摘要
本文重新诠释了苏美尔史诗《恩美卡与阿拉塔之王》反映的苏美尔人的文字起源观,认为乌鲁克国王恩美卡不是发明文字的人,而是首先把楔形文字写在泥版上并首先将楔形文字泥版用于外交场合的人;苏美尔神话《伊楠娜与恩基》反映了苏美尔人的文字神造观;与此同时,《伊楠娜与恩基》也反映了苏美尔人对书写和书吏的定位:在苏美人看来,书写属于手工艺范畴,而书吏就是从事书写工艺的“书匠”,与木匠、铁匠无异。本文还认为,《恩美卡与阿拉塔之王》中的“钉子”(苏美尔语:gag,阿卡德语sikkatum)可能就是苏美尔人对楔文字形的概括,可能也是他们对楔文的称呼。
The present article re-nterprets the Sumerian view of the invention of writing by analysing relevant passages of the Sumerian epic known as Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta. The author argues that Enmerkar, the king of Uruk, who is generally regarded by modern scholars as the inventor of the cuneiform writing, is not the person who invented cuneiform writing, but the person who wrote, for the first time, the cuneiform writing on a clay tablet. He is also the first person to employ a written tablet for diplomatic purposes. In the minds of the Sumerians, as can be seen from the Sumerian myth Inanna and Enki, the cuneiform writing is of divine origin. In addition, the author argues that the Sumerian scribes had the same social status as the craftsmen and that the Sumerian word gag, 'nail', is the Sumerian description of the physical form of the cuneiform signs and that it is at the same time the Sumerian word for cuneiform writing.
出处
《世界历史》
CSSCI
北大核心
2007年第2期103-112,共10页
World History
