曾亘嫚鼎铭文性质及留空之谜

The Inscription on Zeng-Gen-Man ding and Mystery of the Empty Space

枣阳郭家庙GM17出土的曾亘嫚鼎,其铭文释读及留白一直有争议。山西黎城西关墓地M7(楷侯宰吹墓)出土的仲考父盘,铭文可与曾亘嫚鼎对读。比较可知,曾亘嫚鼎铭文的性质与仲考父盘相近,都是他人为死者所作行器的文字记录,只是曾亘嫚鼎行文格式较为简省,作器者及作器类别、数量不详。曾亘嫚鼎铭文中作器者位置的留白,可能与行器仓促铸造、工匠漏刻有关。曾亘嫚鼎的受器者是曾亘嫚,也即郭家庙GM17的墓主。

The Zeng-Gen-Man ding-tripod excavated from tomb GM17 at the Guojiamiao site in Zaoyang of Hubei Province has been the subject of ongoing debate regarding the interpretation of its inscription and the intentional use of empty space.The Zhong-Kao-Fu pan-plate,excavated from tomb M7 at the Xiguan cemetery in Licheng,Shanxi,features an inscription that can be read with the Zeng-Gen-Man ding.Comparative analysis indicates that the nature of the inscriptions on both artifacts is similar;they serve as written records of the funeral vessel items created for the deceased by others.However,the inscription on the Zeng-Gen-Man ding is more concise,lacking details about the object maker and the type and quantity of the vessel items.The empty space in the inscription where the object-maker's name should appear may be attributed to the hurried casting or an oversight by the craftsman.The recipient of the Zeng-Gen-Man ding is identified as Zeng-Gen-Man,the individual interred in the GM17 tomb.