精怪的形象與人類心理有極大相關性,大部分傳說或志怪小說中的精怪之原型,都是以真實存在於自然界的動植物或各式人造器物為本,精怪可說是結合人類想像力與創造力而生的產物。本文選擇《太平廣記》中的「木怪」與「花卉怪」兩種類型的故事作為研究範圍,試圖歸納、證明角色形象與精怪原形之間是否存在固定的關聯性。論文構成方面,第一章為前言,說明古人對精怪的定義,第二、三章分別為對木怪與花卉怪之析論,第四章為結論,說明筆者在析論植物精怪過程中所觀察到的各種現象。本文寫作目的在於比較木怪、花卉怪在形象上的差異,以及它們與人類之間的關係,並探討精怪形象的產生,是否受其身為動、植物或器物原形之影響。
The image of monsters comes from people's fantasies. In the past, Chinese people's imagination transformed everything from nature into scary monsters. A lots of stories about Chinese monsters are recorded in -"Tai Ping Guang Chi"-. In this essay, all the vegetable monsters are taken from -"Tai Ping Guang Chi"-. The first part of this essay, collects information about wood monsters and flower monsters from ancient China. Wood and flower monsters are analyzed in chapter 2 and chapter 3 respectively. The relationship between human beings and these monsters is the focus of this essay.