〈陌上桑〉羅敷「以禮自防」探微

Observing the Ritual Code of Behavior: A Study on Luo Fu in the Poem ＂Mo Shang Sang＂

姚道生(Yiu To Sang)

《中國文化研究所學報》 新6期 (1997/01) Pp. 519-534

https://doi.org/10.29708/JCS.CUHK.199701_(6).0024

並列摘要

＂Mo Shang Sang 陌上桑 is a popular poem but it has been subjected to a wide range of interpretations by readers of the past and present. Contemporary readers regard the main character of the poem, Luo Fu 羅敷 as an anti-oppression working woman. However, critics of the past saw her as a woman faithful to socioethic convention. This essay attempts to look at the literary image of the ＂mulberry picking woman” 採桑女 from the historical perspective, from the pre-Qin to the Han dynasty. In this process, it was revealed that the Han people used a specific structured mode of expressions to convey the moral demands on woman. These demands coincide with the ethic-political thinking of the Han dynasty. ＂Mo Shang Sang＂ is merely a reflection of these thoughts.