《周易》禁忌思維研究

Abstract

本論文援用人類學的禁忌概念，來解析《周易》透過筮卦吉凶指出的危險力量所在，及其背後運作的思維模式，並追蹤這些思維模式在後世的發展。《周易》文本中包含的禁忌，主要屬於禁忌體系下的預知系統，一般是將並非常態的人、事、物預設為禁忌對象，再藉由實施禁忌來降低風險；其中的自然禁忌反映了天人感應、萬物一體的宇宙觀，而人事禁忌則反映了標榜誠信的人際觀。而《周易》禁忌思維在後世的發展趨勢有二：一是與公眾領域相關的禁忌傾向消失，或轉化為禮儀、法律，相關思維中的神秘性質消退，轉以人文需求為主，少數禁忌的神秘性質增加且朝系統化理論發展，轉化為宗教；二是與私人領域相關的禁忌，儘管實際操作方式會隨時代、地域而調整，其核心思維仍保持一貫，如對個人未來的不確定感，與對超越人類力量事物的崇拜，依然在當代社會中持續不輟。

This research uses the taboo concept from anthropology to analyze the where the dangerous powers exist indicated by milfoil divination in Zhou Yi, discuss the thinking modes beneath the divination, and trace the development of the thinking modes in later ages. The taboos in Zhou Yi, mostly belong to the presage part under the taboo system, that pre-establish unusual people and things as taboo objects in general, and then reduce risks by putting taboos into practice. The natural taboos in Zhou Yi reflect interactions between heaven and mankind, as well as the unity of all things in the universe; meanwhile, the human taboos in Zhou Yi reflect the interpersonal value of “honesty first.” And the development trends of the taboo thinking in Zhou Yi in later ages include two aspects. First, the taboos in public field tended to disappear, or turned into rites and laws, their mystery faded away, dominated by human demand instead, but the mystery of minor taboos increased and systematized, turned into religions finally. Second, the inner thinking of taboos in private field tends to hold on even though the performance of taboos would differ from age and region, like the sense of uncertainty for personal future, and the worship for the things beyond human power, still last in modern society.