从《楚辞》招魂仪式谈“像”之功用及其他

Function of “Icons” Seen from the Soul-summoning Ritual in The Songs of Chu and Other Issues

《楚辞》中招魂仪式的描述主要见于《招魂》和《大招》两篇。若对《招魂》和《大招》招魂仪式中复者的念词进行对比,便会发现它们都可以分为两部分:首先申明天地、四方之害,然后讲陈人间世界之美好。两部分念词之间不仅具有陈述上的递进关系,还具有目的上的一致性——引导死者魂灵归家。这种仅见于楚地对死者魂灵的独特关注,使得楚人的招魂仪式具有双重目的性:最理想的状态是使死者复生,免去亲人阴阳两隔之苦;若死者不能复生,则将魂灵置于安全的境地,免受天地、四方之害。死者复生需要魂灵附于尸体,若不能附,则魂灵需要另外的依附之物,以免陷入困境。这一另外的依附之物便是'像'——一种象征死者的人工制品。

Descriptions of the soul-summoning ritual in The Songs of Chu are mainly seen in the two poems of Summons of the Soul and The Great Summons.A comparison between the lines read out in a soul-summoning ritual as recorded in both Summons of the Soul and The Great Summons shows that these poems can be divided into two parts:first,a declaration of the dangers of heaven,earth and the four directions;second,a statement about the wonders of the human world.These two parts not only presents a progressive relationship of narration but also has a uniformity in purpose—guiding the soul of the deceased home.Such unique attention to the soul of the deceased in the Chu State endows the soul-summoning ritual of the Chu people with dual purpose:the most ideal state is to revive the deceased so as to relieve the kinsfolks of the agony of living in two worlds;if the deceased could not return to life again,the soul should be placed in a safe place so as to avoid evils from the heaven,earth and the four directions.If the deceased should return to life again,his soul should be attached to the dead body;if not,the soul should be attached to something else to avoid falling into a dilemma.This something else is an'icon'—an artifact symbolizing the deceased.