台灣當代藝陣的文化政治論述：以九天民俗技藝團為例

Abstract

本論文試圖從九天民俗技藝團的歷史發展和運作模式，去探討台灣藝陣團體如何在與後冷戰時期文化政策的交會過程中，將過去集展演、民間信仰、賺取報酬和青少年教化等不同機能於一身的藝陣文化特性，轉化為由不同部門各司其職的團隊運作模式。具體而言，我分別從貫時性和共時性的角度來探討此一課題：在貫時性的面向上，我主要探討九天早期如何藉由團隊內部的轉型和與文化部門的合作機會，將過去附屬於私人神壇、以廟會演出維生的藝陣型態，逐步轉化成當前以商演作為主要收入、主動掌握媒體再現機制的商業經營模式。在共時性的面向上，我則是闡述九天在歷經上述的轉變過程之後，如何利用傳統藝陣過去將展演、社會教化和民間信仰融為一體的文化特性，在當代發展出各種教育、藝術展演、文創行銷和體育賽事活動，進而探討藝陣組織在當代的文化變遷和職能分化現象。 從貫時性的面向來看，從九天走進國家體制的政治歷程中，可以看到九天在歷經多次的內部轉型，如回校深造、藝術專業訓練、人事更迭和大型活動宣傳，以及協請民俗學者擔任團隊與文化部門之中介者的情況下，多數時候仍只能獲得政府專案補助或活動邀演的機會。究其原因，主要便是由於台灣藝陣集民間信仰、表演藝術、青少年教化和民俗傳統於一身的文化特性與行政劃分之間的不一致性，使得藝陣無法合於政府所設定的「宗教」、「文化資產」或「傳統藝術」之中的任一類別。九天尋求轉型的艱辛歷程，實反映出台灣多元文化主義政策所隱含的內部矛盾―文化差異性與普遍公民概念之間的對立―如何框限了當代藝陣團隊獲取官方文化資源的機會。 儘管如此，從共時性的面向來看，台灣藝陣的多重特性卻也提供了九天當前在缺乏國家資源之情況下的發展契機：在九天採用商業管理方式的改造之下，過去集信仰、民俗展演、青少年教化和賺取收入等機能於一身的藝陣文化特性，便逐漸分化為由不同的機構或部門各自發揮的社會職能，使得九天得以在當代生產出商業演出、舞台表演、文創商品和鼓樂教學等多樣的文化形式。因此，九天透過組織內部的職能分化，一方面開拓出舞台藝術和商業演出等不同類型的表演市場，一方面也保有原先的信仰層面和教化功能，使得兩者可以各自發展出互不隸屬的社會活動。然而另一方面，九天還進一步將這些不同的藝陣元素重新組合成一個以台灣特色作為號召，揉合了民俗規範、體能競賽和戶外展演等面向的年度運動盛事—九天盃太子極限環台賽。然而，無論是從台灣藝陣分離出的個別文化活動，或是將不同元素重新集結而成的環台賽，皆是以九天逾二十年發展歷程中的種種苦難經驗，如出陣時的身體磨難，作為貫串其中的主軸。在此，如果說「苦難」是九天從過去走到今天的共通主題，則九天藝陣論述即是將其過往的苦難與「台灣」相關的意象（如三太子神偶）緊扣在一起，以成就出各種賺人熱淚的文化形式；而在這個將九天的歷史敘事轉化為各種當代文化形式的媒體機制之中，土著人類學者往往在企圖呈現己身文化之特殊性的書寫歷程中，無意間成為報導人自我再現的共同生產者。 由此來看，九天在當代所傳達的是一種以傳統藝陣的苦難經驗作為基底來彰顯台灣特色的文化政治論述；它體現出台灣藝陣在逐漸脫離傳統民間信仰脈絡的同時，又跳脫出被國家或特定政治勢力塑造成國族符號之論述取徑。因此，它實是一種銘刻於苦難經驗、超越文化本質論與政治╱經濟化約論之二元對立的當代藝陣論述。

This thesis examines the transformation of Chio-Tian (Jiu-Tian) Folk Troupe, based in Taichung (Taizhong), from a local temple procession group to an internationally recognized entrepreneurship known for its acrobatic drum performance and folksy commodities. Formerly, the rising popularity of “folk performance” (Yi Zhen) in Taiwan is often attributed to the carving of Taiwanese “indigenousness” in the context of post-Cold War cultural politics, as the Taiwan central government attempts to shift from the cultural image of “Free China” to one that embodies a “unique” Taiwanese identity. Nevertheless, a more nuanced inquiry into the troupe’s development indicates that former attempts to classify folk performance into exclusive categories of performance art, folklore, religion, or delinquent education by the culture sector fail to encapsulate the multifaceted nature of traditional folk performance, ultimately leaving troupes without a proper channel to secure sufficient funding for development. Therefore, this phenomenon reveals the inner conflict within Taiwan’s current multiculturalist policy, in which cultural differences became inadequately subjected to universal assumption and categorization under the cultural administration, which has hampered the potential development of folk performance in Taiwan. On the other hand, however, the multiple characteristics of folk performance were also reconstituted by Chio-Tian into specialized social activities in the forms of drum instruction, theatrical performance and commercial spectacles through the employment of a business management model, giving Chio-Tian the success much needed to compensate meager government funding. Further, these specialized activities could also be reincorporated into a creative cultural form of its own to enhance the troupe’s publicity, which is manifested in the troupe’s annual Tour de Taiwan Ultramarathon event. Featuring youth athletes carrying deity puppets of the popular Third Prince (San Tai Zi) in an island-wide race during summertime, the event sensibly combine the marketing of cultural products, drum performance and the troupe’s cultural events with the inspiring image of Taiwanese youths bravely crossing around the island by foot. In doing so, the immense suffering and toil endured by these athletes became an embodiment of the continuing struggle the troupe has gone through in its expansion from a temple procession group to a renowned performance art troupe. Moreover, the constant media coverage throughout the event showcases how the troupe has evolved from relying entirely on external media reportage to developing its own self-representation mechanism in Facebook fan pages, theme songs and film shooting, etc. Against this fieldwork backdrop, I argue that native anthropologists, as ethnographic writers anticipated to bring forth the “uniqueness” of their home culture, are in danger of unconsciously becoming complicit with the informants’ self-representation, which further implies a concealed form of cultural nationalism. In conclusion, the cultural transformation of Chio-Tian manifests an alternative form of contemporary folk performance which, in lack of government subsidies, strives to represent itself as a brand of “Taiwaneseness” by constantly evoking the troupe’s past suffering during temple processions, cultural events and overseas excursions. In addition, it is a novel form of folk culture that transcends the epistemic duality of cultural essentialism and politico-economic reductionism manifested in former studies of folk performance, which often present the subject as either a continuation of popular religion, or a political and commercial invention driven by party politics and late capitalism.