想像「才女」：重啟「黃媛介」論述

Abstract

活躍於清初的才女黃媛介（c.1615－c.1668），一生遭逢各種特殊際遇。她嫁予不善營生又熱愛交遊的丈夫，因此必須透過擔任閨塾師與販售詩畫以扛起家計。同時，她又身遭明清易代，必須面對鼎革前後的政治與社會變革。就其婚姻而言，她為家庭、為丈夫而負擔家計的努力，於目的似乎合於婦德，卻又因跨越閨門等具體行為而悖離規範。就其易代經驗來說，她親身體驗的逃難歷險使她面臨「被劫」等危機，戰亂方歇後又得在凋敝的江南親執家計，更須面對明清變革下的政治認同問題。複雜的遭際使她總是難以定位，促成了頗具異質性的「黃媛介論述」。 本文認為，晚明至當代針對「黃媛介」這位境遇特殊的才女展開的各種論述，能夠揭顯不同時代對女性議題的價值立場，從而作為了解清初、清中葉、晚清、當代等各個時空切面的窗口；同時也得以藉此反思文獻檔案中的女性如何被呈現，進而探詢歷史上的女性究竟「可能」有怎樣的主體樣態。本文即就著「戰爭經驗與遺民認同」、「婦德規範與實踐困境」兩大「黃媛介論述」關注的議題，析論歷來關涉黃媛介的詩文、繪畫、學術論著等文本，爬梳不同論述成形的背景與過程，讓它們交相詰辯，從而反思其預設，以此呈現這位才女在數百年間如何被認識。 透過將「論述」視為特定時空背景的產物，並將各有差異乃至相互衝突的論述並置，本文期望參與歷來對「黃媛介」的討論，指認這位才女複雜而難以定位的主體，從而呈現活在古典中國的女性所「可能」具有的多元面貌。本文也欲就此反省五四新文化運動引入的現代性視域，如何簡化了古典中國女性文學。突破既有的「古典女性」框架，也就能夠展望這位才女或中國古典女性文學在當代可能生產的意義。

This thesis aims to explore various discourses on Huang Yuanjie (黃媛介, c.1615-c.1668) from late Ming period to the present, tracing the contexts and processes through which these discourses took shape and engaging them in critical dialogue. By interrogating the assumptions underlying these discourses, this study seeks to illuminate how Huang Yuanjie has been perceived over the course of several centuries. The discourses surrounding Huang Yuanjie not only reveal shifting values regarding gender across different periods, serving as lens into the socio-cultural landscapes of the early Qing, mid-Qing, late Qing, and contemporary time; but also prompts scholars to reconsider how women are represented in historical archives, thereby opening inquiries into the possible modes of female subjectivity in history. Huang Yuanjie’s life experiences were highly distinctive, leading to the formation of heterogeneous “discourses on Huang Yuanjie.” For this reason, she has been selected as a case study in this research. She was married to a husband who was neither capable of managing household finances nor restrained in his social engagements, forcing her to assume financial responsibility by working as a private tutor for women or selling poetry and paintings. At the same time, she lived through the Ming-Qing dynastic transition, confronting both the political and social upheavals that accompanied this transformation. In terms of her marriage, while her goal of supporting her family and husband conformed to ideals of feminine virtue, her actions, such as stepping beyond the domestic sphere, deviated from conventional norms. Regarding her experience of dynastic transition, she not only endured the perils of flight during wartime, facing threats such as abduction, but also had to personally manage her household’s economic survival in a devastated Jiangnan region after the war. Furthermore, she confronted the dilemmas of political identity brought about by the Ming-Qing transition. These complex and often contradictory circumstances made it difficult to categorize her, leading to divergent interpretations of this woman. This study thus examines two major themes that have shaped historical discourses on Huang Yuanjie: “war experience and loyalist identity” and “the tensions between social practices and feminine virtue.” Drawing on texts related with her such as poetry, paintings and academic discussions, this study critically analyzes how Huang Yuanjie has been represented across different historical periods. By treating discourses as products of specific historical contexts and placing differing, sometimes even conflicting, interpretations in conversation, this study seeks to contribute to ongoing discussions of Huang Yuanjie, emphasizing the complexity and indeterminacy of her subjectivity. In doing so, it highlights the multiple possibilities of female identity in classical China. Furthermore, this study critically reflects on how the modernist epistemology introduced by the May Fourth New Culture Movement has often simplified the literary culture of classical Chinese women. Finally, it considers the contemporary significance of Huang Yuanjie and classical Chinese women's literature, exploring new ways of understanding their legacy in the present day.