꿈의 주체와 해몽의 권위 — 殷代에서 戰國時代까지의 꿈 해석 권위의 변화와 분화

Abstract

In ancient China, dreams were not merely private experiences but served as symbolic instruments that mediated communication between humans and the divine. They functioned as oracular messages that legitimized political authority and structured the religious and ritual order. From the Shang to the Spring and Autumn periods, dreams recorded in transmitted texts primarily concerned kings and nobles, with their interpretations authorized through formal divinatory systems. In this context, dreaming was institutionalized as a political practice, and the authority to interpret dreams was tightly bound to one’s social status and ritual role. However, during and after the Warring States period, the scope of dream subjects and interpreters expanded, and dream interpretation gradually moved beyond elite control. The “Meng” (Dream) section of the Shuochujinmiao Bamboo Slips reveals this transition by presenting practical interpretations applied to dreams of individuals from various social strata, including women, laborers, and commoners. Here, dream interpretation is not mediated by priests or rulers but appears as accessible knowledge embedded in everyday life. Additionally, texts such as the Mozi, Liezi, and Zhuangzi illustrate a further shift in how dreams were conceptualized—from divine messages requiring ritual decoding to philosophical reflections or psychological expressions. This paper examines these shifts to trace the transformation of dream authority from a ritualized monopoly to a diversified, socially distributed practice. By doing so, it highlights how dream culture (meng wenhua) in early China mirrored and shaped evolving knowledge-power structures.