挖出花旗參：一支18世紀植物穿越歐亞新舊大陸的傳奇

Discovering American Ginseng: A Trans-Continental Legend from the 18th Century

北美的「洋參」或稱為「花旗參」，中醫視之為重要藥材。清初，花旗參經長程運輸，傳入中國後，始廣為人知。花旗參的發現關鍵人物是耶穌會的法籍神父皮耶爾‧雅托（Pierre Jartoux，其中文姓名為杜德美）。1711年，他奉康熙之命，前往東北繪製全國地圖時，偶然發現人參，試用後認為有神效，乃匯報巴黎。兩年後，英國皇家學會發行的Philosophical Transaction將這份報告翻譯刊載。派駐法屬加拿大的神父約瑟夫──法蘭沙‧拉非脫（Joseph-François Lafitau）頗有興趣，獲得魁北克附近印地安原住民協助，覓得同為「參屬」的植物，於1718年以法文小冊刊布，輔以圖繪，仔細描述這種植物的根、莖、葉特徵，並將乾燥樣本由加拿大經巴黎送抵北京確認，才為人所知。乾隆年間，江南溫補學派發揮「涼補」理論，並以花旗參除了藥用食補外，有涼補之效，於是花旗參有日常保養之效，遂深入人心，帶出風潮。花旗參的傳播跨越亞歐大陸、穿越太平洋，不僅是知識傳播的重要課題，還可以從物種訪求，貿易連繫及藥用食補習慣等面向，討論花旗參的傳布。18世紀初一位在東北地區活動的耶穌會士的影響至今可見，堪稱近代以來「物」與「人」之全球化歷史發展之跨域範例。

As an important item in traditional Chinese medicine, North American ginseng came from outside China proper. Its discovery had to do with the activities of Jesuit fathers in Manchuria, along with the Jesuit mission's scientific exchanges worldwide, and the discovery of the plant in Quebec －then termed New France－during the early 18th century. Two Jesuit fathers were critical to making the trans-continental connection. First, the cartographer Pierre Jartoux reported his contact with the Chinese root ginseng with its miraculous medicinal properties and great economic value. His letters and scientific publications suggested that the French Canadian region of Montreal and Quebec, with a similar latitude to Manchuria, might have the same kind of plant or a different breed. Young Father Joseph-Francois Lafitau, aided by native Indians, made a successful discovery. He made a report on the discovery in a 1718 booklet, which survives with its original drawing to this day. This documented an outstanding moment in transcultural history, bearing global significance.