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.
描述：本文以性別研究視野作為孟稱舜言情劇作研究的新切入點，透過分析相互關連的個案，重新審視孟氏劇作中「情」的意蘊及言情觀的發展。全文旨在從個人、社會、家國的視角審視孟稱舜戲曲如何寫「情」，並按照戲曲寫作的順序和體裁之脈絡，以文本細讀方式探討劇作。 本文的重點有二，第一是展現孟稱舜劇作的「情」在不同時期有不同的側重點：早期雜劇中對「真」的讚揚，至中期傳奇《嬌紅記》提倡情正，後期傳奇《二胥記》對誠的推崇，以至《貞文記》情與貞的一體兩面等。這顯示了作者寫情的層層深入與遞進。從晚明到清初，孟稱舜言情劇作的「情」在呼應湯顯祖之餘，其覆蓋的範圍更廣，從男女愛情延伸至歷史和家國層面，也展示了更複雜的寫情框架。第二是揭示孟稱舜戲曲如何繼承湯顯祖寫情的藝術手法，並表現了十七世紀明清戲曲文學對性別觀念的文化建構，尤見於後期傳奇對情與自我、身分、角色的思考。孟稱舜言情劇作敘寫男女人物的情感經驗，緊扣時代文化風潮，因而給予性別更豐富的詮釋空間，有別於一般只借女性角色寄託象徵意涵的方式。本文把孟稱舜戲曲置於繼承《牡丹亭》，下開《桃花扇》之間的過渡時期審視，透過突顯孟稱舜在明清戲曲史上承先啟後的重要貢獻，藉此重新評價其文學地位。 The thesis examines Meng Chengshun’s conception of qing [love; passion; sentiment] and traces the development of his views towards love and relationship over time as embedded in his romantic plays. Through analyzing the interrelations between texts under the perspective of gender studies, this thesis aims at giving a close reading of Meng’s plays in respect to the representation of “qing on personal, communal and national level in chronological order with modifications according to the genre of the texts. The study has two main points. First, it exhibits Meng’s different representations of “qing and their orientations in different periods. For instance, the early zaju dramas praises the quality of “truthfulness; in the middle period, the chuanqi dramas champions qingzheng; in the late period, Erxuji worships “zheng and Zhenwenji applauds the symbiosis of qing and chastity. The trajectory is evident of Meng’s growth of depth and intensity in the depiction of “qing. From late Ming to early Qing period, Meng’s plays do not only echo Tang Xianzu’s, they also sophisticate the framework of “qing and cover a broader scope, ranging from romantic love to aspects of history and nation. Second, the study reveals the way Meng’s plays inherit the aesthetics of qing of the Tang Xianzu and present the cultural constructs of gender roles of Ming and Qing plays in the seventeenth century, which are particularly prominent in the relation of “qing with self, identity and role, in the late chuanqi. The selected plays embody the cult of qing in Meng’s contemporary era in the portraits of romantic relations and their occupation with the romantic theme provides a greater room for gender reading. Meng’s representations of female characters distinguish from the common way of simply using them as symbols. In brief, the thesis places and examines Meng’s works in the transition period between Mudanting and Taohuashan. Through explicating Meng Chengshun’s significant role in the history of Ming and Qing plays as both a successor of traditions and forerunner of new ideas, this thesis sheds new light on the playwright’s literary achievement. Detailed summary in vernacular field only.