先秦盟誓的作用机制与中华文化认同——以两周金文盟、誓辞和侯马、温县盟书为中心

The Mechanism of Alliance and Oath of Pre-Qin Period and the Identity of Chinese Culture:Focused on Alliance and the Oath of Inscriptions on Bronze Objects of Zhou Dynasty and the Alliance Letter in Houma and Wenxian

盟誓在先秦时期的军旅会盟、狱讼、政治任命、财产交易等活动中发挥着重要作用,根本原因就在于它对人心有着极强的影响力。从两周金文盟、誓辞和侯马、温县盟书来看,盟誓的文辞和书写、使用的过程都展现着神灵信仰对人心的驱策力;盟誓还强化了信义思想,作用于人内心的情感和道德,从而实现对行为的约束;盟誓还具有类法的威慑力,像法律一样具有权威性和强制性,无论是用于誓审的誓辞,还是用于神判的盟辞,都承担着作为依据并产生效力的法律功能,是先秦从礼到法过渡时期维持社会秩序的重要手段。先秦盟誓对后世影响深远,其基本的仪式流程、文辞内容在后世没有发生太大的变化,这些反复使用的仪式和文辞,在历史长河中逐渐构筑成一种文化记忆,深刻作用于人们的心理,沉淀为统一的思想认知和价值观念,使公正、信义、敬慎等思想融入中华民族的心灵深处,大大强化了中华文化认同。

Alliance and oath played an important role in military alliance,prison litigation,political appointment,property transactions and other activities in the pre-Qin period.The most fundamental reason why alliance and the oath could play such a crucial role is that it has a strong influence on people’s hearts.With alliance and oath of inscriptions on bronze objects of Zhou dynasty and the alliance letter in Houma and Wenxian,the text of the alliance and the oath,the process of their writing and using all show the driving force of the god-belief;The oath also strengthens the fiduciary thought,acts on people’s inner emotion and morality,so as to realize the constraint on behavior;they also have the deterrent power like law,which are authoritative and mandatory.Both the oaths used for oath trial and the alliance words used for divine judgment assume the legal function as a basis and make effect,and they are important means to maintain social order during the transition period from rites to laws in pre-Qin period.The alliance and the oath in pre-Qin period has a profound influence on later generations,its basic ritual process and text content did not change much in later generations.These repeatedly used rituals and texts gradually build up cultural memory in the long history,profoundly affecting people’s psychology,and precipitated into unified ideological cognition and value concepts.The ideas of justice,faith and prudence have been integrated into the hearts of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups,and the Chinese cultural identity has been further strengthened.