〈女曰雞鳴〉敘寫異詮

An Alternative Interpretation of the Poem “Says the Wife, ‘Cocks are Crowing’”

《詩經》有〈女曰雞鳴〉一篇，今人多視為婚姻幸福甜蜜之代表作，舊說則以為贊美詩中夫婦能相警戒或親賢友善。本文首先梳理其流變，以為今人之詮解不必插入第三人，結構誠較合理，然本詩卒章言及「贈佩」，行於男女間為婚前定情之儀節，若詩中士、女已為夫婦，婚後贈佩頗乏理由；若仍未婚，則前二章所敘之甜美生活何由而致，則不易詮解。本文以為前二章應為女子預想婚後之幸福生活，卒章則自陳表白之道，此架構可以避免上述兩難困境，至於士之身分及人稱轉換等相關問題，於文末另立專節討論，就若干細節予更清楚之闡釋，力求為〈女曰雞鳴〉一詩建構更合理之詮解架構，以為進一步探求詩人創作意旨之基礎。

The poem “Says the Wife, ‘Cocks are Crowing’” in the Classic of Poetry (Shijing) has previously been interpreted as praising a couple who encouraged and supported each other in their marriage. Nowadays, it is often regarded as a model for conveying the poetic imagery of a happy marriage. In contrast to this view, this article argues that the structural arrangement of the poem becomes more intelligible by removing the third-person perspective utilized in contemporary interpretations. In the final stanza of the poem, the gentleman’s gift of a piece of his girdle jade to the lady depicts a courtship ritual done before marriage. It would thus contravene established practice for the gentleman to perform the ritual if they were already married. It would moreover cause interpretive difficulties, particularly regarding the happy marriage described in the first two stanzas, if the poet had intended to simply depict a simple courtship. To solve this dilemma, it is claimed here that the first two stanzas of the poem should be read as describing the lady’s imagination of a happy marriage, and that the final stanza should be understood as her statement on how the gentleman should express his feelings to her. Other associated questions such as the identity of the gentleman and the shift between different perspectives are elaborated upon in the final part of the paper in an effort to construct a more reasonable structure for interpreting the poem and lay a solid foundation for a deeper exploration of the poet’s true intention.