詩、騷以降，文人詩歌「男子而作閨音」歷代不絕，元代散曲亦承此風習。
自魏晉以來，文人擬女之作即側重書寫思婦悲怨，以賦為比，形成以女怨託喻己
志，情致含蓄曲微的典型。有異於此，民間詩歌則率直無隱的展現包含思婦在內
的繁複女聲。元散曲雖承襲文人擬女傳統，以思婦悲怨的音調最為突出，但整體
而言，更趨近民間詩歌多樣繁複的內涵，並且一反文人思婦之音的託喻性質與含
蓄美感，抒思婦之情止於直賦其事，並無託喻意圖。曲家在表現手法上強化敘事
成分，使曲中女子成為事件中的行動者，以鋪敘筆法詳盡描述其境遇、言行與心
理，用白描、情語直接呈現女子種種反應與情態。盡態極妍的描寫方式一來阻絕
了託喻聯想的空間，二來形成顯豁酣暢的美感。曲家代女子發聲，本質上是一種
出於表演與遊戲的「戲擬」。元散曲表演於酒筵歌席，聲容畢肖的曲辭，適可滿
足賓客的娛樂需求，也突顯曲家揣摩傳神的遊戲技藝。作為公眾娛樂，曲家擬女
之作又呈現公式化的基本結構，形成與觀眾之間的默契，便於聆賞。元代男性散
曲家跳脫文人作閨音的託喻框架，擬女為戲，在源遠流長的文人擬女書寫傳統中
獨具一格。

The tradition of “men writing in the female boudoir voice” in Chinese literati
poetry, originating from Shijing and Chu Ci, finds its continuation and innovation
in the sanqu songs of the Yuan dynasty. Since the Wei-Jin period, while poetry by
male literati assuming female personae that often depicts the grievance of a yearning
wife has become a typical genre through which generations of male literati implicitly
express their unattainable ambitions and reserved sentiments, folk poetry, in contrast,
is more direct and emotive in displaying the complexity of female voices, including
those of a yearning wife. Although Yuan sanqu songs follow the tradition of male
literati assuming female personae in their works, with the sorrowful tone of a
yearning wife most prominent, generally speaking, they are closer in spirit and style
to the diverse and complex connotations of folk poetry. In addition, contrary to the
metaphorical subtlety and implicit aesthetics of the traditional yearning-wife poetry
by male literati, Yuan sanqu songs’ expression of a yearning wife’s grievance is solely
candid and straightforward with no obvious metaphorical intention. Strengthening
the narrative element in their rendering, Yuan male poets tend to make the woman
in their sanqu songs the agent of the event, describing her story, speech, practice,

and psychology meticulously and presenting the woman’s reactions and emotions
directly with plain yet poignant language. Such a candid style eschews the space for
metaphorical association and creates a sense of genuine and heartfelt beauty. The
male poet’s voice on behalf of the woman is essentially a kind of “playful imitation”
out of performance and play. When performed at social gatherings, these works in
realistic and vibrant colors not only satisfy the entertainment needs of the audience
but also showcase the poet’s brilliant craftsmanship. As public entertainment, these
female-impersonating compositions presented in a formulaic structure invite a tacit
bond between the poet and the audience that opens a welcoming gate of appreciation
and enjoyment. In breaking away from the traditional metaphorical framework of the
male literati’s female-impersonation poetry, Yuan male writers of the sanqu songs
stress the nature of such play as well as playfulness, distinguishing themselves in the
long tradition of literati female-impersonating writing.