《詩經》與《雅歌》當中『性』之比較研究

Towards a Comparison of Attitudes to Sexual Intercourse in the Book of Odes and the Song of Songs

本文試圖闡明〈詩經〉和〈雅歌〉對性交和性活動的態度。「性」和「儒家經典」或「希伯來聖經」可能不是兩個經常被聯繫在一起的話題，事實上，許多儒家，猶太和基督教思想家在幾十個世紀以來一直認為，性充其量只是一種有必要但充滿危險的活動，而且是需要謹慎控制的。本文的目的是要論證這種對性的負面看法與〈詩經〉和〈雅歌〉中的文本證據不一致，其實〈詩經〉和〈雅歌〉一個重要的主題就是坦率地慶祝「性」。本研究以〈詩經〉中的四篇詩和〈雅歌〉的三段摘錄為主題，構建了以下的論點：即使〈詩經〉和〈雅歌〉在許多重要方面都有所不同，但這兩部著作一個重要的共通點是：它們都慶祝「性」的好本質。另一方面，這項研究也會主張，無論是〈詩經〉還是〈雅歌〉，都不應該被視為頌讚無拘無束的慾望之詩 ; 相反，這些文本都慶祝在明智和良好的生活背景之下所表達的「性」。本研究必須簡短，並不假裝是對這複雜的主題的全面處理，但希望此研究將成為未來更全面和更細緻的研究的墊腳石。

 

This paper will attempt to shed some light on attitudes to sexual intercourse and sexual activity in the Book of Odes (shijing) and the Song of Songs (sir hassirim). “Sex” is perhaps not a topic one immediately associates with the Confucian classics or the Hebrew Bible, and indeed many Confucian, Jewish and Christian thinkers have argued over the centuries that sex is, at best, a necessary but dangerous activity, which needs to be carefully controlled. This negative view of sex, it will be argued in this paper, is at odds with the textual evidence in the Book of Odes and the Song of Songs, in which sex is frankly celebrated. Taking as its subject matter four poems from the Book of Odes and three excerpts from the Song of Songs, this study will construct an argument that the Odes and the Song, although, different in many important respects, both celebrate the fundamental goodness of sex. On the other hand, the study will also argue that neither the Song nor the Odes should be read as paeans to unrestrained lust; rather, these texts celebrate sexuality expressed in the context of wise and virtuous living. The study is of necessity brief, and does not pretend to be a full treatment of the complex topic, but it is hoped that the study will serve as a stepping stone for a fuller and more nuanced treatment in the future.