Abstract: At present, the discussion of the elephant in the academic circle mainly focuses on the field of ecology or history, and more concerns are given to the relationship between the environmental changes and the changes of elephants, and the relationship between humans and elephants in the historical period. The cultural studies mostly discuss the cultural meaning of elephants in a certain period, but less on the overall study of the cultural implication of the ancient Chinese elephants. The elephants, having existed in ancient China, are closely related to the production and life of the ancestors, and given various symbolic meanings in the historical process. Therefore, we should pay attention to the discussion of the cultural connotation of elephants. As elephants are widely involved in human social activities, it is an effective way to explore the cultural connotation of elephants from the perspectives of politics, religion and folklore.

Key words: political moral, religious metaphor, folk beliefs

摘要： 目前学界对大象的探讨主要集中于生态学或历史学领域，多关注环境变化与大象变迁的关系、历史时期内人象关系等问题；文化学的研究大多讨论某一时期大象的文化涵义，较少对中国古代大象文化意蕴的整体研究。在中国古代，大象与人们的生产生活密切相关，并且在历史进程中被赋予了各种象征寓意，因此应重视对大象文化内涵的探讨。由于大象广泛参与人们的社会活动，从政治、宗教、民俗等角度探讨大象的文化内涵不失为一条有效路径。

关键词: 政治寓意, 宗教譬喻, 民俗信仰