹饰上的新演变。在传播过程中,“圆”与“旋”的符号原型具有时空上的传播属性差异,通过跨越媒介与信息成为表意符号文本。在社会符用实践中,涡纹符号的理据常常变化流动,以像似性为基础的原初理据往往被符用理据取代,而涡纹符号通过多重表意寄寓着对“永恒时间”的向往。

Swirl patterns,commonly found on bronze artifacts,have their roots in the circles and arcs of the early Neolithic Age.This article adopts a communication semiotics perspective,examining scroll symbols by analyzing symbol shape,meaning,and usage.During the late Neolithic Age,glyphic texts characterized by an overarching"circle"framework and a central"whirl"meaning began to emerge and take form.As society transitioned into the Bronze Age,the scroll pattern evolved as a new expression of this symbol in decorative arts.In the realm of communication,the symbolic prototypes of"circle"and"spin"exhibit variations in their communicative attributes across different times and spaces,eventually evolving into ideographic symbolic texts,transcending media and information boundaries.Within social symbolic practices,the rationale behind swirl symbols often undergoes shifts and adaptations.The original rationale rooted in iconicity frequently gives way to a more symbolic interpretation.Ultimately,the swirl symbol embodies a profound yearning for"eternal time"through its multifaceted meanings.