本文提出「圖像的網絡」方法，從幾條線索分析得出以下結論：1. 易被誤為「食人」的饕餮母題，有完全與省略的表現方式，它是一從新石器到春秋時代的連續傳統。2. 商代的圖像有從饕餮母題到獸面紋的各種過度形式，顯示同一母題有多種「定格」。3. 當時器物的圖像中人面與獸面之間無邊界，且經常人鳥獸複合，說明它們表現「超自然存在體」。4. 本文作者認為饕餮母題與環太平洋文化動物分身母題間的圖像關聯密切，贊成以nahualism來解釋饕餮母題。5. 商代的饕餮母題繼承了龍山石家河文化層的宗教、技術與表現系統，選取饕餮母題，朝著視覺性最強的獸面紋發展，企圖展現商貴族的高人一等。西周早期由於政治情勢的需要，容忍了饕餮紋。到了恭王時代，周王朝進行禮制改革，禁絕饕餮紋，饕餮紋從此退出裝飾紋樣的世界。

The author proposes a “web of images” method for analyzing taotie and related images. By gathering and analyzing several clues from web of images, the author has come to the following conclusions: 1) Taotie is often misunderstood as “man-eating” images and it can be represented in a variety of ways from abrivated to complete images. These images continued from the late Neolithic age to the Spring-and-Autumn period. 2) Shang imageries include a spectrum of images from the taotie (alter-ego) motif to animal mask designs. They are all “fixed-frame” of the same shapeshifting motif. 3) There was no clear boundary between human and animal mask designs. Human figures were often hybrids of human, beasts and birds. They indicate that taotie imageries were depictions of “supernatural beings.” 4) The taotie motif images are closely related to alter-ego images from various cultures of the Pacific Ring. It is appropriate to use Central American nahualism to explain the taotie motif. 5) The taotie motif inherited religious, technical and representational systems from the Longshan— Shijiahe tradition. However, the Shang dynasty unified the originally diverse religious images, selected animal mask designs from taotie motif, and used them to promote the class status of Shang aristocrats. The Western Zhou dynasty tolerated Taotie designs due to political necessity. However, by the reign of King Gong, the Zhou dynasty reformed their ritual system, forbidding taotie. From that time on, taotie lost as significance from the pantheon of designs and ornamentations.

饕餮; 饕餮母題; 獸面紋; nahualism; 圖像的網絡

Taotie; Taotie Motif; Alter-ego Motif; Animal Mask Designs; Nahualism; Web of Images