「天人」關係在關漢卿《竇娥冤》雜劇大約歷經五個階段：知天順命→信天求天→質問天地→天人感應→天人相勝。五個階段是劇中主角竇娥由生至死、死而復仇的過程中，面對不同情境的心理變化反應。正因為竇娥因時、因地、因人而體現天人關係的反應顯現矛盾對立的現象，才更彰顯出天人關係在劇中「與時俱變」的歷程。本文不在還原或探索劇作家的哲學思想，就一個對中國哲學文化傳統有一些了解的讀者，或許可以「由劇生思」，從劇中人的具體情境而延伸思考，亦即嘗試用不同觀點的天人關係，與《竇娥冤》關目情節及其人物心理刻劃做「對照比較」，從而凸顯一齣戲劇的多重意義。

The relation between Heaven and man in the play Dou E Yuan, composed by Guan Hanqing, passes through five stages: knowing Heaven and following fate, believing and petitioning Heaven, questioning Heaven, corresponding with Heaven (tian ren ganying), and the mutual surpassing of Heaven and man (tian ren xiangsheng). These five stages mark the psychological changes in the protagonist, Dou E, as she faces different situations ranging from living to dying to revenge. The contradiction revealed through changes in the relation between Heaven and man—due to time, location, and people—highlights a fundamental aspect of this relationship: it changes through time. Rather than tracing or exploring the playwright’s philosophical thoughts, this paper will analyze the Heaven-man relation from various points of view. In other words, comparing various plot elements and the description of different characters’ psyche from the points of view of the various relations between Heaven and man reveals abundant layers of meaning in the play.