敦煌孟姜女变文与招魂祭祀

在敦煌变文、曲子词等俗文学写本中,孟姜女不仅是杞梁之妻,同时也是众多无祀亡魂的司祭者。敦煌伯希和5039号残卷变文中,长城下众髑髅与孟姜女的对话,既承接了自庄子以来的髑髅文学传统,也反映了唐代招魂祭祀、安抚孤魂的信仰习俗;变文末尾,孟姜女宣读了一篇具有通用文书性质的祭文,以酒食祭飨孤魂。"丈夫远征不归的悲哀"固然是孟姜女故事在唐代突变的时代背景,杞梁之类的孤魂救度也是推动故事传播变异的原动力之一。敦煌孟姜女变文是从招魂仪式向祭祀演剧进化的一种中间形态。孟姜女的祭司身份在乡村祭祀演剧中至今尚有遗存。

The Dunhuang Bianwen about Meng Jiangnu and the Sacrificial Rite for Evocation

In such hand-copied folk-literary books as Dunhuang bianwen(a popular form of narrative literature flourishing in the Tang Dynasty) and Dunhuang ci-poems,Meng Jiangnu was not only the wife of Qi Liang(an official living in the Qi Kingdom of the Spring and Autumn Period),but also the chief priestess in charge of the sacrificial rites for numerous dead people who received no sacrificial offer.In page 5,039 of the Dunhuang bianwen,the dialogue between the skulls of dead people under the Great Wall and Meng Jiangnu inherited the tradition of skull literature starting from Zhuangzi,and also reflected the beliefs and customs of sacrificial rituals in the Tang Dynasty for evocating and pacifying the lonely souls.At the end of the bianwen,Meng Jiangnu read aloud a sacrificial oration which was characteristic of a general official letter,and offered wine and food as sacrifice to the lonely souls.It was true that the sorrow of those husbands who failed to return home because of faraway expeditions was the result of the sudden change of Meng Jiangnu’s story in the Tang Dynasty,the expiation of such lonely souls as Qi Liang was one of the driving forces that promoted the dissemination and variation of Meng Jiangnu’s story.The Dunhuang bianwen about Meng Jiangnu served as an intermediate form evolving from an evocation rite to a sacrificial performance.The role Meng Jiangnu played as a priestess can still be seen now in the sacrificial performance in the rural areas.