描述：This study is an attempt to apply psychoanalytic literary criticism to the analysis of classical Chinese literature. In particular, it hopes to modify post-Freudian structural theory to explain the psychic of late Ming literati. Through a study of Tang Xianzu’s Yumingtang Simeng (Four Dreams), I hope to outline his construction of the self by looking at the egoic discourses in these plays. I argue that two distinct images of the self can be discerned, namely: that of the scholar (xueren) who seeks self-perfection, and that of the muse (ciren) who seeks flamboyance. The inner structure of Four Dreams can be revealed by an application of this dualism to show how Tang’s thoughts were affected by late Ming syncretism, and how it relates to modern ideas of value-pluralism.