從性別發現傳統：明代婦女史研究的反思

Discovering Tradition through Gender: A Reflection on Women History Studies of the Ming Dynasty

林麗月(Li-Yueh Lin)

《近代中國婦女史研究》 13期 (2005/12) Pp. 1-26

https://doi.org/10.6352/mhwomen.200512.0001

摘要

近二十年來(1985-2005)臺灣地區的明代婦女史研究，從研究課題來看，有幾個值得注意的趨勢：一是節婦烈女與貞節觀念仍是學者關注的焦點，二是庶民婦女的探討顯著增加，三是婦女的經濟活動漸受注意，四是情色意識與情藝生活的討論備受矚目。雖然婦女節烈仍是不少研究的焦點，但也開拓了不少新議題，其中在「禮教」與「規範」之外開發出的新面向，應可說是對婦女生活史最具體可喜的擴展。
在史料運用方面，近年臺灣明代婦女史在研究取材上有相當顯著的擴充，小說、筆記、文集、契約、家訓等資料的應用蔚爲風氣，其中最突出的是，不少研究大量運用晚明小說中的女性人物及記述婦女生活的文獻，以補傳統官私史載之不足。史料豐贍與注重實證分析也是此地明代婦女史研究的一大特色。
從學術背景來看，本文提到的婦女史論著的作者絕大多數是「社會史」或「社會文化史」研究者，他們大多由社會史的關懷切入婦女議題，在研究方法上則重視多元史料的論證與社會文化的分析。嚴格地說，這些與明代婦女有關的研究只能說是傳統社會史的擴充，或是「新社會史」風尚的反映，一般而言比較缺乏鮮明的理論取向與性別意識。
值得注意的是，由於性別史學者對「五四傳統」的反省與近年來臺灣的社會文化史家不約而同聚焦於「晚明」的中國，他們所發掘的「傳統」不再只是一個政治專制、「禮教吃人」的社會，而是工商繁盛、放逸享樂的中國，其所重塑的早期近代中國圖像，不僅擴充了今人的明代史知識，且對明清婦女史研究典範的再思考深具意義。

關鍵字

性別 ； 婦女史 ； 社會史 ； 五四傳統 ； 明代

並列摘要

Several major trends in the study of women's history of the Ming Dynasty have emerged in Taiwan during the past twenty years. First, woman's chastity is still a main concern for many scholars. Second, a prominent increase of articles in the studies on common women. Third, growing attention to the economic activities of women. Last, greater emphasis on erotic consciousness and romantic love. Although woman's chastity remains the main concern of many scholars, new topics have been pioneered, among which the new dimension of Confucian ethics and norm's marks a concrete expansion in the research on the history of women's lives.
As for the use of historical resources in women's history of the Ming in Taiwan, sources now include novels, anthologies, contracts, family instructions, etc. The most prominent aspect is to take advantage of those documents about female figures and lives shown in late Ming novels, which can supplement the inadequacies of traditional official and private histories. One of the characteristics of this field is the abundance of historical materials and emphasis on positive analysis. The academic background of most scholars mentioned in this article is their disciplinary roots in social history or social cultural history. Their approach to women topics is to analyze various historical sources from a socio-cultural perspective. Strictly speaking, these studies are only an enlargement of traditional social history or a reflection of the vogue of new social history.
The reflections of gender historians on the May Fourth tradition and the recent work of social cultural historians in Taiwan have converged on the late Ming period, which is no longer seen as a sphere of despotism and society of cannibalistic feudal ethics, but a prosperous and hedonistic China. This new image of early modern China not only expands our knowledge of the Ming, but also provides a paradigm for rethinking women's history of the Ming-Qing period.

並列關鍵字

gender ； women's history ； social history ； May Fourth tradition ； Ming Dynasty

參考文獻

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