兩周婚姻關係中的「媵」與「媵器」──青銅器銘文中的性別、身分與角色研究之二

Marriage Practices (媵 Ying) and Dowry Objects (媵器 Yingqi) in Zhou Dynasty Marriage Relations -- Gender, Status, and Role in Bronze Inscriptions (Part Two)

本文從兩周有銘銅器著手，透過對大量青銅器銘文的過濾與分析，為兩周婚姻關係中的「媵」，包括「異姓媵」、「同姓媵」與「姪娣媵」，提出實例與見證。本文並配合文獻記載，對「媵制」和「媵器」的文化內涵作深一層的檢討，豐富先秦婚姻史研究的內容。本文同時對青銅器銘文研究中所謂的「媵器」，提出方法學上的討論，認為：一般所謂「媵器」是指銘文中有「媵」字的青銅器，稱為「狹義的媵器」，另有一類銘文中無「媵」字的青銅器，本文作者提出「從作器者和受器者的『國』與『姓』作判斷」，和「從共出器與出土地作判斷」兩個標準，可以作為判斷「廣義媵器」的操作依據。

This article, through a thorough examination of bronze inscriptions, investigates the marriage practices and dowry objects in the Western and Eastern Zhou, including marriages with brides of different clans (異性媵) and of the same clan (同姓媵); in latter case sometimes the relationship between brides is sisters or aunt and niece (姪娣媵). By taking into consideration the records in the transmitted texts, this article further re-examines the cultural connotation of the dowry objects and marriage practices and contributes to the research on the pre-Qin marriages. This study also provides a new methodology regarding the definition and attribution of the so-called ''dowry objects'' in bronze inscription research: by narrow definition, ''dowry objects'' generally refer to bronzes bearing the character ''ying 媵''in their inscriptions. For the bronzes lacking this character, I propose that whether they are dowry objects can be determined by two ways: a) the giver's and the recipient's state and clan names, and b) the site from which they come and the objects yielded from the same archaeological unit, which constitute the broader definition of ''dowry objects'' and facilitate the subsequent investigation of marriage practices.