屈大均和他的妻妾

Qu Dajun and His Polygynous Relationships

Over the course of his married life, Qu Dajun produced substantial works about his spouses and children. This article is a case study of early Qing elite polygynous life and self-representation that uses Qu’s writing as a primary source. It demonstrates that, while he appeared to adhere to the rule of abstaining from taking a concubine until the age of forty for the purpose of procreation, polygyny was a vital and multi-purpose device that Qu used to fulfill his needs and desires to expand his prestigious ancestral line, satisfy sensual and sexual appetite, and enhance his bodily vitality through the arts of the bedchamber. The case points to the deeply seated ideal of a harmonious family that contained multiple spouses and many children. This ideal was integral to the Confucian family ideology Qu embraced, but it also was what defined happiness for Qu. The reality, however, was likely less sanguine than what Qu presented, and his desire for family harmony was likely complicated by a range of problems that were not limited to status hierarchy and competition among the concubines. In the Qu household, though, concubines appeared to enjoy close relationships with their children, inviting us to reexamine the assumption of weak ties between concubines and their children. 屈大均一生著述豐富，其中有關他妻妾孩子的作品為數不少。這些私人的記錄，為我們提供從微觀的男性個人視角，研究妻妾歷史現象的珍貴材料。本文根據他的詩文記載和線索，建構屈大均的婚娶、家庭、情感生活和自我再現。屈一生有九位女性成為他的妻妾。他一方面似乎遵從了四十無子方能娶妾的規範，但娶妾也是他追求享受和利用房中術延年益壽的工具。但更主要的是，他的婚娶行為，體現了他建築於儒家家庭觀念之上，以妻妾和子女成群為幸福的生活觀。然而，他書寫中期望展現的和諧大家庭，其實並不那麼和諧，其中原因，並不限於妻妾間的等級地位競爭。此外，屈大均的妾和其子女保持密切關係，此亦有助於未來我們重新檢視妾與所生子女關係的課題。