家族文學及其政治與道德意圖──嘉義賴家詩作研究

Family Literature and Its Political, Moral Aspirations ─ A Study on Poems by Lai Family in Jiayi

二○○七年由賴辰雄醫師主編、嘉義市文化局出版的《法曹詩人壺仙賴雨若詩文全集》，收錄嘉義賴家：四祖賴時輝（1819-1884）、五祖賴世觀（1857-1918）、六祖賴雨若（1878-1941），自清朝嘉慶廿四年（1819）至日治晚期的詩文作品。《法曹詩人壺仙賴雨若詩文全集》內容包含賴家參與戴潮春事件（1862-1864）、子孫參與科舉活動、鼎革易代後如何立足於殖民地臺灣等，已具家族文學規模。本文爬梳《法曹詩人壺仙賴雨若詩文全集》詩作，由嘉義賴家歷經渡海移民、鼎革易代、科舉活動，幾代努力累積之下，庶民家族終於成為地方望族。首先、歸納賴家二祖至四祖「由農而商、由商而士」逐步成為地方望族的發展歷程；其次、五祖賴世觀於清代投身科舉「力取功名」，改隸後「閉門重節」讀書寫詩；再次、六祖賴雨若成為日治時期臺人「首位文官」，致力「推展漢學」、維護文化。由詩作記錄嘉義賴家之發展，賴世觀、賴雨若父子展現跨代文人的兩種處世原則，無論是「閉門重節」或是「積極參與」，均為日治時期臺士樹立獨特的處世特質，令人讚歎。故執「由農而商、由商而士的家族發展」、「賴世觀──力取功名與閉門重節」、「賴雨若──首位文官與推展漢學」三端，論述之。

Edited by Dr. Lai Chenxiong and published by the Cultural Office of Chiayi City in 2007, Facaoshiren: Huxian Lai Yuruo Shiwen Quanji (The Complete Literary Works of Lai Yuruo) collects the literary works of four ancestors of the Lai family in Jiayi: Lai Shihui (1819-1884), Lai Shiguan (1857-1918), and Lai Yuruo (1878-1941). These poetic works, written between 1819 and Japanese rule in later period, concern issues such as Chao-Chun Dai’s Event (1862-1864), participation in the imperial exam, and the maintaining of a distinguished social status in Japanese occupation. They reveal certain features of family literature. Era spans for over one hundred years. How did the Lai family thrive over four consecutive generations through the hardships of political transition? This paper explores the 2007 publication, and finds two kinds of principles adhered to by the writers of the Lai family in response to the political disorientation: passive preservation of moral integrity and active participation in worldly matters. Either stance is found in the following facts: the active involvement of the Lai ancestors (from the second to the fourth) in local affairs, which enabled the family’s prosperity; the fifth ancestor’s (Lai Shiguan) pursuit of political career and preservation of moral integrity; the sixth ancestor’s (Lai Yuruo) serving as the first civil official and his promulgating of Han literature during Japanese occupation. The two principles reflect a daring attitude and is worthy of admiration.