英文摘要 |
Ye Xiaowan (葉小紈) Yuan Yang Meng (鴛鴦夢) plays a significant role in the history of dramas by women. Its plot idea, character archetypes, and feminist consciousness have been explored in previous studies. However, some issues remain; for example, why did Ye Xiaowan write Yuan Yang Meng, the Shen and Ye families' first and only drama by a female playwright, four years after the passing of her sisters? Ye wrote this drama, instead of an elegy, to express her lament for her sisters, and it became the only drama in her family's collected writings Wu Meng Tang Ji (午夢堂集). What did Ye wish to express by creating this drama in the form of Dutuoju (度脫劇) of the Yuan dynasty? What style did she present? From the perspective of the literati in the late Ming dynasty towards dramas by women, this study re-examines the writing motivation, publication support, plot structure, and text meanings of Yuan Yang Meng. It is found that the writing motivation and publication support indicated the Shen and Ye families' efforts to elevate the status of female playwrights in the history of dramas. The form of Dutuoju and the deliverance and immortalization of Ye's sisters not only pointed out Ye's belief but also avoided doubts and criticism of her contemporaries. Ye's female point of view and sentiments have produced new meanings through a reinterpretation of traditional Dutuoju's symbols and cultural codes. |