中國蠶桑文化的女子定位——以嫘祖先蠶與女化蠶故事為觀察中心

The Role of Women in Chinese Sericulture: Based on The Texts of Lei-zu (嫘祖) and Silkworm Goddess (馬頭娘)

中國是世界最早的蠶織發明地，長達數千年的時間，絲綢包裹著古老中國的優美身影，而在那身影下隱然顯現的二個女子，一為始蠶的嫘祖，一為化蠶的馬頭娘。化蠶者是女子、始蠶者也是女子，這是在中國傳統的性別分工之下的自然語言，同時還寄寓著女子在中國的家庭結構與社會經濟的文化意涵，其中的關鍵字正是「婚姻」。本文經由文本探求以及典籍連結、禮俗觀察、民間故事、圖像內涵等面向，試著超脫以往對嫘祖與馬頭娘只是拘泥於神格方面的研究，而將目光放大到整個中國文化的層面。並認識到在中國長期的文化語境中，女子既是蠶桑生產的勞動者，同時也被同化為蠶的存在。始蠶的嫘祖、化蠶的馬頭娘，都指向每一個家庭中養蠶取絲的女子。

China is the origin of sericulture in the world. Through several thousand years, ancient China is wrapped in elegant silk .Under that are two females, one is Lei-zu (嫘祖) the first silkworm raiser, another is silkworm goddess (馬頭娘) the girl who transforms into a silkworm. By analyzing ancient records, folk customs, folktales and images of Chinese sericulture, we can see how important women are in Chinese family structure and social economy .The key word is “marriage”. Through marriage, women become important parts of their families. They carry family burdens by silkworm raising and weaving silk. Therefore the female is regarded as not only the silkworm raiser, but also silkworm itself. Every woman is Lei-zu (嫘祖) and silkworm goddess (馬頭娘) in family.