《古國琴人》是張瀛太第二部長篇小說，在她擅長的「異域書寫」系列中，此部小說仍承襲過去一貫的綺艷文采和玄靈情節，將故事背景架構在七百年前的吳哥王朝，虛構出神話人物「枯樹」以及一只名為「瞬」的古琴為引信，盡其妖魔鬼怪、悖情違理、濫情縱欲之能事， 展演人與蛇歡愛交媾、相互變形、彼此吞噬的詭異意象。本文試圖以榮格之原型理論分析小說中關於重生、輪迴、變形等神話母題，進一步還原蛇之原始意象加以探索，並將蛇視為一個象徵符號，藉由隱蔽、蛻皮、吞噬等本能模式，賦予人類投射其神祕、重生、回歸的慾望想像。小說中展演人蛇交媾與繁殖的地底洞穴，在普遍原型指涉中通常為子宮之隱喻，因此遁入地洞儼然成為一種「重返母體」的儀式，隱喻萬物回歸大地之母的子宮，孕育生生不息的生命輪迴。最後作者將神話故事帶到二十一世紀歷史現場，企圖透過探險家與觀光客的夢境，為傳說找回曾經存在的訊息。然而，古琴最終被展示在博物館內，隱喻真相被供奉在知識框架中失去生命，如果朝聖和膜拜已成為回歸神話的儀式，那麼張瀛太創作現代神話故事，並試圖揭開真相回溯生命之初，其實也透露作家藉由書寫回歸內在心靈的渴望。

An Ancient Musician is Chang Ying-Tai’s second novel. The work tells a mythical story that takes place 700 years ago in Angkor. The titular character is a musician who was born with the ability to become a snake although this ability only emerges when he has an orgasm. After which he swallows the woman who he has having sex with although he remains unconscious during the whole process. In this work, I analyze the topics of rebirth, reincarnation and transformation in the novel based on Jung’s Archetype Theory. The snake is a symbolic figure that represents rebirth and return. Furthermore, the underground cave where the musician has sex or gives birth can be related to the womb, and thus entering it is like a ritual return to the mother’s body. At the end of novel, Chang brings the story to the 21st century and reveals the true story through the dreams of an explorer and tourist. Finally, the ancient instrument is put on display in Swiss museum. It seems to imply that the truth can only be displayed within the frame of knowledge when it is dead. If people search the primary spirit by such a ritual of pilgrimage and worship, it assumes that Chang wrote a myth with the intent to make a “return path” back to her own spiritual world.