療疾、判案與悟道：明清自撰年譜中的夢兆經驗與異人遭遇

Curing Diseases, Solving Criminal Cases and Becoming Enlightened: Dreamscape Experiences and Strange Encounters in Ming and Qing Autobiographical Chronologies

披覽明清時期諸多自我表述的文獻﹐除了著眼文人為何書寫自我之外﹐更留意其存在處境倘遭逢認同危機時，如何透過文藝再現之多元形式，重構其存在意義、銘刻自我認同的領土疆界、勾勒期待的生命型態，從而確立其主體性與存在座標。本文獨鍾「另類」的自傳書寫──自撰年譜，作為探討的核心文獻，並由此留意到明清文人在回顧過往時，刻意寫入一生中特殊的夢兆經驗與異人遭遇。這意味著：說話者對於攸關未來的徵兆與預言，其應驗與否，具有高度的興趣，並且深信此中必然隱含生命奧義的玄機。這類「夢兆—夢驗」以及「異人預言—未來應驗」的敘述模式，係透過前因後果的敘述模式加以綰聯密合，再佐以嘖嘖稱奇烘襯，繼以闡論隱含之生命意蘊。無論虛實真假，研究者可由此察知文人面對「夢兆經驗」與「異人遭遇」的積極態度──亟欲透過自撰年譜之書寫，詮釋「徵兆」與「意義」兩端所飽含之諸多可能。本研究或可管窺豹斑地揭示，明清時期文人關切內在深度體悟的文化氛圍與時代基調。

Examining numerous first-person narrative texts from the Ming and Qing dynasties , this essay not only focuses on why and how the scholars wrote about themselves, but also focuses on the circumstances in which the authors faced their identity crises, how these circumstances were represented and reconstructed through diverse literary forms, and how the boundaries of their identities were inscribed, outlining their life aspirations and thereby establishing the coordinates of their subjective experience.
This essay takes as its central research focus an unconventional category of autobiography, autobiographical chronologies, with an eye on the ways in which Ming and Qing literati reflected upon past events and carefully recorded the particular dream experiences and encounters with strangers in their lives. The point is, these writings indicate a high level of interest in omens and portents and whether or not they came true, as well as a deep belief that these dreams and encounters conveyed hidden and profound mysteries of life. Regardless of the veracity of these accounts, through them the researcher can gain access to the earnest attitudes that literati had towards their dreams and encounters with strangers, and their intense desire to interpret their potential significance as they wrote their autobiographical chronologies. Through these texts, we can glimpse the deeper preoccupations and perceptions of Ming and Qing literati within the cultural atmosphere of the day.