Aliens, Monkeys, and Their Lovers. Troubling Gender and Sex in Premodern Chinese Literature

Paola Zamperini

This essay draws from my new book project Tender Monkeys. Gender, Sex, and Desire in Chinese Literature, a diachronic study of the gendered and sexed identities that simian creatures possess, adopt, and perform in premodern Chinese literature. As they travel across time, wu 物 remains their stable identity, in all its animacy and its expansive and protean semantic range. At times understood as divine and supernatural, at times as demonic and dangerous, and others as pets and companions, even as matter and goods to be captured and sold, primates, in their fictional depictions, become sites to trouble the relationship between humans renwu人物, animals dongwu動物, and daemons guaiwu怪物. In this sense, they are the ideal creatures to follow the ways in which different premodern authors contemplated the existential and epistemological boundaries between self and others/Other, and explored the ways in which a wu could be/come a familiar companion, a passionate lover, a tender father, even, to a human being, but also, in turn, could be/come a completely unreadable and unpredictable alien entity capable of great harm.

Simian creatures press hard at the border line, constantly threatening human identity and forcing contemplation of questions at the heart of this project, such as “Who are we?” and “How do we differ from animals?” What makes their bodies, their sensory organs differ from normal/normative ones? Which spaces and environments do these furry aliens inhabit and how do they meet and interact with humans?

異人類、猴子和他們的愛人。在前現代中國文學中性別與性的一次探索

曾佩琳

        這篇文章取材自我正在進行中的本書手稿“溫柔的猴子.中國文學中的性別、性與慾望，”是對前現代中國文學中猿類生物所擁有、採用和表現的性別和性認同的歷時性研究。隨著時間的推移，「物」依然保持著穩定的身份，具有生命力和廣泛而多變的語義範圍。有時被視為神聖和超自然的，有時被視為邪惡和危險的，有時被視為寵物和同伴，甚至是被捕獲和出售的物質和商品，靈長類動物在小說描述中成為擾亂人物、動物和怪物之間關係的場所。從這個意義上講，它們是理想的生物，可以效仿不同的前現代作家，思考自我與異人類/他者之間的存在和認識論界限，並探索「物」如何成為人類熟悉的伴侶、熱情的愛人、溫柔的父親，甚至，但反過來，也可能成為完全不可讀和不可預測的、能夠造成巨大傷害的外星實體。

        類人猿生物在邊界上不斷逼近，不斷威脅著人類的身份，迫使我們思考這個計畫的核心問題，例如「我們是誰？」以及「我們與動物有何不同？」是什麼使得他們的身體、感官器官與正常/規範的不同？這些毛茸茸的外星人居住在哪些空間和環境中，它們如何與人類、與異人類相遇和互動？

Otherness and Alterity in Early Nineteenth-Century Missionary Periodicals

Huan Jin 

This paper examines three early nineteenth-century Protestant missionary periodicals in Chinese: The Monthly Magazine (Cha shisu meiyue tongji zhuan 察世俗每月統計傳), The Monthly Selections (Texuan cuoyao meiyue jizhuan 特選撮要每月紀傳), and The Monthly Survey of the West and the East (Dongxi yang kao meiyue tongji zhuan東西洋考每月統記傳). Produced between the 1810s and the 1830s in Southeast Asia–during a time when the proselytization of Christianity was strictly forbidden in China–these missionary publications sought to appeal to ordinary Chinese readers with alternative worldviews that may have challenged the paradigms of traditional Chinese beliefs.

I argue that the periodicals constitute not only a new cultural genre but also a liminal zone inhabited by missionaries as they presented “foreignness” to the Chinese as foreigners. By emphasizing the “material body” of the publications, I propose to read these texts as part of a broader textual universe that permeated the boundaries of empires both physically and ideologically. My analysis of the construction of authorship and readership in these periodicals reveals a gradual shift in the missionaries’ cultural positioning in relation to the Chinese Other. Ultimately, I contend that these publications bring together not only Western and traditional Chinese printing features, but also realities from East and West, visions of the familiar and the exotic, and knowledge of the mythical and the scientific.

十九世紀早期中文宣教期刊中的他者與異質性

金環

        本文探討三種十九世紀早期的中文新教宣教期刊：《察世俗每月統計傳》、《特選撮要每月紀傳》以及《東西洋考每月統記傳》。這些期刊於1810年代至1830年代在東南亞出版，彼時中國境內嚴禁傳播基督教及傳播其相關印刷品。這些宣教出版物在傳教之外，也傳達他者的世界觀來吸引普通中國讀者，進而挑戰中國傳統信仰的既有範式。

        我認為，這些期刊不僅構成了一種新的文化體裁，也構成了一個「邊緣地帶」。在其中，宣教士作為外國人向中國讀者呈現具有「異域性」的圖景。與此同時，這些出版物是十九世紀初期更廣泛的中文傳教文本宇宙的一部分。這一文本宇宙無論在物質形態還是意識形態上都滲透了清帝國與正在擴張中的西方帝國的邊界。通過對期刊所建構的作者與讀者的分析，我揭示宣教士在相對其「中國他者」的文化定位策略上面的漸進變化。總體而言，這些出版物不僅融合了十九世紀西方與傳統中國的印刷特徵，也介紹了東西方的現實與不同視域下的神話與科學知識。

Alterity, Space, and the Reimagination of China: The Ming-Qing Transition as Viewed from Tokugawa Japan

William Hedberg

For the nations comprising the early modern “Sinosphere,” the middle of the seventeenth century was a period of rapid epistemological reorganization, as onlookers struggled to make sense of the fall of the Ming and account for the consolidation of Manchu hegemony in China.  The Ming-Qing transition was the focus of discussion among all tiers of society in Tokugawa-era Japan (1603-1868), and Japanese fascination with the Manchus was reflected in an equally wide array of popular historiography, encyclopedias, and fiction and drama, much of which was based, at least indirectly, on firsthand accounts by Chinese sailors, monks, and refugees fleeing their homeland.  While historians have largely analyzed Japanese perspectives on the Ming-Qing transition from political and diplomatic perspectives, this presentation focuses on the rupture from the perspective of geographic space and what might be termed “proto-ethnography”:  the ways in which the fall of the Ming and ascendance of the Qing acted as a catalyst for Japanese writers and intellectuals to reimagine relations between centers and frontiers and posit a multipolar world order in place of previous binaries between civilization (hua/ka 華) and barbarity (yi/i 夷).  This geographic reimagination was paralleled by, and closely related to, a wave of Japanese interest in the history and culture of the Manchus themselves, as evidenced by encyclopedias, collectanea and other reference works devoted to the explication of foreign peoples 人物 (jinbutsu) and their customs 風俗 (fūzoku).  Ultimately, this presentation explores the multiplicity of ways in which Japanese writers posited, explored, and even forged connections between the Manchus and Japan and, in doing so, advanced new ways of categorizing human and geographical relations in premodern East Asia. 

德川河童傳說的形成與中國水妖

吳偉明

        河童是日本民間傳說中的一種兩棲人型生物。「河童」一詞創於中世日本，河童文化在德川時期達至全盛，河童傳說遍佈從北海道至九州，幅員甚廣。有別於當時流行的其他妖怪傳說，河童並非單純的架空或虛構東西，而是界於虛構與現實之間的民間傳承。牠在德川日本不但是傳說的水妖，而且亦是坊間有多人宣稱曾親自目睹的異獸，官方及民間的文獻均載有大量相關記錄。

        中國文獻中雖無河童之名，卻有如水虎、水蝹、河伯、魍魎等與其相近的水妖傳說。隨着漢籍在德川日本的普及，這些中式水妖在德川文獻中亦不斷出現，而且與日本河童拉上關係，更不時將河童與中國水妖混同，有不少人甚至相信日本的河童傳說可能源於中國或與中國水妖相類似。本研究以德川文獻為基礎，探討中國水妖在德川日本河童傳說形成中所扮演的角色，並分析中日水妖論的異同及其相互關係。

異人類的地理學：魏晉南北朝地理書寫中的「他者」

朱先敏

        在「異人類」的討論中，人們將異質性歸因於個體本身與常人間的根本差異。例如種族、身體、能力或道德，往往成為區分異人與常人的判準。然而，在中國中古的地理書寫——諸如志怪、地志與遊記中，卻頻繁出現「人因地而異」的敘事。人們可能因遷徙至邊地、誤入山林或長期居於異境，而與周遭格格不入、顯得異常，甚至被書寫者視為非人。這些文本揭示出「異」的生成不必然是內在的、固定的，而是在人與地理環境的互動中被凸顯、界定和再現。此一視角提供我們重新思考「他者」的構成邏輯——異質性未必植根於主體之中，而可能是知識建構的結果。本文探討中古文獻如何透過地理的書寫，參與對異人類的形塑與知識建構，進而重新思考「他者」的定義。

嶺南筆記海洋敘述中的生物與氣候之多重感覺

顏訥

        本研究以清代嶺南筆記為研究對象，分析其中有關海洋經驗的敘述，提出嶺南人對海洋生物與海洋氣候的特殊感知方式，為一種二者互相交織的多重感覺體驗。相較於歐美海洋史，擁有較長的發展歷程，由於明清海洋政策消極，致使過去中國研究更偏重大陸研究。中國海洋史則是 1980 年代以後至近幾年，才蓬勃發展起來的新興領域，如趙剛 The Qing Opening to the Ocean: Chinese Maritime Policies, 1684-1757 一書，便致力重估中華帝國晚期的海洋實踐，提醒研究者不應全然根據歐洲標準來詮釋中國海洋經驗。不過，有關中國海洋史前行研究，更多集中在海禁、船難、海洋經濟開發與貿易等政治經濟史，較少關注人與海洋生物和氣候的關係。文學研究領域中，雖然已經涉及人如何「感覺海洋」，如專注海洋文學的廖肇亨、顏智英，不過，相關研究還是更聚焦外交與征戰詩的分析，沒有觸及嶺南居民依海而生的特殊海洋感覺，留給筆者不少可發揮的空間。

        因此，本研究希望從「人海關係」（human-sea relations）進入，關注嶺南人如何認識海洋生態，分析筆記敘述中，生物知識與氣候紀錄呈現出人交織性感知的多重感覺現象。不過，為什麼選擇以筆記作為主要研究材料？又為什麼集中在嶺南人的經驗？如李調元（1734-1803）在《南越筆記》中所述：「粵人多以捕魚為業」，說明瀕海而居的粵人，習與海洋、深潭相依共生的生命經驗，海洋生物一方面作為經濟生產的基礎，另一方面，嶺南海洋變化莫測的氣候，與許多海洋生物特異的外型與行為，共同構造出筆記裡嶺南人對海洋既畏懼又著迷的敘述特質。如《嶺南隨筆》形容廣東天氣「不但寒燠異候，亦冷熱不常，……若遇海風陡發，大雨注之，炎涼只在頃刻間，雖諺語亦實錄也。」除了氣候極端且難以掌握，粵人以五行來解釋前述臨海地區寒燠異候的現象，〈嶺月如水 海月如火〉就有類似的認識：「粵海之月獨如火者，海水性鹹，常帶火氣」。既粵海常帶火氣，龍屬土，火能生土，因此，也會看到嶺南筆記描述龍從海中忽然出現，迷惑人的紀錄。以及如〈海上斑駁雲〉介紹「此景惟粵有之」的斑駁之雲，關涵解釋「此雲之結於蛟蜃氣者，舊傳蛟蜃本雉化，形化而神未化，故文采之質噓為斑駁之雲」。若嶺南筆記是從五行相生的觀念，來認識嶺南海洋生物與特殊海洋氣候之間相互變換的關係，那麼，從此可見，粵人對二者的體驗經常是交織性的多重感覺。

        此外，當明清水上航行與撈補技術進步，嶺南人與海洋相依相生的關係更加緊密，同時也能探索更多海洋區域，接觸更多海中生物，增加許多新的感官體驗。而筆記介於文與史之間的特性，適合紀錄怪異事物，並呈現作者對知識分類的想法。因此，大量的海澤博物書寫頻繁進入筆記中，描繪出人類在汪洋中遭逢水生異物的驚異，同時藉氣候變換來知識化水生異物帶來的驚異感。相關紀錄，尤以清代嶺南筆記為多，呈現粵人對海澤生物與氣候相互變化的複雜知識建構。其中，對於鱗甲一類的紀錄，是綜合視覺、嗅覺、味覺與觸覺的書寫。如《粵東筆記》描述「魚生」形狀與色澤「紅肌白裡，輕可吹起，薄如蟬翼」，味覺則是「入口冰融至甘旨矣」，此乃從粵人食魚的經驗來介紹魚類，建立了聯覺類的知識書寫型態。另一方面，描述白蜆時，李調元則更著重白蜆的生物習性，且稱「白蜆多生於霧，每當春煖，白霧彌空，濛濛霂霂之中，土人知為白蜆也。」類似海中生物與海洋氣候相生，《嶺南隨筆》〈風魚〉就寫下暨魚來則生風的現象，並解釋「陽火為龍以起龍，陰火微風以起魚，常也」。

        從嶺南筆記作者從多重感覺的體驗中，替海洋生物與氣候分類，可以看到類別之間並非界線分明，而是是互相滲透。因此，本文以清代嶺南筆記為對 象，嘗試分析海洋生物與氣候的敘述，觀察嶺南人如何回應流動的海洋文化，在書寫中與水生物種世界建立依存與關聯。

Women of Utopia: Female Saviours, Immortals and Deities in Late Ming and Early Qing Literature

Daria Berg

Seventeenth-century China, a vortex of social upheaval, spiritual anxiety, and dynastic crisis, produced visions of both utopia and anti-utopia: nostalgia for a lost paradise of the past and apocalyptic satire of current conditions. Perceptions of late Ming decadence, political impotence, and dynastic decline led to a surge in literary and religious imagination portraying women as superheroes, immortals and goddesses—both alien and alternative “Others” to the established scholar-official elite. This paper examines how seventeenth-century vernacular fiction, poetry, drama, hagiography and religious sectarian texts construct figures of supernatural or divine womanhood as agents of moral reform, cosmic salvation and social renewal. Focusing on Madame Chao, the heroine of the novel Xingshi yinyuan zhuan (Marriage Destinies to Bring Society to its Senses), this research explores her transformation from Confucian widow to social reformer and her apotheosis as the goddess of Mount Yi. Her character embodies the late Ming syncretism of Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist teachings while responding to contemporary nightmares of the apocalypse. In comparative perspective, this paper explores parallel female figures in poetry, drama, and historical, religious and sectarian texts, serving as vehicles for moral critique, spiritual redemption, and utopian longing. In analysing these representations as narrative constructs, cultural symbols and utopian tropes, this study argues that female saviours, immortals and goddesses function as vernacular responses to moral crisis and historical trauma. They reveal a female-coded utopian imagination that redefined moral virtue, social models, political authority, and spiritual transcendence in a world on the brink of disaster. 

烏托邦中的女性：明末清初文學中的女性救世主、女神與女仙

白岱玉

        十七世紀的中國處於社會動盪、精神焦慮與王朝危機的漩渦之中，催生出烏托邦與反烏托邦的雙重想像：一方面對過去樂園的懷舊，另一方面則對當下現實的末世諷刺。對明末頹靡、政治無力與王朝衰敗的集體感知，促使文學與宗教想像中湧現出大量女性超級英雄、女神與女仙的形象——她們既是異質的他者，也構成對既有士大夫菁英秩序的替代方案。本文探討十七世紀的白話小說、詩詞、戲劇、女聖傳與宗教派別文本如何建構超自然或神聖女性形象，使其成為道德革新、宇宙救贖與社會重建的代理者。以小說《醒世姻緣傳》中的女主角晁夫人為核心，本文剖析其從儒家寡婦蛻變為社會改革者，並最終昇華為嶧山女神的過程。她的形象體現了明末儒、道、佛三教合一的思想特色，同時回應了當代末世意識形態下的文化恐懼。在比較視角下，本文亦探討詩詞、戲劇及歷史、宗教與宗派文本中的其他女性角色，如何作為道德批判、精神救贖與烏托邦渴望的載體。透過對這些女性形象作為敘事建構、文化符號與烏托邦象徵的分析，本文主張，女救世主、女仙與女神的形象，構成了對道德危機與歷史創傷的庶民回應，展現出一種以女性為主體的烏托邦想像，重新定義了道德典範、社會模式、政治權威與精神超越的可能性。