礼器、礼与中国早期社会治理

Ritual Vessels,Rituals,and Early Social Governance in China

中国早期社会的礼器属于一种威望物品,不仅具有表征等级贵贱、参与社会层级划分、社会秩序建构的功能,而且可以规范社会成员的行为、地位和特权,成为一种权力符号。在史前社会中,权贵阶层主导这些权力物化象征符号的生产与再生产,控制了礼器制作的资料和技术,利用礼器来建构礼仪形态与意识形态,从而实现政治社会秩序的生产与再生产。青铜时代的礼器是礼的载体,其社会功能是用以“明贵贱,辨等列”,使各等级的人各守其位、不得越轨,从而维系等级秩序。青铜饮食礼器,体现出三代社会对饮食礼仪的高度重视。饮食礼在协调社会关系、敦睦人伦、促进社会成员团结等方面发挥了重要的社会治理作用。

The ritual vessels in early Chinese society belonged to a type of“prestige goods”,which not only had the function of representing social hierarchy,participating in social hierarchy division,and social order construction,but also could regulate the behavior,status,and privileges of social members,becoming a symbol of empowerment.In prehistoric society,the privileged class dominated the production and reproduction of these power materialized symbolic symbols,controlled the materials and techniques of ritual vessel production,used ritual vessels to construct ceremonial forms and ideologies,and thus achieved the production and reproduction of political and social order.The ceremonial vessels of the Bronze Age were the carriers of ritual,and their social function was to“distinguish between high and low,distinguish between ranks”,so that people of all levels could hold their positions and not deviate,thus maintaining hierarchical order.Dietary etiquette played an important role in social governance by coordinating social relationships,fostering harmonious relationships,and promoting unity among members of society.