本論文是以「掃象」或「洗象」主題的繪畫作品作為研究核心；這兩類作品的畫面相當類似，因為「掃象」名稱出現較早，筆者論述主軸將以掃象為主。 筆者研究主要對於著錄中早期作品的脈絡，明代丁雲鵬、崔子忠掃象圖創作，以及清代宮廷的作品有專章探討。研究中筆者嘗試指出古人對於此圖中菩薩的辨識，是包括文殊與普賢兩者，只是不同時代有不同的觀畫傾向。另外，晚明好奇風氣以及實際洗象日節慶的確對於掃象圖創作有影響，也許這是掃象圖數量比前代還要多的原因之一。不過除了「好奇」風氣之外，筆者搜集到的幾筆描寫洗象日的詩文，文中對於洗象日的描述，常帶有士人對於晚明清初政治情勢的感想暗示，筆者欲指出洗象日不僅僅是一個單純的風俗節日。從明末文人，再到清初皇室，不同的觀畫者有有著不同的觀畫角度，有著不同的詮釋立場，其中筆者試圖要說明的畫作與詩文中所透露出的政治意涵面向。 On the Painting of “Sweeping the Elephant” Abstract This thesis focuses on the paintings of "Sweeping the Elephant " or "Washing the Elephant." The two themes are very similar, but the name "Sweeping the Elephant" appeared earlier. I study early records of the paintings with these themes, the late Ming works, as well as the Qing court works. First, I try to point out that the identification of the Bodhisattva figure is either Manjusri or Samantabhadra. Both identifications are accepted by ancient Chinese. Second, the number of the "Sweeping the Elephant" paintings increased in the late Ming. A reason is that people of that time had strong interest in strange things. What’s more, the festival of actually washing elephants also made people like paintings with this theme. I collected several poems about the washing elephant day. These poems often reflect political situation of the late Ming. The Qing imperial family had different views of art, and different interpretations of their position. I tried to explain the paintings and poems related to the “Sweeping the Elephant” and revealed the political implications.
