| dc.description.abstract | In documents and classics, there are many relative records about dreaming and interpreting dreams. China has the long cultural history of dream. The category includes oneiromancy, the official systems of oneiromancer, ancient people’s concept of dream and spirit, arts of oneiromancy, books of oneiromancy and interpreting dreams, mystic techniques, cultural customs, psychoanalysis of dreams and dream theory. Besides the research of dream culture, this essay tries to reorganize the contents of dream image. Based on three aspects including “The Object of Dream”, “The Characteristics of Dream”, and “Ways of Interpreting Dreams”, this essay will explore the contexts, causes and results of dreams in Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties and tries to clarify the relationships among dreams, people, and the real world.
The essay focuses on the classics in Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties and reorganizes the records of dream images which is comparably more complete. The first chapter explains research purpose and quotes research findings of dream culture. Chapter two, “The Object of Dream—Heaven, Gods, Ghosts and Monsters” and chapter three, “The Object of Dream—People” roughly categorize the objects of dream in many cases in Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties. Chapter four, “The characteristics of Dream” explores dream’s function of foreshadowing future and categorizes different situations including having auspicious or inauspicious dreams. Based on the cases of dreams with the process of interpreting, chapter five discusses how the ancient people interpreting dreams and the relationships between interpreting dreams and realistic results. Chapter six summarizes key points mentioned in previous chapters. The conclusion includes that most of the foreshadowing function of dreams relates to revelation, that things happen in the future are influenced by how people interpreting dream, and that the setting of dreams connects with another world and real world.
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