鄉土文學、歷史與歌謠：重層殖民統治下臺灣文學詮釋共同體的建構

Nativist Literature, History and Ballads: The Establishment of an Interpretive Community for Taiwan Literature under Colonial Rule

近代讀者並非渾然天成，而是接受後天的訓練、學習，聚集成一個文學詮釋共同體後才算誕生。文學詮釋共同體的建構，除需一共同的語言之外，還需要類似的歷史經驗做為基礎。經過1930年代的鄉土文學運動以及論爭之洗禮，在凝聚文體共識的同時，臺灣人察覺到共有一個歷史詮釋對於文學發展的重要性。不過，在形構歷史的進程上，統治者卻捷足先登。皇民化運動時期，日本人透過歷史小說的積極創作，試圖將臺日兩民族縫合成一個文學詮釋共同體；卻因敗戰無功而返。臺語流行歌謠則以聲音文本的姿態，成為臺灣文學的支流。　二次世界大戰後，國民黨取代日本統治臺灣，於1940、1970年代又發生第二、三次的鄉土文學論戰。在強化中國Nationalism和新的國語政策下，如何讓當時的文學社群，即擁有不同歷史經驗記憶、社會境遇的本／外省人讀者或作者，形構新的文學詮釋共同體，成為當務之急。　在臺灣史尚未知識化的困境下，為達成前述目的，戰前臺灣和中國都曾蒙受日本帝國主義侵略的歷史經驗和記憶，成為被召喚的對象。為此，流行於1930年代的臺灣，在1970年代原本被認為低俗或是文化統合障礙的臺語歌謠，便開始被古老化、神聖化、匿名化，成為臺灣人抗日歷程的化身。這些原本只是老歌的流行歌謠，搖身一變成了庶民集體之歷史經驗象徵的「傳統民謠」。　前後三次鄉土文學運動／論爭均具有形構文學詮釋共同體的文化、政治意涵；而這個現象凸顯出在重層且連續殖民的統治下，缺乏歷史共識做為發展基礎的臺灣文學之面貌與特色。

Modern readers are not born as they are. Instead, they are nurtured, cultivated and united to form an interpretive community. The emergence of an interpretive community of literature requires not only a shared language but also similar historical experience as its basis. Having gone through the nativist literature movement and debate of the 1930s, people in Taiwan gradually developed a mutual perspective on literary style, and at the same time, came to realize the importance of a common historical interpretation on the development of literature. Nevertheless, the Japanese colonizers had been swift in getting a head start and getting an upper hand in establishing a collective history. During the Kominka or Japanization Movement, the colonial government attempted to bond Taiwan and Japan into an interpretive community of literature through vigorous creation of historical novels. However, with the defeat of Japan in the Second World War, such plan failed to achieve its original objective. On the other hand, popular ballads in Taiwanese at that time became a branch of Taiwan literature in the form of audio text. After World War II, the Nationalists took over Taiwan from the Japanese. There were debates on nativist literature in both the 1940s and 1970s. Under the new policies of fostering both nationalism and Mandarin usage, the formation of a new interpretive community from the literary society comprising native Taiwanese and Mainlander readers and authors all from different social circumstances and with different historical experiences and memories was a task both daunting and pressing. Without a solid knowledge base of Taiwan history, the only historical experience and memory shared by the wide spectrum of readers and authors from Taiwan and the Mainland was the oppression and cruelty suffered under Japanese imperialism. Hence, such sentiments serve as the calling and provide the bonding for an interpretive community. Popular Taiwanese ballads of the 1930s, originally deemed vulgar or mediocre and considered as an obstacle to cultural integration in the 1970s, were reincarnated as classics depicting Taiwanese resistance against Japanese invasion. These pop songs of bygone era were transformed into 'traditional ballads', emblems of collective historical experience of the multitude. All previous nativist literature movements and debates embodied both cultural and political meanings of the formation of an interpretive community of Taiwan literature. Such phenomenon also highlights the unique features and characteristics of Taiwan literature developed under colonial rule in the absence of a common historical perspective.