《晏子春秋》「食魚無反」解－兼論先秦「毋反魚肉」之禮儀

The work Yanzi chunqiu 晏子春秋 (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan) includes the explanations on "shi yu wu fan, wu cheng numa" 食魚無反，勿乘駑馬 (lit. "when eating fish, do not turn it over, and do not ride the inferior horse") by Duke Jing of Qi 齊景公 (?-490 BCE) and Yan Ying 晏嬰 (Yanzi, ?-ca. 500 BCE) in a question-and-answer format. In the past, scholars have largely used "do not turn the fish over" or "do not eat the reverse side of the fish" to understand the term "wu fan." This article argues, however, that "shi yu wu fan" must be understood within the contexts of the interactions between the ruler and his ministers as well as of pre-Qin rites and etiquette. Specifically, the expression should be related to "e qi sao"惡其鱢 ("rotten and fetid") and "wu jin minli" 毋盡民力 ("do not exhaust the efforts of the people"). "Shi yu wu fan" thus means not to place the leftover fish back onto utensils shared with others, so as not to contaminate the food and affect the health of others, mirroring "wu fan yurou" 毋反魚肉 (lit. "do not turn the fish over") from the Book of Rites 禮記. Duke Jing of Qi approached the expression from a simplistic viewpoint, believing that turning the fish over would cause the food to expire, so Yan Ying used the matter to reason with and remind the Duke to cherish materials and human resources.