The Question of Literariness in the Composition of Western Zhou Bronze Bell Inscriptions

論西周編鐘銘文的文學性質

顧永光(Joern Peter GRUNDMANN)

《饒宗頤國學院院刊》 7期 (2020/07) Pp. 115-151

摘要

The present article sets out to investigate whether it is possible to talk about verbal parallelism, such as rhyme and meter in early Chinese bronze inscriptions in terms of sound correlated figures of speech. The answer to this question depends on whether or not these audible patterns can be shown to fulfill an identifiable structuring function in shaping the texts' messages. Addressing this issue is important in so far as it bears some major clues on how bronze inscriptions were retrieved (i.e. read, recited, etc.) and understood during the time when their carriers were still in use. After discussing some disputed aspects concerning the nature and function of texts from early Chinese bronze inscriptions with regard to their ritual and material context, the present study proceeds with a detailed literary inquiry of the rhymed text inscribed on the late Western Zhou Guoji bian zhong 虢季編鐘 chime as a sample analysis.

關鍵字

Bronze inscriptions ； rhyme ； literary form ； literariness

並列摘要

本文旨在探討古代中國青銅器銘文中尾韻、韻律等排比現象能否視為一種文學修辭手法。這一問題的關鍵在於此類音韻格局是否有助於構造、顯示銘文裡所傳達的文本信息。金文押韻的現象，進一步牽涉到古代青銅器銘文在它們原有的歷史環境中如何被理解和運用，因此對此類問題的細緻考察便顯得極具價值。筆者首先將一些具有爭議性的關於青銅器銘文物質性和功能性的因素加以探討和釐清。接著本文以西周晚期虢季編鐘銘文為例，對該銘文進行全面的文學分析。

並列關鍵字

青銅器銘文 ； 押韻 ； 文體 ； 文學性