霧峰林家京控案餘波－－清代台灣中部豪族對抗之案例

The Subsequent Events after the Sentence of the Wufeng Lins' Imperial Appeal Cases, 1882~1895 A Study of the Rivalry among Central Taiwan's Leading Families in the Ching's Period

1992年9月，筆者將1988年在美國遺失之文稿重寫，完成「霧峰林家的中挫」（以下簡稱「中挫」）一書付梓。該書所探討之主題「林文明正法案」看似單純，實際上內情錯粽複雜，牽涉政治（包括司法）、經濟、社會等互動因素，極難處理，寫到最後，實有心智耗竭，無以為繼之感，乃決定以光緒八年（1882）林家京控案之奏結為該書之結尾，其它未了之問題，則留待林家歷史研究第三冊再處理。

This article is intended to uncover the truth behind the Imperial Appeals made by the Wufeng Lins and their rivals by dealing with the lingering lawsuits between the two sides after sentence on the cases was passed in 1882. By carfully analyzing various new source materials, it is possible to draw at least two conclusions. Firstly, these imperial appeals were by nature political rather than legal matters. The summjary execution of Lin Wen-ming and the jailing of Lin Tien-kuo were actually used by the authorities to suppress the expanding influence of the Wufeng Lins. Therefore, it was impossible for the Lins to win their lawsuit. However, the Lins' rivals, who had so far been used as pawns to defy the Wufeng Lins, were sacrificed once the officials and the Lins had reached a compromise. Consequently, no matter how hard they tried to sue the Lins, they had no hope of success. This proves that the power structure of traditional China, i.e., the rigid stratification of the imperial court, officialdom, and gentry powers permitted no challenges. Secondly, the underlying causes of the Imperial Appeal cases can be reduced to the rivalry between the Wufeng Lins and other nearby leading families. Generally speaking, there had been a balance of power as well as a long-term feud among the rivaling families in central Taiwan before the 1850's. Afterwards, the Lins, due to Lin Wen-ch'a's successful areer, rose rapidly to prominence and soon surpassed other families, whose interests were seriously damaged during the Tai Ts'au-ts'un Rebellion in 1862~64. Ond feuds and new hatreds drove the Lins' rivals to cooperate with the officials in curbing the Lins' expansion of power. The planintiffs against the Wufeng Lins all belonged to the Lins' rival families. Lin Ying-Shih was a member of the Hou-ts,uo Lin and Hung Jen-hou belonged to Pei-t'ou Houngs, all of whom were the Wufeng Lin's rivals. The most interesting case is that of Huang Lien-p'u. He was also a relative of Lin Ho-shang, a rival of the Wufeng Lins.