Since ancient times, almost every feudal dynasty has had more or less animal worship.
Elk worship is one of them.
In fact, in the beginning, the elk was treated as a prey, and it was just a green picnic for the bow hunter.
From a captive on the table of a meat eater to a sacred and undesecrated object of faith, why has the status of the elk undergone such a sea change?
Meng Zhu's moose
Regarding the word "Meng Zhu's moose" recorded in the "Zuo Chuan: The Twenty-eighth Year of the Emperor", scholars of the past dynasties believed that "elk" passed through "Mei", referring to the meeting place of water and grass. In the eleventh chapter (Jane 57) of the "Year of the System" of the Tibetan Warring States period of Tsinghua University published in recent years, we also found the term "Meng Zhuzhi's moose". By comparing several records of "elk" in the original text of the "Zuo Chuan", it can be seen that the meaning of the biography "Meng Zhu's moose" and the simplified text "Meng Zhu's elk" are the same, both refer to the elk of Mizusawa Mengzhu.
Interpretation of "Zuo Chuan" "Meng Zhu's Moose": "Zuo Chuan: The Twenty-Eighth Year of the Duke of Xuan" cloud:
At the beginning, Chu Ziyu was Qiong Ben and Jade Ying, and he was not served. Fighting first, the god of Menghe said to himself: "Yu Yu! Yu Ci female Meng Zhu's elk. ”
Among them, "Meng Zhu" is the name of the Song Dynasty Xue Ze, which can be seen in the "Shangshu Yugong", "Erya Shidi", "Zhou Li, Xia Guan, Zhifang Shi" and other hand-me-down documents, as "Meng Zhu", "Ming Du", "Mengzhu", "Meng Zhu", "Wangzhu", etc., Mr. Yang Bojun noted that in the northeast of Shangqiu City, Henan Province, because the Yellow River has been washed many times, it no longer exists. Du commented on "moose": "The intersection of water and grass is called elk." It is pronounced "麋" as "Mae". Kong Yingda's "Justice" quotes "Erya Shishui": "Water and grass are intertwined. Mr. Yang Bojun followed. Zhu Tian Guanghong's "Zuo's Notes" also followed, and said: ""Erya" 'water and grass are intertwined for Mei'.
And "there is Meng Zhutai in the northwest ten miles of Yucheng County, Henan Province, commonly known as Meitai, and it is named after the moose of Meng Zhu." From the contextual point of view, the words of the river god mean: "Give me your Qiongben and jade tassels!" I will give you Meng Zhu's water meadows. "Mengzhu is an important water ze of the Song Kingdom, and the water grassland of Mengzhu hints at the land of the Song Kingdom, and the meaning is understandable.
However, the term "Meng Zhu's moose" is not only found in Zuo Chuan. In the eleventh chapter of Tsinghua University's Tibetan Warring States Bamboo Slips "The Year of the System" published in recent years, we see "Meng Zhu's moose" again (directly quoted from the collator's commentary):
Song You (Division) Taro (Hua) Wu (Yuan) Desire (Lao) Chu (Division), is the line, Mu Wangsi (make) Ou (drive) (Meng) (Zhu) of the moose.
This matter is also seen in "Zuo Chuan: Ten Years of Wen Gong", Chuanyun: "Song Hua Yushi said: 'Chu wants to be weak and I am weak, so why should I be weak first?'" Why tempt me? I really can't, what is the sin of the people? 'It is against Chuzi, and he works and obeys orders. Then he said to Tian Mengzhu. The compiler has suspected that the "Hua Yuan" in the Jianwen is a mistake of his father Hua Yushi, and the "Zuo Chuan" and the "Department Year" contain the "Lao Chu Shi" in a slightly similar matter. Compared with the "Zuo Biography", the "Department Year" records more details of Chu Mu Wangtian's hunt in Meng Zhu.
The compiler of "Department of Chronicles" noted "Elk" and said: "According to the simplified text, 'Elk' actually refers to elk. "The text of the brief means that King Chumu drove Meng Zhu's elk and migrated them to the land of disciples. The brief text "Meng Zhu's elk" must not refer to the place where water and grass meet, and only the elk can be understood as an elk to go up and down. The term "Meng Zhuzhi's moose" is seen in the "Zuo Chuan" and "Department Nian", and the two books were written at a similar time, although they are not included in the same colleagues, but "Meng Zhu's moose" may be an inherent noun used by people at that time.
On the other hand, the article of "The Twenty-Eighth Year of the Duke of Zuo Chuan" is like "Yuyu! The "elk of Meng Zhu" in "Yu Ci Nu Meng Zhu's Elk" is also understood as the original character of "elk", and the river god language means: "Give me your Qiongben and jade tassel!" I give you Meng Zhu's elk. The so-called river god extended the "moose of Meng Zhu" to Ziyu to Ziyu to get the land of Meng Zhu of the Song Kingdom, that is, to refer to this place with the property of a place, and the meaning of the text is also understandable.
In addition, according to the full text of the "Zuo Chuan", there are four "elk" characters in the scriptures, and these four "elk" are all original characters without exception, which refer to elk:
Except for the record of many elks and disasters in the 17th year of Zhuang Gong in Zuo Chuan, the remaining three records show that elk appear in scenes related to war and military affairs. In the thirty-third year of the reign of Emperor Wu, Emperor Wuzi resigned from the Qin division and expressed his willingness to provide Zheng Guo's original garden to the Qin generals to use and let him hunt elk. According to the rumors, both Qin and Zheng raised elk in special hunting grounds (original nursery, Gu Confination). Huang Wuzi said that he let the Qin generals hunt the elk in the original nursery, which contained a sign of weakness.
The biography of "Zuo Chuan: The Twelfth Year of Xuan Gong" details the historical events of the battle between Jin and Chu. In the two small-scale battles during the confrontation between Jin and Chu, Jin Baogui asked Uncle Chu to sacrifice moose, and Jin Wei was able to get out of offering moose to the Chu Pan Party, showing the courage and calm demeanor of the generals of Jin and Chu in the war, which has always been praised. Relevant records show that the elk was offered by the weak and taken by the strong, which was the inherent concept of people at that time.
This helps us to re-understand the connotation of the so-called "Meng Zhu's moose" in Ziyu's dream in "Zuo Chuan: The Twenty-Eighth Year of the Duke of Xu". In the Spring and Autumn Period, the people of the time had already regarded "taking the moose" as a symbol of gaining advantage. In Ziyu's dream, the river god promised to give him Meng Zhu's elk, which most likely implies that Ziyu can gain an advantage in the war. To sum up, the "moose of Meng Zhu" in the biography of the 28th year of the reign of Zuo Chuan and the 28th year of the reign of the Emperor should be consistent with the brief text of Chapter 11 of the "Year of the Dynasty" (No. 57), which can be understood as the elk in the waters of Mengzhu.
The function and cultural significance of the elk during the fortnight
Through the above analysis, it can be seen that the elk given to Ziyu Mengzhu by the river god in Zuo Chuan is regarded as a metaphor for the victory of the Chu State over the Song State, which shows that the elk is a representative of the local product. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the elk population was huge, widely distributed in the Yangtze River, Huai River and Yellow River basins. However, since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the number of elk has tended to decrease due to changes in the ecological environment and large-scale hunting by humans. Tan Bangjie "China's Rare Birds and Beasts" cloud:
As the number of elk decreased, elk gradually became more valued, and the perception of elk changed in two weeks. At the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty, "elk" usually appeared in the literature as a hunting object, such as the "Yi Zhou Shu World Prisoner" recorded that Zhou Fansheng hunted: "Wuwang hunting, two out of twenty birds and tigers, two cats, five thousand two hundred and thirty-five moose, two out of ten rhinos, one out of seven hundred and twenty, one out of one hundred and fifty bears, eight out of one hundred and ten, two out of three hundred and fifty pigs, eight out of ten raccoon dogs, six out of ten deer, fifty musk deer, thirty out of three, and eight out of three thousand five hundred deer." ”
The number of elk in the hunt of King Wu is the largest, which shows the huge elk population during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. During this period, elk have become extremely common prey in hunting activities. In the Spring and Autumn Period, elk as a hunting object is still common, Shiguwen "Tianche Poem" "Xiugong Temple (to be shot), elk pig Kongshu", depicts the early Spring and Autumn period of the Qin nobles when the number of elk, wild boar flourished.
During this period, the value of elk was also valued by the people of the time, such as the "Chinese Lu Yushang" recorded the historical events of Dafu Li Ge admonishing Xuan Gong to protect the mountains: "Xuan Gong Xia was indiscriminate in Siyuan, and Li Ge broke it off and abandoned it, saying: '...... Fushan does not tillers, Ze does not cut down, fish forbidden, beasts grow elk, bird wing eggs, insect beaks, Fan Shu things, ancient training also. Today, the fish don't get pregnant, don't teach the fish to grow, and do the net, and be greedy and artistic. Li Ge cited the "ancient motto" of "growing its moose and cultivating its things", and advised Lu Gong to fish and hunt and protect the mountains.
In other words, the elk has been regarded as a natural resource that needs to be protected, and it is representative of the mountain mammals. In addition, in order to protect the elk as a hunting resource, the Spring and Autumn Period countries established gardens with different names to shelter the elk. It can be seen that in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, the elk has been valued by the aristocracy.
"The Twelfth Year of Xuan Gong" contains: "Jin Bao Hui was the follower, so that Uncle Regent offered moose, saying: 'When the year is not right, the sacrifice of birds has not arrived, and those who dare to eat all the servants. According to the "Zhou Li, Tianguan Tsukazai" recorded in the position of the orc, "take charge of the beast and identify its name." Wolves in winter, elk in summer, and beasts in spring and autumn", which coincides with Uncle Se's so-called "non-time of the year".
This shows that in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a series of etiquette systems that stipulate how to use elk products have been formed. Elk leather is also used in the production of Yahou in the archery, "Rites and Manners" contains: "Fan Hou, the Son of Heaven Xiong Hou, white matter; Princes of Elk, red; Doctor Buhou, painted with tigers and leopards; Shibuhou, painted with a deer pig. "Zhou Li, Tianguan Tsukazai" contains Si Qiu: "Wang Da shot, then a total of tiger marquis, bear marquis, leopard marquis, set its hooves; The princes are the bear marquis and the leopard marquis; The secretary and the doctor are all set up with their hooves. "Obviously, the use of elk fur is related to the level setting of the salute Yahou.
"Etiquette and Feeding Ceremony" cloud: "The priest raises fish and wax, and the fish has five out of ten and tripods, and the wax is pure and tripod, and the wax is used with moose." These materials contained in the Book of Rites show that elk and its products have been widely integrated into many ceremonial activities such as the contributions of the Zhou people, feasts, and archery, and that the contributions of elk are time-prescribed, and that elk archery targets (elk marquis) correspond to the corresponding noble rank in the archery. The elk had an important place in the ceremonial use of the aristocracy.
During the Warring States Period, the idea of protecting elk as a hunting resource was further developed, as stated in "Guanzi Guozun":
"Establish a prayer to consolidate the mountains, set up weapons to make all things, the world is beneficial, and carefully exercise. Tongshan exhausts Ze, Yili fights the stream, goes out of the mountain gold coins, stores the mound, and stands up to the people. The soil of the vegetables is not born of the grains, and the land of elk, cattle and horses. The spring and autumn endowment kills the old, and the five grains are guarded. This is useless and the people's gains, and the number of the five families is used up and not exhausted. ”
The ideas it reflects to protect the mountains, "use it without exhausting it", and let the elk, cattle and horses keep their land are in the same vein as the words of Lige contained in the Chinese. Due to the decline in the number of elk during the Warring States period, the aristocracy of various countries continued the habit of raising elk in gardens and courtyards, and elk began to be regarded as "rare" and protected. In the state of Qi, King Xuan of Qi set up a confinement of forty li, and strictly forbade the killing of elk: "(Mencius) said: '...... The minister heard that there was a confinement of forty miles in the suburbs, and the one who killed his elk was guilty of murder. It is forty miles square, and it is well in the middle of the country. The people think it's big, isn't it also appropriate? ’”
The nobles of the Chu State also raised elk in the courtyard, such as "Chu Ci, Nine Songs, Lady Xiang": "How can the elk eat in the court? What is Jiao's descendant? "It is a reflection of this situation. And in the Wei State at the end of the Warring States Period: "From the Lin Township Army to the present, Qin Qi attacked Wei, five into the prison, the border city was pulled out, Wentai fell, the capital was burned, the forest fell, the elk was exhausted, and the country was encircled." It shows that the Wei State also set up a garden near the national capital Daliang to raise elk, and the "Historical Records" recorded the loss of its elk, which shows that the Wei people also regarded the elk as a treasure.
In the two-week era, the elk was valued by the Zhou people as a hunting resource and a rare property, and was widely used in ceremonial use, and its cultural connotation in the eyes of the people of the time also experienced enrichment and development. From the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the abundance of the population, the elk was only recorded as a common beast or a beast that caused disasters. By the middle of spring and autumn, elk became a valuable resource for all countries, and the "taking elk" and "offering elk" between the warring sides began to have the political significance of victory or submission.
After the Warring States period, the number of elk decreased sharply, and in the works of the Warring States Princes, the elk is regarded as a primitive and barbaric beast on the one hand, and often appears in the recounting of ancient times; On the other hand, it has become a symbol of tranquil nature. In addition, the Chu people who worship witches and believe in ghosts also brought the image of the elk into the world of the deceased, and in the tombs of the Chu nobles in the Warring States Period, the bones of the elk and the tomb beasts decorated with elk antlers and the tiger seat birds were widely found, indicating that in the concept of the Chu people in the Warring States Period, the elk and the antlers have obtained the special connotation of driving away evil and warding off evil spirits and protecting the dead.