提 要：“方”字的本意是“并”，其字形似并在一起的两只船，字义可能由于测绘工具“矩”而引申为方形、方向。而“方内”和“方外”则是人们世界认知中的两个截然不同的所在。“鬼方”是商周时期对西北地区部落的称谓，这一称谓的意思应当是“众鬼聚居之地”，这多少与“方外”为鬼神居住之地的观念有关。先秦两汉时期对西北地方居住的部落的称谓还有昆夷、猃狁、獯鬻、匈奴，以及王莽改称的“降奴”等，而称谓的改变折射出的是时人对“方外”世界认知的转变过程。

关键词：方外；规矩；鬼方；降奴；北方；鬼物

Title: The Conception of Fangwai in the Pre-Qin and Han Periods

Author:Dong Tao, Ph.D. Candidate, History Department, Beijing University, 100871, Beijing, China.

Abstract: The characterfang(方), originally means "putting together", later commonly refers to square. The termfangnei(方内) refers to the center area, while the termfangwai(方外) refers to outside areas. The termGuifang(鬼方) is the name to call the tribes in the Northwest by the people of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, which actually means "the ghost inhabited land". Other names used to call the tribes from the Northwest include Kunyi(昆夷), Xianyun（猃狁）, Xunyu(獯鬻), and Huns in the Pre Qin and Han era.The change of ways of referencereflects people’s way of cognition offangwai.

Key words:Fangwai;Guifang; Northwest; Pre-Qin and Han dynasties