英文摘要 |
This research is a context analysis on The Elegant Eunuch (Ts’ui-ya lou) from Li Yu’s Twelve Towers, validated with the theory Simone de Beauvoir represented in The Second Sex that sex bears no relation to gender, investigating the characteristics formation and cultural implication of "xiao guan", or male prostitutes, in the Ming dynasty. It turns out that collective consciousness poses a profound impact on the development of xiao guan’s self-recognition, in which male prostitutes form the perception of their gender and social status as well. In The Elegant Eunuch, Li Yu regards the camaraderie between xiao guan and their clients as sincere affection, in contrast to the merely sensual pleasure in a section of magnates. Furthermore, this relationship is recognized by Confucianism because it doesn’t sabotage the marriage or the genealogy system. Simone de Beauvoir’s viewpoint on sexuality clarifies the xiao guan phenomena-a consequence under the demand and imagination of collective consciousness-in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. |