〈杜子春〉乃唐傳奇名篇，歷來論者多有獨到見解，或以心理分析論述作者對佛教〈烈士池〉故事的精彩改寫，指出「母子之愛」與「人間意志」乃是全篇主題所在；或以〈杜子春〉類比「浮士德」，提問：人生在世那一種生活最是切要？指出回歸「良知」乃是生命意義與價值的支撐點。或視〈杜子春〉文中一切修仙煉丹、作法施術的記述，皆為突顯人倫親情，進而否棄所有潛心修道的可能。或認證〈杜子春〉從反面否定佛、道思想，肯定人間「愛心」，是一充滿人性的小說。前賢共同的論點大體在於：杜子春「因愛毀道」的崇高性，透過道士的點化，其可能因此領悟到某種智慧和真理，故多從悲劇美感的塑成觀照〈杜子春〉的生命課題。在上述簡化宗教義理的論述當中，「如果成仙必須捨離人性根緣的情愛，則仙道是不值得欣羨的」，似乎已成為〈杜子春〉研究者的共識，其中迂迴辯證的過程反遭漠視。惟少數論者如龔鵬程，指出〈杜子春〉運用佛道兩家有關「愛假」的理論，曝示愛為煩惱之根，全文的重點即在於「必須通過愛欲的淨化，才能入道」。又如張火慶，也表示：把「情欲」與「修道」對立，易於誤解佛道思想的真義，其實佛道思想即是針對情欲之過患（苦）而有的對治。龔、張二氏均以宗教角度談論〈杜子春〉，側重佛教源於「無明」的「愛欲」之苦，確與前述諸家不同；然只約略述及唐代道教的修仙進徑，仍未及詳析其義理所在與生命的終極關懷。因此，〈杜子春〉實有再切磋的空間。筆者以為，改寫自佛教〈烈士池〉的〈杜子春〉，其「在地轉譯」的過程難免滲入本土信仰的成份，而改寫轉譯者個人的生命情致必然也會顯隱其間；準此而言，則〈杜子春〉可探索的層次，當不止於「人間意志與天命抗衡」此一普世性的命題，以及「以愛抓住生命的立足點」的悲壯意識而已。像這樣充滿試煉色彩的故事，與文本密契的佛道義理，理應被審慎納入人物情節的互動中考察。本論文擬從民族集體心理，連結、彰顯繁富的文化語境，透過作者、作品與讀者間的多重對話，以期打開一全新的文本意境。

Considered a famous story among Tang Legends, Du Zi Chun has been interpreted by some critics according to psychoanalytical approach—love between mother and son, and free will or Faustian reading—returning to conscience builds the values of life. Some critics proclaim that the process of becoming a divine is told to emphasize the importance of familial relationship. Others indicate that Du is a humanist text in terms of denial of Buddhism and Taoism in order to acclaim fraternity in the world. Discourses which simplify religious norms and ignore dialectics between lines in the text as the above have become the mainstream of Du studies. For instance, Peng-Cheng Gong points out that love is the source of trouble and through purification of love and desire can the Proper Way be realized. Huo-Ching Zhang states that contrasting desire and practice of asceticism misinterprets the signification of Buddhism and Taoism because Buddhism and Taoism help in fact heal suffering caused by desire. Gong and Zhangs’ analyses focus only on struggling imposed by desire but fails to explain the understatement as well as ultimate concerns of life. In my opinion, as adaptation takes place, local belief and personal perspective of the translator/interpreter have penetrated the original text, a Buddhism canon Lie Shi Chi. Therefore, there must be more layers to be probed in addition to the global theme “free will vs. destiny” and “grasping the stepping point of life.” Asceticism of Buddhism and Taoism can be examined with interrelation between characters in such a story of trials. This essay aims to develop a new textual concept through connecting ethnical mentality to diverse cultural contexts and of stimulating multiple conversations among the author, the text and the reader.