漢文佛教文獻有關於中亞與北亞種族源流之異說兩種,以中古時期老子化胡與排佛之論爭為其背景,其一為塞種本允姓之戎,其二為李唐系出拓跋,皆他處所未見,甚為突兀、奇特。晚近頗有學者依據第一說而就上古中亞民族史多立新義,固為可喜,顧學者於道宣引文容有誤解乃至發揮太過之處,對產生此說之排佛背景復置之不論,欲據以推翻舊史(《左傳》、《後漢書》)所示允姓或屬於羌系民族之事實,而代之以允姓為伊朗人種之新說,似有未可。其第二說之關鍵,端在法琳「拓拔達闍,唐言李氏」一語,論李唐氏族之文雖夥,而此語自來未有索解之人。竊以為「李氏」應是「李虎」,以避唐諱,故作「李氏」。佛門文獻保留鮮卑語虎為「達闍」之珍貴資料,使吾人得以從阿爾泰語系民族命名學與薩滿習俗之角度,探討唐家天子尊崇老子背後可能存在的北亞文化因素。
Following an influx of foreign cultures as well as new interactions among various ethnic groups, Daoist-Buddhist debates in Mediaeval China also came to involve issues of ethnic origins. Two intriguing ethnic theories that emerged in the debates as quoted in Chinese Buddhist sources are:
(1) The Yun tribe (允姓) that once lived in Dunhuang were Sakas;
(2) The Li clan (李氏) that ruled the Tang Dynasty was of Tabγač origin.
While historians generally remain skeptical of theory (2), theory (1) has recently gained much favor among Chinese writers of the ancient history of Central Asia. This paper calls attention to the fact that scholars who support theory (1) have based their arguments on what is very likely to be a misreading of the text in question. For this reason, the hypothesis that the Yun tribe is of Tibetic (rather than Iranic) origin as suggested by earlier historical records such as the Zuozhuan 左傳 and Houhan shu 後漢書 should not be rashly discarded. On the other hand, this paper encourages further investigation and reflection on theory (2) by showing that it may very well contain a kernel of truth. Beginning with a thorough clarification of the hitherto uninterpreted quote 拓拔達闍唐言李氏 (“Taba Dazhe = Ch. Lishi”), this paper suggests that “Lishi” in the quote was intended to represent Li Hu 李虎 and that Dazhe (*Ta[r]ja) was the very Xianbei word for “tiger” in the Chinese transcription. This anthroponym was an instance of the onomastic practice that was hardly separable from the shamanic cult of the tiger among the Tungusic people. It is therefore not too surprising that the Li clan had chosen to worship Laozi instead of Buddhism, since Laozi’s alleged name Li Er 李耳 had long been connected with the tiger.
塞種 羌 鮮卑拓跋 老子 薩滿
Saka, Qiang (Tibetic), Tabγač, Laozi, shamanism