“礼”字字源考辨——兼论从“豊”到“禮”的演变与文化意蕴

A Study on the Etymology of the Character “Rites”—On the Evolution from “Feng” to “Li” and Its Cultural Connotations

摘要: 本文通过对“礼”字进行字源考辨，并辨析其早期字形“豊”与“豐”之间的区别与关联。通过对甲骨文、金文及简帛文字等出土文献资料的梳理，可以发现“礼”字最早形态为“豊”，“豐”与“豊”音近形似，为同源字，至《说文》小篆时期，“豊”与“豐”已分化为二字，而“礼”字则在秦汉之际由“豊”添加“示”旁最终定型，成为制度与文化的上层概念。本文认为，厘清“豊”与“豐”的字源关系，对于理解“礼”从具体祭祀行为到社会规范的语义演变，具有重要的训诂学与思想史意义。

Abstract: This article conducts an etymological examination of the and distinguishes the differences and connections between its early forms “豊” and “豐”. Through the review of unearthed literature materials such as oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, and bamboo and silk texts, it can be found that the earliest form of the character “礼” was “豊”, and “豐”and “豊” are phonetically similar and have similar shapes, being cognate characters. By the time of the Small Seal script in “Shuowen Jiezi”, “豊” and “豐” had already differentiated into two characters, and the character “礼” was finally formed by adding the “示” radical to “豊” during the Qin and Han periods, becoming an upper-level concept of system and culture. This article holds that clarifying the etymological relationship between “豊” and “豐” is of significant philological and intellectual historical significance for understanding the semantic evolution of “礼” from specific sacrificial behaviors to social norms.