從蚩尤的後裔到基督的選民－中國西南苗族神話的轉變與置換

近代以來，許多聚居於中國西南的苗族，特別是當中的知識份子，多以蚩尤這個神話中的英雄人物為族群的祖先，以有別於漢人以黃帝作為先祖的祖源神話。以蚩尤作為先祖的集體記憶之所以成形，其背後是苗族期待與漢人之間地位對等的想望，透過曾與黃帝在上古戰爭中分庭抗禮、平起平坐的神話，來描述我族也曾與漢人是對等的族群。雖然在漢人的古籍中，蚩尤是一個敗給黃帝的古君長，是一位「失敗的英雄」，但是，在近代苗族的歷史建構中，蚩尤卻是一個充滿英雄性格的領導者，也因此，蚩尤神話成為苗民族群認同中很重要的因素。另一方面，對於一個無論在歷史記憶與現世族群關係中都處於弱勢的苗族，基督信仰隨著外國勢力的到來，無疑是一種可以翻轉族群地位的助力。特別是當宣教師為他們創立文字、在地主與官長前為他們爭取利權，甚至從地主手中取得土地建立教堂，這些都服膺了苗族人內心期待英雄再臨的想望，與詹姆斯．斯科特（James C. Scott）所提及復興先知的出場情節若合符節，這些因素都成為蚩尤形象與基督拯救相互置換、融合的動力。本文擬從中國西南苗族的歷史記憶與祖源神話開始，探討在苗族族群中流傳的「失書」、「失地」與遷徙故事，從而呼應並探討近代文字創造、宣教師「牛皮換地」等傳說故事的產生背景。藉由基督教傳教歷史的發展，探討蚩尤這類英雄祖源的認同是如何與基督信仰進行綜攝（syncretism），並最終成為他們接受基督信仰的動力，以及試圖建立「苗族」族群認同的期盼。

關鍵字

蚩尤；基督宗教；中國西南苗族；祖源神話；亞魯王

並列摘要

In modern times, many Miao people who live in southwest China, especially the intellectuals, regarded Chiyou (蚩尤), a heroic figure in the myth, as the ancestor of them, which was different from the ancestral myth of the Han people, who took the Yellow Emperor (黃帝) as the ancestor. The formation of the historical memory with Chiyou as the ancestor reflects the desire of the Miao people to have equal status with the Han people, that is, through a myth and legend that once competed with the Yellow Emperor before and were equal to them. It was also a comparable ethnic group to the Han. Although in the ancient books of the Han people, Chiyou is an ancient emperor who was defeated by the Yellow Emperor and is a "failed hero". However, in the historical construction of the Miao people in modern times, Chiyou is a leading figure full of heroic character. Therefore, the heroic myth of Chiyou has become a significant factor in the identification of the Miao identity. For Miao/Hmong who is at a disadvantage both in historical memory and in the relationship between ethnic groups in the present, Christianity, with the arrival of foreign reinforcement, is undoubtedly help that can change the status of the ethnic group. Especially when the missionaries created script for them, fought for their rights before the landlords and officials, and even acquired land from the landlords to build churches, all these are the Miao people's expectations of the hero's return and it also fits with James Scott's reference to the appearance of the "Prophets of Renewal". These factors have become one of the motives for the mutual replacement of Chiyou's image and Christ's salvation. This article intends to start from the historical memory and ancestral myths of the Miao people in Southwest China, to explore the stories of "lost books", "land loss" and migrations among this ethnic group. And through the development of Christian missionaries' works in Southwest China, this paper explores how the identity of the ancestors of heroes such as Chiyou is syncretized with the Christian faith, and finally became the motive for them to accept Christianity and the expectation of trying to establish the ethnic identity.