弓形器的發現與「和」鈴考證

The Discovery of the Bow-shaped Objects and the Research of the “Hé” Bells

在周朝禮制中，貴族子弟應學習六種基本才能，即禮、樂、射、御、書、數，統稱「六藝」。六藝中的「御」，也就是馭馬術，有五種類別，其中一種稱作「鳴和鸞」，西漢鄭玄注解「和」、「鸞」為大小相應的馬鈴，駕馭者須控制鸞與和相應的聲響節奏，以合乎周朝的馬車儀禮。在《周禮》中，鄭玄解釋了鸞、和的型制、功能與位置，卻無法說明鸞與和的實際樣貌。而今在考古實物中，也僅見鑾鈴卻不見和鈴，使五馭鳴和鸞之說令人費解。事實上，考古的車馬器裡，有一型制十分特別的「弓形器」，其貌似弓，兩翼皆有能發響之小鈴，發現的位置幾乎和車馬器同出，或在駕馭者的身邊，年代在商末至西周之間。對其功能學者有各種說法，目前多採用林澐「掛韁鉤」說，認為其弓型之設計，目的是方便馭者懸掛馬韁。其他觀點尚有「弓柲說」、「旂鈴說」，馬衡於其著作中曾簡要說明為和鈴，爾後「和鈴說」再無其他探討。本文從弓形器的考古發現與文獻相互佐證，認為弓形器兩側之鈴，即商周車馬器之和鈴，因有掛韁功能而貌似弓狀，證據在特殊的金鈴設置，使馬車行走時，御者能依聲響掌控速度，合乎周禮的要求。據此，弓形器與文獻所提鳴和鸞之和鈴，應同屬一物。

Rituals of the Zhou Dynasty require noble families’ male offspring to learn the six basic skills—rituals, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmetic—collectively, i.e. the “Six Arts”. One the Six Arts, “charioteering,” refers to the art of taming and harnessing the horses based on five ways, one of which being “ming hé luan,” or the concordance of the patter of the bells attached on the horse. According to the notes by Zheng Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty, “hé” and “luan” are bells of similar sizes. Drivers of the carriages must correspond the sounds and rhythm of these bells so as to comply with the etiquette of charioteering in the Zhou Dynasty. In the Rites of Zhou, Zheng Xuan explained the forms, shapes, function and placement of “hé” and “luan” bells, but failed to describe the actual images of them. Also, only the “luan” bells, but not the “hé” bells, have been unearthed from archeological sites, which makes it hard for people to understand what “ming hé luan” actually means. However, in fact, “bow-shaped objects” have been excavated among artifacts of chariots. Such bow-shaped objects’ distinctive features are similar to those of a bow, but have small bells on both sides of the wings. Most of the bow-shaped objects were found in the same places of the charioteering artifacts or beside the drivers of the chariots. Such objects were dated back between the end of the Shang dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty. Scholars have yet to agree on the functions of such objects, but the most prevalent explanation is that the bow-shaped objects served as hooks that could secure the reins of the horses, as proposed by Lin Yun. Other hypotheses believe that the object could be used as a guard for bows and arrows, or as bells that were attached to flags. Ma Heng briefly talked about the bow-shaped object being the “hé” bells in his book, but no other discussions have entertained this idea again. This essay asserts that the discovery of the bow-shaped objects and relevant literatures could corroborate each other to prove that the bow-shaped objects were the “hé” bells used in charioteering in the Zhou Dynasty. The bowshape of such objects came from its function of serving as the hook for the reins. On the other hand, the placement of the small bells on either side of the bow allows the driver of the carriages to control the speed according to the sounds to comply with the charioteering etiquette in the Zhou dynasty. Therefore, the bow-shaped objects should be the “hé” bells referred to in literatures as “ming hé luan.”