符號全解與本文接受－論明清白蛇女符旨意蘊及隱寓的女教思想

白蛇傳是中國民間四大傳說之一，故事成型與傳播，主要在明清時期。白蛇女的形象塑造，隨時代不同，人物性格也多方轉變。本文以接受美學及符號學角度思考，考察白蛇傳在明清時期的接受鍊，聚焦於白蛇女角色，認為明代〈白娘子永鎮雷峰塔〉雖亦有道德教化的思想存在，然蛇妖符號在此仍是以追求情愛、解放情欲的意涵為符號底蘊，反傳統的白娘子形象，應是作為對立傳統婦女尊禮教、尚貞節的「符徵」而存在，是與父權文化下指斥的「妖」，達成從「符徵」到「符旨」的和諧比附。進入清代之後，白蛇傳文本在接受主體的美學詮釋下，白娘子由「妖」逐漸蛻變為「人」，雖深富人性，賢淑良善又深明大義，然明本中隱喻女性情欲覺醒的「妖性」卻漸趨式微，轉而代之以儒家社會中期待的賢婦賢母形象示之。爬梳明清兩代的白蛇傳文本，可發現一條由「情欲禁錮」到「情欲解放」，再至「道德教化」的文本接受鍊歷程；在此文本接受歷程中，也隱約展示出一條由「妖性」趨向「人性」再邁向「社會化」的儒家女教思想於其間。

關鍵字

白蛇傳；白蛇女；符號；接受美學；儒家女教思想

並列摘要

The Tale of the White Snake is one of four great Chinese folk legends. The formation and spread of the story mainly occurred during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and during this time the image of White Snake Woman has undergone many changes. This study examines the evolution of White Snake Woman in the Ming and Qing dynasties from the perspectives of aesthetics of reception and semiotics, and focuses on ＂White Snake Woman.＂ This paper argues that the ＂White Snake Woman＂ in the Ming Dynasty story, who actively pursues love and marriage, should be viewed as a rebellious symbol against the traditional women's emphasis on ethics and education and their advocacy of chastity. In the Qing dynasty, ＂White Snake Woman＂ took on the image of the virtuous woman and became the mother of Confucianism. The study of the Ming and Qing dynasties of the White Snake Story, shows the characters evolving from ＂the desire not awakened＂ into ＂the awakening of desire,＂ and then into ＂moral rigor.＂ Studying the tale of ＂White Snake Woman＂ in the Ming and Qing dynasties, we can find that the symbolic meaning of the character changes from ＂desire not awakened＂ to ＂awakening of desire＂ and then to ＂blocking of desire.＂ Looking at the texts of the White Snake in the Ming and Qing dynasties, we can find a text-accepting chain that evolves from lust to liberation and then to moral education. In this process of textual reception, the evolution is from ＂monstrous nature＂ to ＂human nature＂ and then to ＂socialization＂ into confucian ideas about female's education.