在夢寐之間──中國古典醫學對於「夢與鬼交」與女性情欲的構想

Between Sleep and Dreams: Perceptions of ''Dreaming Sex with Demons'' and Female Sexual Frustration in Pre-modern Chinese Medicine

本文旨在分析中國古典醫學對於女性情欲及其與「夢與鬼交」的關聯性之構想，藉以凸顯疾病、醫療、性別與社會的關係。先秦兩漢醫學認為，所有夢象皆為「外邪」侵犯身體、刺激臟腑、擾亂魂魄的結果。所謂「夢接內」、「夢交」的發生，則尚需作夢者本身的「厥氣」或「虛勞」等條件的配合。六朝與隋唐由於受到道、釋思想的影響，醫者多主張「夢與鬼交」乃得自於「鬼魅」、「鬼邪」對人的侵擾或附身。「夢與鬼交」男女皆可發生。相較於男性的「夢與鬼交」常伴隨著對「失精」、「遺精」的焦慮不安，中國近世的醫者特別關注師尼、寡婦與室女的情欲問題，指稱她們可因性匱乏而「夢與鬼交」，同時暗示合法的婚配與性關係乃是藥物之外的最佳療法。明清時期有不少醫者力主「淫思」乃是師尼、寡婦與室女罹患「鬼交」病症的主因，並且常以打胎的方式幫助她們解決因「鬼交」而引發的「鬼胎」問題。上述醫學觀點與實作的轉變，實又與中國近世以來的社會變遷與價值走向，包括師尼形象的爭議性、寡婦改嫁的困難度、女性貞節的嚴格化、「情教」在江南地區的流行等，有密切的關係。藉由歷代醫論與近世醫案的分析，本文希冀呈現的，不只是「夢與鬼交」與婦女情欲在中國古典醫學裡的知識建構與歷史變遷，還有其與既定的社會條件和主流價值相互型塑、彼此滲透的關係。

This article is an attempt to survey the relationship between women's sexual dreams and their erotic thoughts in pre-modern China. It focuses on ''dreaming sex with demons'' (meng yu gui jiao), an illness represented throughout the history of imperial China. Early Chinese physicians and writers on medicine tended to regard dreams as indicators of attacks upon the body by ''(pathogenic) qi.'' In accordance with this view, dream images were interpreted as metaphors for the functioning of specific qi at certain parts of the body. For example, ''dreaming of sex'' was read as the result of ''deficient qi lodged in the genital organs.'' However, these naturalistic interpretations of dreams I sexual dreams changed over time, and other explanatory modes, ranging from ''depletion and consumption'' and ''demonic invasion'' to ''emotional pollution,'' served to complicate medical theories about dreams in medieval China. As these developments were taking place, Chinese physicians began to focus their attention on nuns, widows, and unmarried women-groups said to suffer from various maladies likely due to sexual frustration and erotic thoughts. The above conceptions of ''sexual dreams (with demons)'' and female sexual frustration were not combined until the late imperial period, when emotions became increasingly significant to the etiology of medical disorders. In certain cases, ''dreaming sex with demons'' was even pathologized as the cause of female infertility or false pregnancy─as demonstrated by the concept of ''demonic fetuses'' (guitai). By examining numerous historical sources and medical cases, the author hopes that this article will shed new light on the subjects of dreams, sex, and female madness in pre-modern Chinese medicine. In addition, the survey conducted in the article suggests that interactions between medical discourses and social values can help to explain why some medical and literary works shared similar attitudes towards cases of ''dreaming sex with demons,'' particularly in late imperial China.