著者

黒柳 恒男

出版者

The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan

雑誌

オリエント (ISSN:00305219)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.17, no.2, pp.87-100,184, 1974

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Jam-e Jam which means Jamshid's Cup, is one of the most traditional and favourite themes among the classical Persian poets. This Cup has been expressed in various names, such as Jam-e Kai Khosrou, Jam-e Jahan-numa, Jam-e Giti-numa, Jam-e Jahan-bin, Jam-e Alam-bin, Jam-e Jahan-ara, Jam-e Iskandar and Aine-ye Soleiman. Ferdousi, the greatest Persian epic poet, was the first one who used this Cup in his Shahname. He called it Jam-e Gitinumayi, which means the Cup representing the whole world, by which King Kai Khosrou found out the missing hero Bizhan. After this, this Cup was called Kai Khosrou's Cup until the twelfth century and many famous poets, such as Unsuri, Masud-e Sad-e Salman, Muizzi and Khaqani used this Cup in their poems in the traditional and mythical way.<br>But after the twelfth century, this Cup began to be called Jam-e Jam and was employed as a mode of Sufi expression. The famous Sufi poet Sanai interpreted this Cup for the first time as Sufi's pure heart in his Tariq al-Tahqiq. After him many Sufi poets, such as Attar and Sadi adopted his interpretation. This Cup found its highest expression in Hafiz's ghazals, in which he expressed this Cup in different ways and meanings. The true understanding of this term is regarded as an important key to appreciate his implicative poems.<br>In short, we may conclude from the use of Jam-e Jam in Persian literature that Persian poets who flourished in the Islamic periods were greatly influenced by their pre- Islamic traditions, wherein we make out the Persian cultural continuity and consistency.