This article examines a section in the Shuihudi 睡虎地 Rishu 日書 (Daybooks) entitled “Horses” (ma 馬) which describes the instructions for the performance of a ritual to propitiate a horse spirit. The text is one of the earliest transmitted ritual liturgies involving the treatment of animals. It reveals a hitherto little known aspect of the role of animals in early Chinese religion; namely, the ritual worship of tutelary animal spirits and the performance of sacrifices for the benefit of animals. Furthermore, it corroborates the existence of magico-religious rituals involving the treatment of animals, and demonstrates that cultic worship of animal spirits, criticized by some masters of philosophy, was part of the religious practices of the elite in the late Warring States and early imperial period. The article presents an annotated translation of the “Horses” section, discusses its contents and significance in relation to equine imagery documented in received sources, and examines its value as a source for the perception of animals and animal ritual in late Warring States and early imperial China.

本文對出土於湖北雲夢睡虎地秦墓中的一部份題名爲״馬״之簡文進行了考察.《日書》״馬״篇記述秦人如何祭祀馬神並記錄了舉行馬祭時所使用的祝辭,爲現存涉及動物祭祀禮儀之有關文字中最早的一篇.秦簡״馬״篇爲揭示以前鮮爲人知的動物在中國早期宗敎中的地位,亦即動物守護神明崇拜以及舉行祭祀以使動物受益等方面提供了豐富的資料.同時也進一步證實了在戰國晚期和秦朝初年,那些曾被一些先秦思想家所抨擊的動物神崇拜以及在巫術/宗敎儀式中使用動物實乃上層社會日常宗敎活動中的一部份.本文將״馬״篇譯成英文並探討一些釋讀問題.此外還對比傳世古籍文獻中有關馬之資料來討論該篇之內容與意義,同時也對簡文在硏究戰國晚期,秦朝早期動物史及動物崇拜等方面所具有的重大史學價値進行了評估.