從明復堂到存仁院--財團法人存仁院慈善事業基金會研究 (1900-1945)

Abstract

本研究採用質性的歷史文本分析法與田野調查法去探討新竹芎林地區的一群地方士紳，藉由財團法人存仁院慈善事業基金會，從清末日治初期到光復初期，參與社會活動的體現過程。由最初為訓練科舉考試人才而設的文祠（文林閣），到假託神意傳遞儒教思想及幫助解除煙癮之害的扶鸞戒煙鸞堂，再到以貧民救濟與施療等公益慈善事業為主的事業體。在這轉折期間，地方士紳成功地扮演了不同的角色，讓事業體由傳統順利過渡到現代。 因應不同的時代變局，這些地方士紳設立鸞堂，藉以宣揚儒教、勸善並幫助受鴉片煙害的人們解脫身心的痛苦與困境，並因而掀起了扶鸞戒煙的熱潮，帶動鸞堂的信仰，在臺灣的宗教史上寫下特殊的一頁。之後這些地方士紳將財團重心轉向慈善事業，經營得頗具規模。到大正十二年（1923）日本法在臺施行之際，他們將個人化的救濟方式轉變成國家力量介入參與救助的法人。由於那些參與財團的主事們大多接受過日式教育和現代化之專業訓練，且（曾）任職於政府機構或為教師，熟悉公部門的運作模式，充分利用行政系統從事救助工作，加上與日官員關係良好，積極配合政策，並不時捐獻資金給財團，這些都有利於推展存仁院財團法人的慈善事業，讓事業愈作愈大，屢次獲得獎助金。 本研究發現，絕大多數鸞堂的研究都在討論鸞堂系統的發展、宗教信仰，如關帝聖君的神跡，以及各鸞堂維持信仰形式的狀態等，這些研究都有不錯的成績。但是作為扶鸞戒煙，或說是鸞堂信仰發源地的芎林復善堂卻有著非常特殊的發展，就是轉變成一個慈善機構，這種慈善是在國家觀點之下公民社會的慈善，它有別於傳統社會體制下的民間信仰；這中間產生的其實是這一群地方士紳對於世界的想法或社會運作的方式，有別於那一群繼續從事鸞堂宗教活動的那些人；但基本上他們仍然發揮了原本知識份子參加社會公益的精神，只是受日本傳入之現代知識與公益觀的影響，逐漸淡化了宗教的色彩，順利轉型為一個現代化的財團法人機構。

This study focuses on a group of local Chung-Lin elites’ process of leading the social activities through a charity foundation, Cun-Ren-Yuan, from the late Chin Dynasty and early Japanese colonial period to the Taiwan Restoration. During the period, the local elites successfully played various roles to meet the changing eras: at first, they established Wen-Ci to train children for official examinations; then, a Phoenix House, Ming-Fu-Tang, was set up to stabilize the disordered society with cultural heritage from Chinese mainstreams and help people quit the habit of smoking opium; and finally, they started to offer the poor and the needy public welfare with Renji. The historical data analysis method and field study were conducted to investigate how the local elites confront different political power and what they did to maintain the charity institute for more than a century. When the Fu-Luan opium-quitting method was proved to be effective, the belief in Phoenix House became a sensation and was soon widely spread. The event was recorded in a special page in Taiwanese religious history. However, as the first of its kind, Fu-Shan-Tang was turned into a charity institute under the guidance of its participants and became a sizable organization within two decades. In 1923, the institute applied to be a legal foundation which indicated that the original individualized charity was changed into a systematic modern organization governed by national power. The way they ran public welfare business was also quite different from before. Then, most of the members of the elite acquired their knowledge through Japanese education and always received modernized professional training. Most of them were engaged in governmental services and were familiar with the public operation pattern. Therefore, they took advantage of the administration system to experiment with public welfare business. Meanwhile, by keeping up a good relationship with those Japanese officers, going with the national policy, and making contributions to the organization, the elites made a contribution to the excellent performance of the institute, which won them a grant from the Japanese government every year from 1924 to 1942. This study discovered that while most Phoenix House-related studies aim at discussing the connection among Phoenix Houses and comparison of religious formality, Fu-Shan-Tang, as the source of Fu-Luan method for quitting smoking, has a very different development, that is, to transform into a social charity under the viewpoint of a nation. It is different from those folk religions under traditional social system. The result was generated from those local elites’ thoughts of the world as well as their concept of the way the society operated, which also differed from those who kept participating in Phoenix House religious activities. The local elites saved the spirit of doing good deeds, yet, under the influence of the modern concept of charities, the original religious color faded gradually and consequently transformed into a modernized institute.