Ellen Johnston Laing 曾在對於中國仕女畫的研究之中，提出仕女畫有描繪春季與秋季為主的傾向，點出仕女畫具有描繪特定季節主題的特色。然而在過去的研究之中，仕女畫的探討主要著重在畫面內容的詮釋，對於畫中季節的表現只説明當中季節所傳達的喻意，並未對於畫作與特定季節之間的關連多做說明與探討。本文認為仕女畫中的季節主題不僅是畫作內涵表現的一環，畫中所描繪的特定季節的傾向也可能說明季節與女性在生活上的密切連結，而形成仕女畫有偏好表現特定季節主題的傾向。 為說明此點，本文主要從時間概念清晰的風俗主題對仕女畫進行探 討，分別以春季之春遊與秋季之七夕，這兩個與女性有密切關聯的風俗來分析女性形象與畫中季節的連結與意涵。並以兩幅與此二風俗有所連結的明代長卷仕女畫《嬉春圖》與《乞巧圖》為主軸，從圖像本身對照季節風俗，進而說明仕女畫中表現季節主題的傾向與女性生活形象間的關連。此外，在明代以文人文化為背景所撰寫的《長物志》中，曾敘述當時文人有於春、秋節令懸掛與春遊、七夕等主題有關之仕女畫，此記載似乎可做為當時觀者對於仕女畫中季節主題與真實季節時令有所連結的例證。而《長物志》中依照節令懸掛仕女畫的說明，也提供給本文探討掛軸仕女畫之季節表現與內涵的切入點，並藉此討論明代仕女畫之季節主題背後所存在的雅俗議題與意涵。 本篇論文主要以節令風俗為題，探討明代仕女畫中的多元層次與表現意涵。 In an article titled "Chinese Palace-Style Poetry and the Depiction of A Palace Beauty," Ellen Johnston Laing pointed out that Chinese paintings of ladies usually center on the depiction of ladies in spring and autumn. However,the reason behind such phenomenon was not further elaborated. Related articles discussing Chinese paintings of ladies have focused on the metaphor borrowed from love poetry treating spring and autumn as manifestation and fading of feminine beauty respectively. These studies has centered around the connections between love poetry and the thematic content of these paintings and have not attempted to look at the reasons underlying such seasonal preference in the manifestation of ladies in Chinese paintings. The aim of the present study is in an attempt to better understand the role of seasonal preference in Chinese paintings of ladies and the implications behind such preference. The discussion centers on two themes; the first is to investigate the relationship between Chinese paintings of ladies and the seasonal preference (i.e. spring and autumn) in the manifestation of these paintings; the second focuses on how these paintings are related to Chinese festival culture and the customs associated with these festivals. Discussion is largely confined to paintings of ladies in Ming Dynasty. The meaning and the expression of these paintings are discussed, and some new ideas are put forth in the exploration of the interactions between paintings of ladies and customs associated with spring and autumn.
