Abstract: The phenomenon of "debate with soul" rarely appears in the cursive paper document "Debate with Man and Soul" during the twelfth dynasty of ancient Egypt, which tells a series of debates between "man" and his "soul" around the theme of death, "man" has negative hearts and even has the idea of suicide, while "soul" is active in the world and advocates cherishing life. The social phenomenon described in the literature reveals the real social and historical background of ancient Egypt at that time, and the author is entangled in the face of the turbulent society and the tragic life of the common people, and he uses the role of "soul" to unravel himself, achieve the purpose of relieving psychological pressure, and then eliminate the idea of suicide. The concept of "debate with the soul" violates the relationship between "soul" and "man" in the traditional concept of ancient Egypt, reflects the ancient Egyptians' questioning and challenge to traditional concepts, as well as their thinking and exploration of life, and shows the development and change of the ancient Egyptians' view of the soul.
The exploration and cognition of the soul runs through almost the entire history of human evolution and development. Since ancient times, the soul has been regarded as the most important and indispensable part of man, and the soul has always been regarded as the master of the body and is inseparable from man. In the ancient Egyptian historical document "The Debate between a Man and His Soul", for the first time, there is a debate between "man" and his "soul", "soul" and "man" freed from the subordination and unity of the past, and the two expressed their own views on this life and eternal life after death. [1] The birth of the phenomenon of "debate with the soul" not only reflects the ideological change and ambivalence of the ancient Egyptians, but more importantly, it reflects the challenge of new ideas and concepts to traditional culture. By combing the respective views of "man" and "soul" in "The Debate between Man and Soul" and the social events described in the literature, this paper attempts to reveal the historical background and hidden significance of this "debate" and explore its significance at the psychological level.
At present, there is no special research by domestic scholars on the literature "The Debate between Man and Soul", and foreign scholars have mostly focused on literature or art except for the translation and annotation of literature. Erman's first study of The Debate between Man and Soul, which was translated and annotated from an autobiographical perspective, was published in 1896,[2] and is considered the standard version of the translation and study of this paper, and many scholars have since relied on Ehrman's research in this document. In addition to translations and annotations, scholars mostly believe that the literature reflects that the body and mind of "people" are in a state of contradiction in the face of "death", but the emphasis on explaining this contradiction varies. Hermann interprets The Debate between Man and Soul from an autobiographical perspective, arguing that the "man" in the text is a dying patient. [3] K.A. Kitchen considered The Debate between Man and Soul to be a poem, translating the title as "A Hymn to Death - "A Man Tired of Life", and he translated four poems from the cursive literature as a contradiction and struggle in the heart of a person living in a gray world who wants to end his life early; [4] R. O. Faulkner and J. Allen translated the full text of the literature and made detailed analysis and annotations, arguing that the literature dealt with the subject of suicide and had an advisory purpose; [5] Tobin and Parkinson see The Debate between Man and Soul as a drama, a tragedy about the idea or meaning of death; [6] M. Lichtheim and J. Foster translated the full text of the cursive text of The Debate between Man and Soul. [7] Scholars mostly interpret this document as a play, autobiography, and other literary works, and few scholars include this document in the category of historical documents and combine the social reality and psychology reflected in it for research.
The debate between man and soul
Ancient Egyptian texts often use "heart" as the protagonist or "heart" as a party in dialogue with "people", such as "The Conversation of the Priest Anhu with His Heart" (also known as "Lamentations of Khakheperresonbe"), "The Prophecies of Neferty".[8] The cursive literature "The Debate between Man and the Soul" for the first time takes the "soul" as the object of the "human" debate, and the phenomenon of debate with the soul appears.
The original text of The Debate between Man and Soul is contained in ancient Egyptian priestly script on a straw paper, which was discovered in Thebes in 1830 and is now preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany, Berlin 3024. The language of the article "The Debate between Man and Soul" is rich and obscure, there are many contradictions in the content, and the literature is damaged and unclear, so the translation and interpretation of this article is also controversial. For example, in columns 11~12 of the literature, "man" said in the second "monologue": "I can't listen to him, because he wants to drag me into death before I die"[9] ("he" means "soul", the author's note), and the overall content of the literature is "soul" to persuade "man" to cherish life, which obviously contradicts the main thrust of the whole text.
In general, "The Debate between Man and Soul" tells that in the period of social turmoil, the author is full of complaints and complaints about the turbulent social situation, helpless and helpless, has thoughts of suicide, but hesitates to retreat, so the author persuades himself through the role of "soul", and "soul" finally succeeds in persuading "man" to eliminate the idea of suicide.
The Debate between Man and Soul cleverly conceives a "debate" between "man" and "soul" on the theme of "death" or "survival". Thus, the two main images in the literature are "man" and "soul". Three sets of "debates" are presented in the form of monologues between "man" and "soul", and "soul" makes its final statement in the fourth "monologue". Since the content of the first dialogue is missing, the interpretation of the literature in this article begins with the second "monologue" of the "soul".
The second "monologue" of "Soul" has many fragments at the beginning and it is impossible to analyze its content, and only the last 3 columns have been preserved, telling the truth and being fair in the court of trial. The second "monologue" of "man" expresses "man's" complaint that "soul" is inconsistent with his ideas, and strong dissatisfaction with "soul" for trying to dissuade him from reaching the "Western world". In this part of the "monologue", the "person" is not very logical, and does not use more imposing rhetorical methods such as permutation and duality to strengthen his position, but rhetorically accuses and complains fiercely. "My soul is so stupid that life suffers... If my stubborn soul obeys me, and his heart is aligned with mine, he will be lucky... If you pull me back from the brink of death in this way, you will find no place in the Western world." [10] "Man" uses "stupidity" and "stubbornness" to describe "soul", and even threatens "soul", if "soul" does not agree with him and pulls him back from the brink of death, the "soul" will have nowhere to rest in the "Western world". The "man" also promised to make a canopy for the "soul" to shield it from the wind and rain. "Man" coerces and seduces the "soul" in the hope that the "soul" will not dissuade him and enter the "Western world" with him.
In the third "monologue" of "Soul", "Soul" refutes the "monologue" of man, pointing out that after death, the body will decay, the stone tablet will be destroyed, and instead of counting on the unknown "Western world", it is better to cherish the present life, forget about troubles, and live happily. In it, "Soul" quotes the story of two civilians: "A Nejes (i.e. "commoner", the author's note) cultivated his land, he loaded the harvest into the boat, dragged the boat, his festival approached, and when he saw the sky darkening in the north and the sun set, he watched vigilantly from the boat. He wanted to go ashore with his wife and children, but the wife and children died in the lake. The night was shrouded and the crocodiles flocked, and finally, he sat down, and cried loudly to break the silence, saying: 'I don't cry for my mother over there, she will not come out of the western world and return to the real world, and I grieve for her children, who died at a young age, and saw the face of the crocodile god before they died. [11] "A Nejess wanted to eat, and his wife said to him, 'In a moment it will be dinner time', he went outside, and after a while he returned home, he was like a changed man, his wife begged him, he did not listen to his wife, he was very angry and the family broke down". [12] "Soul" uses two stories to show that the hardships and unsatisfactory things in civilian life often happen, and there are many more tragic and unfortunate things that "people" encounter, and even in the face of pain and sorrow, "people" should still live bravely.
Man's third "monologue" uses four poems to express his desire to gain liberation through death and enter the "Western world." The first poem contains eight sets of dual sentences, each beginning with "Behold, my name stinks," "Behold, my name stinks, behold, worse than the smell of a vulture's carcass, in summer, when the sun is hot",[13] "Man" uses various stenches to draw analogies with the stench emitted by his own name, expressing "man's" disgust and denial of himself. The second poem contains 16 sets of dual verses, each beginning with "To whom can I say today?" Begin, "Who can I say to today?" Brothers turn against each other, and now friends have no emotions; Who can I say to today? People's hearts are greedy, and everyone wantonly takes other people's things",[14] This part describes the social phenomena of "robbery", "bullying", "evil deeds" and "greed" at that time, expressing the anger and helplessness of "people" against the social turmoil at that time. The third poem contains 6 sets of dual verses, each beginning with "Today, I saw death", "Today, I see death, like a patient getting better, like being released after imprisonment; Today, I see death, like the smell of myrrh, like setting sail on a windy day",[15] "man" uses all kinds of beautiful things and aromatic smells as a metaphor for the beauty of death, expressing "man's" urgent desire for death. The fourth poem contains 3 sets of dual verses, each beginning with "Indeed, he will be over there," "Indeed, he will be a living god over there, punishing those who do wrong; Indeed, over there he will stand in the solar boat and give the chosen things to the temple",[16] depicting the scene of people entering the "Western world" with God, "Indeed..." expressing the self-affirmation of "man" that he can enter the "Western world" after death. In the third "monologue" of "people", "people" uses a large number of rhetorical methods of arrangement, metaphor and duality to enhance the appeal of language, and the words are beautiful and gentle, which contrasts sharply with the fierce words in the second monologue, indicating that "people" are gradually calming down.
The fourth "monologue" of "Soul" is the final statement of "Soul", "Friend, fight for life!" Say 'love you' to me, throw away the idea of going to the Western world, physically touch the ground, and when you finally get tired of the world, I will fly down to you and we will be together. [17] The "soul" exhorts the "man" to give up complaining, to be down-to-earth, to live hard, and to promise the "man" that he will be with him forever and share eternal life after he dies.
In "The Debate between Man and Soul", "man" goes from fierce and complaining at the beginning to a gentle tone and beautiful speech, indicating that as the "debate" progresses, the attitude of "man" becomes softer, and he gradually abandons the idea of desperate death at first. In the overall dialogue, the "soul" mostly uses metaphors or quotes from stories to exhort the "person", even if the "threat" is to leave, it also adopts a tactful and gradual expression, and in the final statement, it has always been an attitude of exhortation, and made a promise that if the "person" gives up suicide, he will always be with the "person". Combined with the change in attitude of "man" and the firm position of "soul" and the final statement, it can be inferred that the final result of the "Debate between Man and Soul" is that "soul" successfully persuades "man" to give up the idea of suicide.
The inner reaction of "people" is negative, conservative, defensive. Only by experiencing those turmoil and suffering can there be a psychological experience of "people", and the author expresses his inner feelings through the reaction of "people" in "The Debate between Man and Soul". The richness of the rhetoric and language of The Debate of Man and Soul shows that the author was educated and brilliant, and the "myrrh" that appears in the literature was imported from Punte and can be regarded as a luxury to a certain extent, so the author should be an aristocrat, who understands both the extravagance and corruption of the nobility and rulers, and the hardships of the lower commoner life and the social injustices. The author uses the method of complaining in the face of turbulent social phenomena, and even has the idea of suicide, indicating that although the author belongs to the aristocracy, but he does not have the ability to change the social status quo at that time, so the author is not a high-ranking official in power, because usually those in power pay attention to the maintenance of power and the rule of subordinates and the people, do not complain about social phenomena, and do not cowardly want to escape through death. Based on the above analysis, the author should be an educated, literary but pessimistic and cowardly aristocrat.
"Soul" is the protagonist of The Debate between Man and Soul. The ancient Egyptians believed that the "soul" was an inherent existence of the individual while he was alive, and that it was preserved in an intangible form after death, which was a way of existence related to death and the afterlife. "The Debate between Man and Soul" has a unique conception, where the "soul" is unusual, the "soul" is positive, denying death, and the "soul" has always persuaded "people" not to commit suicide, so that "people" cherish life, give up death, and give up the idea of the unknown "Western world". This article argues that the content and background of the literature emphasize more on the present life than the afterlife, and that the "debate" should be the heart of the "person" that occurs in the present life,[18] and the literature not only describes the inner contradiction of the "person" when he has suicidal thoughts, but more importantly, the author adopts the method of debate with the "soul" to show the inner pressure and contradiction, so a debate between the "person" and the "soul" is launched.
Second, the historical truth behind The Debate between Man and Soul
Ancient Egyptian documents can be divided into inscriptions and cursive documents in the writing medium, and funerary documents, temple documents, official documents and private documents are classified according to the purpose of the documents, and there are literary and non-literary genres according to the genre of literature. The official document is directly related to historical events, and the relevant research is relatively sufficient. Private texts are also easy to identify because they often mention the words "under the pharaohs", and have also become important documents for the study of ancient Egyptian history. However, literary documents are more fictional descriptions, and are only included in the scope of research by historians when the background of the work is well documented, such as the "Story of Sinuhai", which describes the coup d'état in the palace at the beginning, the murder of Amonimheut, and his son Sesostris from the expedition to recover the wreckage, which is obviously a true record of history. Although the Teachings of Amonimhet are also literary documents, they have the same background and can be mutually verified. [19] In literary literature, except for such literary documents that are clearly set in history, there is not much use for historians of other literary works, so the current historical interpretation of The Debate between Man and Soul is insufficient.
Generally speaking, the social background is the content of the document, so revealing the real historical events behind the document is also the value of documentary research. The chronology of The Debate between Man and Soul is disputed, but most scholars date the document to the Twelfth Dynasty during the Middle Kingdom,[20] and Allen, after a detailed analysis of the grammatical features of the document, dates the document to the early Twelfth Dynasty. [21] The social phenomena described in "The Debate between Man and Soul" reflect that ancient Egyptian society was in trouble, with frequent natural disasters, famines, political corruption, and economic depression, which led to great changes in the natural and social environment in which people lived compared with before, providing us with rare supporting data for studying the historical development and social background of the period.
Although The Debate between Man and Soul focuses on debates on the themes of "death" and "survival", there are a large number of passages describing social reality, and protests against social life reflect the social chaos of ancient Egypt at that time. [22] Man's third "monologue" describes "To whom can I say it today?" Brothers turn against each other, and now friends have no emotions; Who can I say to today? The human heart is greedy, everyone wantonly takes other people's things ... The goodness disappears, the brutal attacks everyone ... Robbery everywhere, everyone is robbing his brother ... Brothers turn against each other, people seek affection from strangers ... The human heart is greedy, and no one's heart can be trusted." [23] This social unrest, the situation of anti-purpose between brothers and friends, is described in many documents, such as the "more turmoil every year" in the Lament of Kakebela-Senab, "justice is expelled, but evil is in the temple", "the land is in a terrible state, grief is everywhere, the city is in mourning, and everyone is grieving", describing the social phenomenon of ancient Egypt during the period of "chaos in the land". [24] The ancient Greek Hirsiod's Work and Time describes "Let us settle this dispute between us by the most perfect and fair trial from Zeus!" You must know that we have divided the inheritance, and you have obtained and taken a larger one, which greatly raises the reputation of the royal masters who are willing to hear such cases and are keen to accept bribes." This passage states that after the death of the old man, the two brothers divided the inheritance, and Perseth bribed the prince of Basspeare to take the larger share. After that, Perseus finally became poor because of his leisure and luxury, and tried to provoke a lawsuit against Hesiod. [25] The era in which Hesiod lived and worked was in the first half of the 8th century BC, which corresponds to the social landscape reflected in Work and Time. The description of social phenomena in "The Debate between Man and Soul" can also reveal the real social life background at that time, when ancient Egypt often had robbery and other evil deeds, there was no trust and affection between people, family affection and friendship disappeared, people no longer did good deeds, became greedy and insensitive, social life was disorderly, and conflicts occurred from time to time.
On the political front, the regime's authority declined and there was a rebellion. In man's third "monologue", "Behold, my name stinks, behold, [surpassing] the city of a king, and his back will turn and there will be whispered rebellious speech". [26] "To whom can I say today? There is no justice to speak of, and there are evil people left on the earth... Those who are not satisfied, those who used to accompany are no longer ... Evil deeds pervade this land and never end." [27] These statements show that ancient Egypt was in the midst of chaos in its rule, and once the country was in such a chaotic situation, it needed a strong king to turn the tide and restore the normal order of the country, but the ruler did not implement effective measures to control or control it, reflecting that the centralized power of the ruler at that time was threatened, the ruler was unable to fully control the country, the army could not maintain the stability of the country, there was a tendency to divide and rebel, and even a political situation of anarchy may appear. Combining the dating clues of the documents with the historical development of ancient Egypt, in the early days of the XII dynasty, Amenimhet I ascended the throne, he was later murdered, and his son Sesostris I was on an expedition to Libya. [28] Ancient Egypt was in turmoil at the time of these new and old regime changes,[29] and the rulers lacked ruling authority and effective management strategies at the time of the transfer of power, which plunged ancient Egypt into turmoil.
In terms of economy, the economy of ancient Egypt at that time was depressed, and the life of the commoners was very difficult, but the nobles and royal families still enjoyed a luxurious life, and the gap between the rich and the poor was obvious. Two depictions of civilian life in The Debate of Man and Soul directly show the poverty and hardship of their lives, and this description of the hardships of the lower classes is reflected in many documents, such as the "Irony of Trades" which describes "the peasant's wailing exceeds that of the fowl, his voice is louder than that of a crow, his fingers are swollen and foul-smelling, and he is tired". [30] In the third "monologue" of "The Soul", "they built using granite and built perfect halls in elaborate pyramids"[31] describes how the royal family spent enormous human, material, and financial resources on the construction of the mausoleum, while the upper aristocracy and the royal family still lived a life of luxury and luxury. It can be seen that at that time, the gap between the rich and the poor in ancient Egypt was huge, and the living conditions of the royal nobles and commoners were in sharp contrast, which was extremely ironic.
The chaos in social life described in The Debate between Man and Soul provides a wealth of information worth thinking about and studying. Between 2180 BC and 2160 BC, a nationwide famine occurred in ancient Egypt, which actually lasted until about 2000 BC, during which a large number of stone inscriptions and documents were left to record the social phenomena of ancient Egypt at that time. In his biography, Chief Nome[32] of the First Intermediate Period recorded how they helped the local people solve their problems during the famine, declaring that they "did not seize a man's daughter", "did not seize his land", "did not rob anyone of any property", and "provided" for the hungry victims. [33] Although the Nome elders tried to exaggerate their contributions in their biographies, these descriptions reflected the reality of ancient Egypt's widespread evil and looting. In addition, many documents during the famine, such as the "Neferti Prophecy" and "The Edict to King Merikala", also described the social reality at that time, and the drought and famine that lasted for decades led to social turmoil in ancient Egypt at that time, people took up arms to rob and plunder others, officials looted people's wealth, and society was disorderly. The social phenomena of the famine period described in the stone tablets and the inscriptions and documents of the First Intermediate Period are very similar to the phenomena in the "Debate between Man and Soul", "everyone who lacks food and clothing", "everyone wantonly takes other people's things", "robbery everywhere", and "evil deeds are all over the land".
3. New ideas and social psychology
The "soul" in "The Debate between Man and Soul" believes that the world after death is unknown, and people should cherish life and cherish the life that objectively exists in the present world, which reflects the germ of new ideas that are contrary to the traditional religious views and views of life and death of the ancient Egyptians. This new idea is a group social psychology formed in ancient Egyptian society in the special historical period and social background at that time.
(1) The germination of new ideas
The debate between "soul" and "man" in "The Debate between Man and Soul" focuses on whether "man" can attain liberation through death, and whether "man" can enter the eternal "Western world" after death to obtain eternal life. "Soul" and "person" represent two different value orientations, "soul" represents optimistic, positive and exploratory new ideas, and "people" represent pessimistic, negative and stubborn old concepts. People's attitudes and ways of treating the world and life are often different, and the "difference" stems from everyone's temperament, thinking habits and experienced circumstances, but there is often a mainstream ideology for an era. Whether this mainstream ideology is optimistic or pessimistic, positive or negative, reflects historical changes, social phenomena and the impact of real life on people. The Debate between Man and Soul not only shows the ancient Egyptians' personal choices about religious beliefs and values, but also shows that the ancient Egyptians at that time had doubts and confusion about traditional beliefs, lacked a unified and firm religious belief, and emerged a confrontation between new ideas and old traditions.
The concept of "man" represents the religious and worldview of the ancient Egyptian tradition. First of all, during the Middle Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians inherited and practiced the ideological concepts and religious traditions formed and handed down from ancient times, such as worshipping gods and building temples, offering sacrifices to gods, holding various religious ceremonies related to gods, as well as funeral matters of the deceased, and offering sacrifices to the deceased. Second, the ancient Egyptians were convinced of the idea that people entered the "Western world" after death to gain eternal life. The ancient Egyptians have always attached great importance to the afterlife, and made a lot of and full preparations for the afterlife when they were alive, such as building tombs, preparing funerary goods, preparing to make mummies, and even had a view that ancient Egyptians began to prepare for the afterlife as soon as they were born. The ancient Egyptian tradition held that death was only the end of this earthly life, and that after death, people who passed the judgment of God could enter the "Western world" and obtain eternal life there. The content of the document "The Debate between Man and Soul" is originally a "debate" between "man" and "soul" around entering the "Western world" after death, and "man" has always adhered to the traditional concept of the ancient Egyptians, hoping to reach the "Western world" through death, so as to get rid of the suffering in this life and obtain eternal life and peace in the next life.
"Soul" represents new concepts and ideas that are contrary to the traditional religious and world views of the ancient Egyptians. First of all, the "soul" believes that the "Western world" is empty and unknown, and people should cherish life and live well. Secondly, the "Debate between Man and Soul" always revolves around the theme of death, and the literature appears many times "telling the truth", "fairness", "kindness", "justice" and "judgment", but the literature does not mention Osiris, who is closely related to death, and "Maat", who is most closely related to fairness and justice, two gods who play an important role in the judgment of the afterlife. This phenomenon may indicate that in the new ideas and concepts of ancient Egypt represented by the author, there were doubts about the dominance of the underworld by Osiris,[34] and due to the social turmoil at that time, the lack of integrity and justice made the "ma'at" lose the psychological binding force of the ancient Egyptians, and many people no longer believed in "ma'at" and were disappointed with the "ma'at" representing justice and fairness. A person's loss of faith in life after death, tombs and sacrifices could not guarantee the so-called "happiness" after death, traditional religious beliefs and moral doctrine systems were challenged,[35] these doubts about the "Western world" and the neglect of Osiris and "Ma'at" represented the ancient Egyptians' new thinking and understanding of life, and these scattered ideas contained the germ of new social values.
(2) Analysis from the perspective of social psychology
The themes of the literature usually reflect the psychological activities and ideological views of the author, and many documents from the same period can reflect the overall social events, historical realities and group ideas of the time. Contemporaries will gradually form a general social psychology of one or more generations, and this social psychology will be invisibly integrated into various documentary works. The analysis of these documents from the perspective of psychology can help us understand the ideological concepts and beliefs of the ancient Egyptians at that time, clarify the historical development of ancient Egypt, and make a more true, reasonable, complete and rich interpretation of ancient Egyptian history.
The view of "man" in "The Debate between Man and Soul" represents the author's original thought, that is, due to the idea of suicide due to world-weariness, hoping to achieve liberation through death, the view of "soul" shows the author's inner struggle, although he has world-weary thoughts, but he does not know everything after death, and worry and concern make him hesitate. The debate between "soul" and "person" is actually the embodiment of the author's psychological contradictions and conflicts, and the expression of his depressed mood. The author shows low mood, pessimism and suicidal thoughts, these emotional states are directly related to the social environment at that time, his emotions and situations are partially proportionate, and through the author's writing and rhetoric, it can be seen that his thinking is quick and his language is fluent. The author is in a depressed mood, entangled and painful in his heart, and through the guidance and exhortation of the "soul" to the "person", he constantly resolves his psychological problems and realizes the self-healing of depression.
The general social phenomena and people's psychological contradictions, struggles and doubts described in "The Debate between Man and Soul" show that the long-term turbulent social environment has not only caused group complaints and dissatisfaction, but even made people question the traditional belief in resignation and entering the "Western world" after death to obtain eternal life, which has given rise to thinking about life and death, reality and the future. Although the opposition to traditional ideas is not directly mentioned in the literature, it shows the questioning of traditional concepts and the germination of new ideas, and this ideological change has subtly affected the psychology of ancient Egyptians at that time, so this general psychological state of the group will be naturally and implicitly expressed in the literature.
Historical development is not only the change of dynasties and the record of royal events, but also the occurrence of social events and the details of civilian life, social life contains the formation and change of people's mentality, showing the development and progress of human civilization. Only by recording and studying the historical development of all strata of society and analyzing the relationship between new ideas and traditional beliefs can a complete, full, flesh-and-blood history be formed. The social events and civilian life recorded in many documents, the implied social psychology and the development process of human civilization are the "blood" and "flesh" in them. The ancient Egyptians did not leave history books to record the history of ancient Egypt, and the limited documents provided valuable historical materials for us to study the history of ancient Egypt. Future research should make full use of existing literature, comprehensively analyze ancient Egyptian documents from new perspectives such as psychology, cultural studies and philosophy, study the historical truth, hidden meaning and cultural characteristics behind the documents, and provide new evidence and new directions for the future research of ancient Egyptian history and world history.
Conclusion
The expression "debate with the soul" appears for the first time in the "Debate with the Soul", which does not regard the soul as an independent individual and is opposed to "man", and the connotation and extension of the debate with the soul transcend the debate itself and the boundaries between the two sides of the debate. The debate focused on the conflict and contradiction of new religious views, values and traditional concepts, which showed that the ancient Egyptians were undergoing historic changes in their view of the world, and the contradiction between their understanding and expectations of the "now" and the social reality made them full of doubts and reflections about the "future". The debate between "man" and "soul" is precisely the never-ending dialogue between "present" and "future" of mankind, and it is a profound reflection on the meaning of life, which is a true portrayal of the development and progress of human civilization. In the process of the development of human dialectical thinking, the concept of the soul develops from illusory or full of good expectations to the spiritual, conscious and psychological level, and from the sensibility to the rational level, which is developed in this continuous "debate" and "dialogue". The emergence of the "debate with the soul" is an attempt by human beings to fundamentally change their minds, the germination of new ideas, new beliefs, and new ideas, of course, not all of these attempts can grow and expand smoothly. Complaints about the real world, doubts about the "Western world", a face to death, and a cherishing of life are new ideas that are weak in the face of traditional religious views and values. When the new civilization lacks the transformation from the outside to the inside, and does not form the internal self-determination ability and sustainable development momentum generated by the civilization, it challenges the traditional religious views and values, which will inevitably lead to their cessation or demise. Although the phenomenon of debate with the soul was soon submerged in the vast ancient Egyptian traditional culture after its birth, it had an impact on the soul view, religious view and values of ancient Egypt, triggered the ancient Egyptians' thinking and exploration of life, and promoted the development of the human soul view.
About author:MA Fangyuan, Associate Professor, School of Health Management, Jilin Medical University, specializes in ancient Egyptian history and psychology; Li Xiaodong is a professor at the Institute of History of World Classical Civilizations, Northeast Normal University, specializing in ancient Egyptian history.
Fund: Jilin Provincial Department of Education's scientific research project "Research on the Construction of Psychosocial Service System Based on Grassroots Communities in the Post-epidemic Period" (JJKH20210507SK).
[1] Raymond O. Faulkner, “The Man Who Was Tired of Life, ” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol.42(1956), pp.21－22.
[2] Adolf Erman, Gespräch eines Lebensmüden mit seiner Seele, aus dem Papyrus 3024 der Königlichen Museen, Berlin: Verlag der Königl, Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1896.
[3] Alfred Hermann, "Das Gespräch eines Lebensmüden mit seiner Seele", " Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, Vol.42(1939), pp.345-352.
[4] Kenneth A. Kitchen, “Poems in Praise of Death: ‘A Man Tired of Life, ’ c. 2100 BC, ” Poetry of Ancient Egypt (Documenta Mundi: Aegyptiaca 1 ), Jonsered: Paul Äströms förlag, 1999, pp.79－88.
[5] Raymond O. Faulkner, “The Man Who Was Tired of Life, ” pp.21－40; James P. Allen, The Debate Between a Man and His Soul, A Masterpiece of Ancient Egyptian Literature, Leiden, Boston: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2011, pp.9－10.
[6] Vincent Tobin, “A Reassessment of the Lebensmüde, ” Bibliotheca Orientalis, Vol.48(1991), pp.341－363; Richard B. Parkinson, “The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul, ” The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940－1640 BC, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997, pp.151－165.
[7] Miriam Lichtheim, “The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba, ” Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: The University of California Press, 1975, pp.163－169; John L. Foster, “The Debate between a Man Tired of Life and His Soul, ” Echoes of Egyptian Voices: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Poetry, Norman: The University of Oklahoma, 1992, pp.11－18.
[8] William Kelly Simpson, “The Lamentations of Khakheperresonbe, ” The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry, New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2003, pp.211－220.
[9] Raymond O. Faulkner, “The Man Who Was Tired of Life, ” pp.21－31.
[10] James P. Allen, The Debate Between a Man and His Soul, A Masterpiece of Ancient Egyptian Literature, pp.36－59.
[11] Raymond O. Faulkner, “The Man Who Was Tired of Life, ” pp.27－36; James P. Allen, The Debate Between a Man and His Soul, A Masterpiece of Ancient Egyptian Literature, pp.67－78.
[12] William Kelly Simpson, “The Man Who Was Weary of Life, ” The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry, pp.182－183.
[13] Kenneth A. Kitchen, “Poems in Praise of Death: ‘A Man Tired of Life, ’ c. 2100 BC, ” pp.80－81.
[14] Jan Assmann, “A Dialogue between Self and Soul: Papyrus Berlin 3024, ” Self, Soul and Body in Religious Experience, Leiden：Brill, 1998, pp.394－398.
[15] Myrrh is an aromatic plant introduced to Egypt from Ponte, whose resin and gum can be made into spices or flavors, has antiseptic properties, and can be used to make mummies. See Kenneth A. Kitchen, "Poems in Praise of Death: 'A Man Tired of Life, ' c. 2100 BC, pp.86-87.
[16] James P. Allen, The Debate Between a Man and His Soul, A Masterpiece of Ancient Egyptian Literature, pp.106－107.
[17] John L. Foster, “The Debate between a Man Tired of Life and His Soul, ” p. 18.
[18] Bernard Mathieu, "Le dialogue d'un homme avec son âme: un débat d'idées dans l'Egypte ancienne," Egypte, Afrique et Orient, Vol.19(2000), pp.17-36.
[19] Ian Shaw, The Oxford History Of Ancient Egypt, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp.146－148.
[20]参见William Kelly Simpson, “The Man Who Was Weary of Life, ” pp.178－179; John L. Foster, “The Debate between a Man Tired of Life and His Soul, ” Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology, The University of Texas Press, 2001, pp.55－63; Miriam Lichtheim, “The Dispute Between a Man and His Ba, ” pp.163－169; 刘文鹏：《古代埃及史》,商务印书馆2014年版, 第344页。
[21]参见James P. Allen, The Debate Between a Man and His Soul, A Masterpiece of Ancient Egyptian Literature, pp.113－121.
[22] [Russian] Avkiyev, translated by Wang Yizhu: History of the Ancient Orient, Shanghai Bookstore Press, 2011, p. 262.
[23] Jan Assmann, “A Dialogue between Self and Soul: Papyrus Berlin 3024, ” pp.394－398.
[24] William Kelly Simpson, “The Lamentations of Khakheperresonbe, ” pp.211－213; Richard B. Parkinson, “The Text of Khakheperreseneb: New Readings of EA 5645, and an Unpublished Ostracon, ” The Journal of Egyptian Archaelolgy, Vol.83(1997), pp.55－68.
[25] [Ancient Greek] Hesiod, translated by Zhang Zhuming and Jiang Ping: Work and Time, Commercial Press, 1991, p. 2.
[26] The line appears in the first poem of the third monologue of "Man", which uses a lot of metaphors and metaphors to express "the stench of names". The ancient Egyptians believed that names were closely related to the soul and divine power, so the "name" here refers to the owner of the name, especially his soul. The meaning of this sentence is: When the king turns around, there will be rebellious speech in the city he governs, and my name stinks worse than the rebellious city.
[27] Kenneth A. Kitchen, “Poems in Praise of Death: ‘A Man Tired of Life, ’ c. 2100 BC, ” pp.82－85.
[28] William C. Hayes, “The Middle Kingdom in Egypt, ” I. E.S.Edwards, C. J.Gadd, N. G.L.Hammond, The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 1 Early History of the Middle East, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971, p. 524.
[29] Ian Shaw, The Oxford History Of Ancient Egypt, pp. 145-151. Both the Hekanakhte Letters and the tombstone of Amenimhhet in Beni Hassan suggest famine in the early years of the reign of Thesostris I.
[30] Miriam Lichtheim, “The Satire of The Trades, ” Ancient Egyptian Literature: The Old and Middle Kingdoms, Volume I, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: The University of California Press, 1975, pp.184－192.
[31] James P. Allen, The Debate Between a Man and His Soul, A Masterpiece of Ancient Egyptian Literature, pp.64－65.
[32] Nome was a local administrative division of ancient Egypt, similar to "state" or "province," with Nome being the supreme leader.
[33] Liu Wenpeng, History of Ancient Egypt, pp. 272-282.
[34] James P. Allen, The Debate Between a Man and His Soul, A Masterpiece of Ancient Egyptian Literature, p.2.
[35] Avkiyev, History of the Ancient East, p. 262.
Originally published in Historical Collections, Issue 6, 2022.
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