꿈과 식(食) -『몽점일지(夢占逸旨)』 ｢식의편(食衣篇)｣을 통해 본 음식/물(物) 꿈의 의미와 상징성 연구-

초록

This study aims to examine the meanings, symbolism, and practical implications of food and material objects functioning as dream motifs, focusing on the “Shiyi pian(食衣篇)” (Chapter on Food and Clothing) in Mengzhanyizhi(夢占逸旨) compiled by Chen Shi-yuan(陳士元) of the Ming dynasty. While the “Shiyi pian” addresses “food”(食) and “clothing” (衣) as the fundamental necessities of life, “food” here encompasses both the dietary substances ingested and the transgressive act of “eating” itself. The act of eating holds profound significance as it occurs through the mouth—a symbolic organ that serves as a “gate” delimiting and connecting the body’s internal and external realms. This paper categorizes the objects of dream-eating into two groups: ingestible substances (food) and non-ingestible items (material objects). Ingestible dream motifs include fruits, pills/medicinal herbs, plants, and natural elements, whereas non-ingestible motifs comprise books, pearls, hexagram lines (yao), and clouds. Dreams of consuming ingestible substances generally lead to “internal transformations,” such as bodily changes like pregnancy, childbirth, and healing, or the acquisition of new capabilities. Conversely, dreams of consuming non-ingestible items are deeply intertwined with the dreamer’s latent desires; among these, ingesting items symbolizing knowledge or literary talent triggers a “qualitative transformation” of the self. In these accounts, the act of eating in dreams is predominantly described through the term “swallowing”, which implies complete digestion and assimilation. Crucially, within the dreamscape, consuming the ingestible and the non-ingestible yields no intrinsic difference; regardless of the object, substances entering the dreamer’s interior through the act of eating share a common orientation toward internal transformation. This sharply contrasts with “clothing,” which primarily correlates with “external transformations” such as honor and social status. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that the internalization of external entities into the human body invariably manifests as the dreamer’s internal or qualitative transformation, which constitutes the most defining characteristic of dreams involving food and material objects.

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