本文的探討始自對戰國青銅器上採桑女形象的分析。往後到漢代，由漢儒型塑的採桑女的德性和自上古沿襲而來的桑女的誘惑性同時在圖像上都有反映，這就是漢畫中的秋胡潔婦圖像和桑女野合圖。兩方面衝突交融，最終定型為後世閨怨的女子，以一種端嚴的固定姿勢同時出現在文學作品和繪畫藝術中，成為中國古典傳統文化千古不易的經典思婦形象。

Tracing down the Mulberry Girl Scene 採桑圖 that was attested already on Warring States Bronzes to the Han times, it can be observed that the mulberry girl was at times depicted as embodying Confucian moral values while at other times represented in a more bodily manner seemingly following earlier traditions. The former image is obvious in the well known Qiuhu and the Virtuous Scene 秋胡潔婦圖  and the latter most explicit in the Mulberry Girl Outdoor Scene 桑女野合圖, both dated to the Han Dynasty. Based on an expanded investigation into the motif, I suggest that the classical image of the lady of boudoir repining as well known in later literature and imagery was most likely derived from an adaptive combination of the conflicting images of the mulberry girl in the Han Dynasty.

採桑圖; 鑒戒畫; 思婦

Mulberry Girl Scene; Images of Exemplary Women; Lady of Boudoir Repining