图像的力量:秦始皇的模型宇宙及其影响

在过去的几十年中,精美的唐代釉陶塑像,如骆驼和仆从等,一直是收藏者和博物馆的珍宝。人们一直称赞它们是出色的雕塑品,但却甚少留意它们在墓葬背景下的功能。文章对秦始皇陵(d.210 B.C.)的检视揭示出其墓中的塑像其实是一个更大型、更复杂的结构与形象之中的一个组成部分。著名的兵马俑是秦始皇巧夺天工的陵墓的一个组成部分,其他部分还包括“真实的”人和动物、缩小的青铜战车、宫殿模型和天体图案。如果我们想了解这众多部分所组成的整体的目的,就必须考虑古代中国人是如何看待各类图像的。我们会发现,其实在古代中国人眼中,图像与它所表现的主体地位是平等的。籍由在青铜、陶瓷或图画中创造形象,古代中国人为死去的皇帝重现出一个宇宙。文章描述了用来理解图像的哲学概念并运用考古发现和文本材料对此进行论述。近期考古发现使人们可以重新估量中国墓葬中的模型明器,普遍认为这些图像的力量相当大。中国人从不收集陵墓中的塑像的原因是,在他们看来,这些塑像是死者真实的仆从和士兵。

The Power of Images: the Model Universe of the First Emperor and Its Legacy

Elaborately glazed pottery figures of camels and servants,dating to the Tang dynasty(AD618-907),had been much prized by collectors and museums over the last three quarters of a century.They have been readily admitted as a category of sculpture,but little attention has been paid to their functions within the tomb complex.An examination of the tomb of the First Emperor(d.210BC) reveals tomb figures as just one part of a large complex of structures and images.The famous terracotta warriors were an element in the elaborate burial of the Emperor,which also included 'real' people and animals,miniature bronze chariots,models of palaces and images of the heavenly bodies.If we are to understand the purposes of this complex of many different parts,we need to consider how the ancient Chinese viewed images of all categories.It would appear that in the eyes of the ancient Chinese,images were equivalent to the subject of the image.By creating images in bronze,pottery or in pictures,the ancient Chinese were preserving a universe for the dead Emperor.This article describes the philosophical concepts that informed this understanding of images and illustrates the discussion with archaeological finds and textual information.The archaeological discoveries of recent years have made a reassessment of Chinese tomb models necessary. The powers of these images were deemed to be considerable.The Chinese have never collected tomb figures because,in their view,such figures were the actual servants and soldiers of the dead.