詩語「崑崙」の誕生

Abstract

Mt. Kunlun 崑崙山 has appeared in ancient Chinese mythological works, including Shanhaijing 山海經, particularly in its chapters “Hainei-xi-jing” 海內西經 and “Dahuang-xi-jing” 大荒西經, wherein its form and produce are described in detail. Moreover, “Xi-ci-san-jing” 西次三經, another chapter of Shanhaijing, and Mu-tianzi-zhuan 穆天子傳, influenced by the Huangdi 黃帝 sect of Daojia 道家, presented a mystic image of the mountain, highlighting its other-worldly aspects that symbolized immortality. The intention of these ancient scriptures was to pass down the knowledge of Mt. Kunlun to future generations. In the verse form, specifically in works such as Chuci 楚辭 “Lisao” 離騷 and “Jiuzhang” 九章, Kunlun appeared as a place-name that deepened the sorrow for an unrealizable ideal, owing to its mystical atmosphere. Although these works merely cite Kunlun's name and do not discuss its form, we can sense the mystical atmosphere that the mountain represents. In the period of Han-Wudi 漢武帝, Kunlun became a place-name that was under the Emperor's authority; it also greatly influenced the subsequent literature. In the final years of the West Han period, Yang Xiong 揚雄 erased the image of sorrow associated with Kunlun in his works of Cifu 辭賦 and invented a new usage: he overlapped the emperor's palace or hunting field with the paradise in the mythical world. However, the description of Kunlun as a utopia in which the ideal was never realized, seen in, for example, the later Chuci songs, “Daren-fu” 大人賦 by Sima Xiangru 司馬相如, and “Sixuan-fu” 思玄賦 by Zhang Heng 張衡, was not passed down to subsequent Cifu, and eventually disappeared. Nevertheless, in the Jian'an 建安 era, Cao Zhi 曹植 revived the sorrowful image of Kunlun in his poems; he depicted Kunlun as a destination for escaping from the corrupt world and wandering far off, thus, introducing the poetic “Kunlun.”