Why does the god have a cup in his hand?

Abstract

In my analysis of the Ahiram Sarcophagus I focus on the figurative expression in connection with the sitting deity at one side of the sarcophagus. The drinking vessel in the hand of the deity is an expression belonging to the sphere of the cultic. It is very likely that the deity's holding the drinking vessel should be interpreted as a religious epithet. Without necessarily being tautological the expression could mean the deity is divine. Apparently, however, this phrase gets a more profound meaning when the drinking vessel is seen in the cultic context. The more so as the figure with the drinking vessel carries the meaning of a ritual act. One question could be why is a drinking vessel divine? It appears that information about the liquid sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible and its surrounding cultural world, especially the Anatolian, can contribute to answering this question. Recalling a hidden motive, the comparative ritualistic approach makes possible a better‐informed interpretation of the sarcophagus.     

清代及民国时期西藏地方的丹达神崇拜

本对丹达神崇拜的产生、发展、衰落过程作了考述。认为丹达神源于清乾隆十八年入藏的云南参军彭元辰殉职于丹达山。后这一崇拜为清朝倡导,遂向拉萨、成都及康藏交通线传播;至辛亥革命位于拉萨和成都的丹达神庙才逐渐废弃,而边坝的神庙香火一直持续到20世纪30年代中期。     

中国祆教艺术中的犬神形象

琐罗亚斯德教(Zoroastrianism)教徒对犬具有特殊的感情,在他们的日常生活和宗教礼仪中,犬都占据着重要的地位。本文以国内最新发现的祆教考古材料为基础,集中讨论了古代祆教艺术中的犬神形象。作者将祆教犬神形象分成三秧:普通犬神、带翼犬神、森穆夫或犬首鸟,对流传中国的祆教犬神形象进行了梳理,期望对研究祆教文化的传播、交流有所补益。     

THE ‘LORD OF THE STONEMASONS’: PART II. ‘STANDING FIGURE WITH BETYLS’ AT PETRA

Abstract

This paper presents the second type of representation of the ‘lord’ of the Nabataean stonemasons, a male figure standing with betyls. This type is found in five rock-cut reliefs in Petra, usually high in the walls of quarries or monuments. It is argued that, like the so-called ‘sword deity’ figures presented in Part I, this second type was also carved by the stonemasons as another representation of their tutelary deity, possibly Dushara. Study of these little-known figures reveals new information on the diverse depiction of Nabataean deities, as well as on the religious beliefs of the stonemasons at Petra.     

Siyāvoš as a Vegetation Deity

Because of annual communal lamentations dedicated to Siyāvo?, he is considered to be a unique character among heroes of the ?āhnāmeh. The elements of the rituals revolving around Siyāvo? are compatible to those of vegetation deities in some other religions. Of particular interest is the cycle of birth-death-rebirth of vegetation deity that takes place according to a specific sequence of events. In the present article, the author attempts to trace conformities and nonconformities in the Siyāvo? tale as described in the ?āhnāmeh and correlates them with the life-death-rebirth cycle of vegetation deity.     

巩县石窟寺双面人像浅析

巩县石窟寺双面人像,题材新颖,造型独特,为全国各石窟雕刻中所仅见。目前,学界对双面人像的研究还不够深入,关于其名称和来历问题尚不明确。本文依据佛教经典的记载,结合雕像分析,进而认定双面人像即为鬼子母神。并指出,鬼子母故事题材在石窟中是作为《法华经》方便说法思想意图表现的,意在宣扬大乘佛法。     

良渚文化玉琮及相关纹饰的文化隐喻

良渚文化中一种典型、奇特,且颇具神秘色彩的器物——玉琮,长久以来一直受到研究者们的关注。迄今为止,关于它的研究文章,数量已经相当之多。有关玉琮的研究,一般集中于其形制、纹饰、源流、年代、功能、工艺等方面,观点多样,迄无定论。笔者近来对玉琮也略有思考,发现玉琮的形制、神人     

“If I were hungry,I would not tell you” (Ps 50, 12): Perspectives on the Care and Feeding of the Gods in the Hebrew Bible

Abstract

In the Hebrew Bible, sacrifices are described as food for Yahweh and thus the sacrificial system corresponds with the general Ancient Near Eastern system of the “care and feeding of the gods” At the same time, human-divine commensality is problematized in narrative texts such as Judges 6 and 13, where the burnt offering is stressed as the only and necessarily different way the deity may consume food. Finally, some passages, such as Psalm 50, quoted above, explicitly reject the notion that sacrifices and offerings should be required as sustenance for Yahweh since he is the creator and owner of the world and everything in it.

This article offers a survey of various views on sacrifice as food for the deity in the Hebrew Bible and discusses these views in their Ancient Near Eastern context. It is suggested that the main understanding of sacrifice as meal in the Hebrew Bible is one that emphasizes difference through commensality and stresses the incompatibility of the human and the divine sphere through the social locus of the meal.     

THE ‘LORD OF THE STONEMASONS’: PART I. THE ‘SWORD DEITY’ AT PETRA

Abstract

During the 2000 Season of the Brown University excavations of the so-called Great Temple at Petra, an elusive rock-cut figure (termed the ‘Sword Deity’) was discovered in the southern perimeter wall. Since then, the current authors have identified other such figures as belonging to this previously unknown type, which has similarities with the Greek herm. Based on a contextual analysis of these figures, it is proposed that the type may depict a protective deity or ‘lord’ of the Nabataean stonemasons, most likely Dushara. According to this interpretation, the stonemasons sought divine protection during their work by carving the image of the deity high in the rock faces. This paper sheds new light not only on the representation of Nabataean deities, but also on the role of religion in the daily life of the inhabitants of Petra and their relationship with the natural environment.     

“颂”字本义新考

“颂”是会意字。本义为人屈膝低首恭顺地用语言与神灵沟通。指称范围扩大后,指一般的外表仪态。又因为同音假借,有了“容纳”的含义,基于此,东汉学者对“颂”字的解释与先秦相比有差异。后代有学者认为“颂”是“诵”的后起替代者,这不正确。“颂”字的基本内涵,是下对上的衷心称美赞扬,在上古文化背景下,其指向,是当时人们心目中的最高者:神明。     

良渚文化礼仪用玉的文化特征

良渚文化是中国新石器时代长江下游地区的一种重要的考古文化类型 ,以出土大量制作精美的玉器而闻名 ,尤以大型玉制礼器著称。礼器 ,通常指用于祭祀、丧葬、宴飨、朝聘、婚冠等礼仪活动的各类器物。考古研究发现 ,礼器的应用于新石器时代就已出现 ,不过当时只用于祭祀和丧葬等活动。玉制礼器的产生大约在距今 6 0 0 0至距今4 0 0 0年间 ,多发现于辽河流域的红山文化 ,黄河流域的大汶口、龙山文化、长江下游的良渚文化中。其中良渚文化礼仪用玉尤为典型。它们大部分出土于浙江反山、瑶山、上海福泉山、江苏武进寺墩、新沂花厅、赵陵山等遗址…     

紫禁城太和殿所供符板及其宗教思想研究

太和殿顶棚上东、西、南、北、中五个方向上分别供奉着五块符板,每块符板上镌刻了佛教常见的经咒(陀罗尼)、咒牌和宫宅神王尊名以及道教七十二镇宅灵符,反映出清代宫廷佛道合一、汉藏佛教交融现象的普遍存在。本文在对每块符板上各部分内容作详尽的分析之后发现,五块符板组成了一个完整的以祈寿、镇宅、护国佑民为主旨的供奉思想。     

《满文大藏经》藏传佛教绘画——兼及尊神名号中的满文阿礼嘎礼字

《满文大藏经》是乾隆中晚年倡导的一项重要的文化工程。由于其长期深藏内宫寺院,鲜为人知,在学术界基本上还是一块处女地。本文首次对其中尊神名号给予确认,对其绘画内容及艺术风格加以研究论述。     

《诗经》之“田畯至喜”句再考

"馌彼南亩,田畯至喜"这一句子在《诗经》中出现了三次,从《毛传》开始,历代主要著述基本上都把"田畯"看作管田的官员,并在此基础上把"喜"理解为高兴、或者享用馔肴,这些理解不够全面。本文结合原诗上下文,在通过对相当数量的相关书籍资料考证的基础上,得出了"田畯至喜"是祭祀活动的一个重要环节,"田畯"是农神或者或者兼有传授农技职责的主祭人这样的结论。     

虞弘墓所谓“夫妇宴饮图”辨析

本文对虞弘墓图像中一幅学界一直认为是“夫妇宴饮图”的图像进行了辨析正名。作者列举了多件以“夫妇宴饮图”为主题的图像与虞弘墓这幅图像进行比对,通过男、女主人的排位原则考辨出虞墓图像的女主角不是虞弘夫人,又从其冠服特征、手持之物以及身旁二女伴的身份考定出她是一位天界神灵,即Daena女神。作者又进而指出,此幅图像的主题是表现墓主人灵魂进入天国后的美好情景。     

黑山会的故事:明清宦官政治与民间社会

关于明清时期宦官的研究 ,以往史学界多从政治史的角度入手 ,探讨宦官干政及其与皇权的关系。本文从黑山会这样一个宦官的祭祀组织出发 ,探讨他们塑造刚铁这样一个宦官祖神的意义 ,从新的角度理解宦官政治 ,并进而探索宦官与京师民间社会的关系 ,以及他们在宫廷与民间社会之间的中介角色     

妈祖文化与地理环境

妈祖(又称天妃、天后)及其妈祖文化,自诞生至今已千余年了,它作为中华民族文化的组成部分,源远流长,蕴含丰富。它涉及到中国的政治、经济、文化、航海、宗教、民俗、建筑等诸多方面,已有不少学者在上述方面对其进行研究。但从地理学角度来研究这个问题甚少。本文拟从地理学角度来研究妈祖文化,探讨她的形成、发展与地理环境的关系。     

善堂——中国、新加坡和马来西亚的慈善寺堂

论文分析了中国慈善组织产生和发展的历史背景;简述了潮汕地区、新加坡和马来西亚三地善堂的基本情况以及善堂的跨国往来及其对潮汕地区的影响,同时描述了地方精英、尤其是商人,为推动善堂在中国及东南亚发展所做出的贡献。认为处在不同政治环境中的善堂都能以各自独特的方式求得平稳运行。宗教性质增强了这些善堂的适应能力,而在需要强调其非迷信性质的时候,布善乐施的传统也有助于确立其世俗和慈善的形象。