清嘉道年間臺灣彰化地區的社會經濟發展

Abstract

「嘉道中衰」是清史研究重要的課題之一。清帝國走向衰微的同時，人們很容易認為地方社會與帝國走勢一樣跟著頹敗。有意思的是，臺灣作為清帝國東南邊疆的島嶼，在乾隆末葉經歷最大規模動亂事件──林爽文事件，緊接而來是「帝國中衰」的嘉道時期，但此期間卻是中臺灣鹿港商貿活動的輝煌年代，兩岸貿易高度繁盛，締造「鹿港飛帆」的經濟榮景，更具體表現在民間投注大筆資金從事彰化縣城改建磚城、北斗及永靖等新市街建立等層面。與此同時，北臺灣的大龍峒、大嵙崁，皆出現相似的合股造街事業，說明這一波集資造街活動很可能不是單純的偶然，而是反映嘉慶年間臺灣嶄新且整體性的社會經濟發展，不全然與帝國中央一樣陷入低迷或停滯的財政樣態。

在此脈絡之下，本文以清嘉道年間中臺灣港口城市鹿港為中心，透過鹿港腹地所在的彰化平原及周邊沿山地帶做為研究區域，觀察發現19世紀初臺灣地方社會的發展趨勢有別於18世紀。臺灣爆發史無前例的林爽文事件，可以說是這個轉變的開端，渡臺平亂的軍事領袖福康安所代表帝國強勢的政治力量，快速打破原本鹿港地方勢力，官府協力者林日茂家族從此成為19世紀鹿港地方社會的領導階層。同時，鹿港腹地所在的彰化平原，也由於動亂激化了原本就緊張的閩粵族群關係，使得祖籍認同更加被強調，並成為推展營造商業市街的策略，具體落實在嘉慶年間北斗街及永靖街的造街活動。

不過，在社會經濟高度發展之下，無形中卻破壞自然環境，導致土石崩壞。鹿港海岸地帶因濁水溪的堆積作用影響，一方面造成海岸陸化，使得沿海養蠣業的繁盛，插竹養蠣的作法帶動對竹材的需求；另一方面則是鹿港港道淤積阻塞，竹筏在當時成為普遍使用的運輸工具，間接促成竹材的市場需求增加，使得以鹿港為核心的彰化海岸地帶與沿山的林圯埔建立緊密的經濟連結，並帶動濁水溪畔北斗街的商業繁榮，更具體呈現了山通大海的格局。同時，這一連結山海的經濟活動，顯示出漢人活動從西部平原推向沿山地帶，由海口走向山區，成為19世紀臺灣重要的社會動態。從中臺灣鹿港及其腹地個案，得以看到地方歷史的細部發展，提供了嘉道年間地方社會和帝國經濟發展動態並不同調的實例。

The "Jiaqing-Daoguang decline" is one of the important topics in historical research on the Qing dynasty. As the Qing Empire moved towards decline, it is easy to assume that local society followed a similar decay trajectory. Interestingly, Taiwan, as an island on the southeastern frontier of the Qing Empire, experienced significant turmoil during the late Qianlong period, particularly with the Lin Shuangwen Incident. However, the subsequent Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, it was a time of flourishing economic activity in central Taiwan’s Lukang, characterized by a boom in commercial trade and the creation of the "Lukang Flying Sails" economic prosperity. This was reflected in the substantial investment in infrastructure, such as the reconstruction of Changhua City into brick buildings and the establishment of new market towns like Beidou and Yongjing. Simultaneously, similar joint-investment street constructions appeared in northern Taiwan, indicating that such collective investment activities were likely not merely coincidental but instead reflected a novel and comprehensive socio-economic development in Taiwan during the Jiaqing period, contrasting with the stagnation or decline of the central Qing government’s finances.

In this context, this paper focuses on the port city of Lukang in central Taiwan during the Qing Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, using the Changhua Plain where Lukang is located and the surrounding mountainous region as the research area. Observations in this paper reveal that the development trends of local society in Taiwan in the early 19th century differed from those of the 18th century. The unprecedented Lin Shuangwen Incident marked the beginning of this change. The military leader Fukangan, who was sent to Taiwan to quell the unrest, symbolized the strong political power of the empire. This imperial force quickly disrupted the existing local power structure in Lukang, leading to the Lin Ri-Mao family, collaborators of the government, becoming the leading social class in Lukang during the 19th century. At the same time, the Changhua Plain, where Lukang is situated, experienced intensified ethnic tensions between the Hokkien and Cantonese groups due to the unrest. This heightened emphasis on ancestral identity was strategically used to promote the development of commercial streets, concretely realized in the street construction activities on Beidou Street and Yongjing Street during the Jiaqing period.

However, the rapid socio-economic development has, paradoxically, harmed the natural environment, leading to soil and rock erosion. The coastal area of Lukang has been affected by sedimentation from the Zhuoshui River, which has resulted in coastal land reclamation and flourishing oyster farming along the coast. This practice of using bamboo for oyster farming increased the demand for bamboo. On the other hand, sedimentation in the Lukang harbor led to the widespread use of bamboo rafts as a means of transportation, indirectly increasing the market demand for bamboo. Simultaneously, this economic activity linking the mountains and the sea illustrates the the progression of Han migration from the western plains to the mountains, extending from the seaports into the hilly regions ─ a notable trend in 19th-century Taiwanese society.From the case of Lukang and its hinterland in central Taiwan, we gain insight into the nuanced development of local history. This example illustrates how the dynamics of local society during the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods often diverged from the broader trends in imperial economic development.