借鏡與反思：臺灣士紳林獻堂觀見的美國

Learning and Reflection: American Travel Notes of the Taiwanese Gentry Lin Hsien-Tang

日治時期，臺中霧峰士紳林獻堂（1881-1956）為了完遂心願與迴避臺灣的紛擾，於1927 年5 月至1928 年5 月間，進行長達一年環遊歐美各國的長途之旅。他並就旅遊經歷撰文，連載於《臺灣民報》與《臺灣新民報》，即今日《環球遊記》一書內容。本文主要基於林獻堂《環球遊記》中〈美國見聞錄〉的內容分析，輔以日記的載述資訊，分別由美國民主發展內涵和現代化兩個面向歸結林獻堂的旅遊觀察，並與該趟旅行後林氏思想或活動作為之間的可能關連進行討論。分析結果顯示，林獻堂美國之行停留地點的安排規劃、觀察現象的視角和感受，極可能深受梁啟超、黃朝琴等人之影響。林獻堂透過對美國的獨立建國歷史與民主自由的認知、現代化城市生活的體驗、城市文明特質與美國國民日常行為表現的觀察，歸結出該國得以強勢發展的原因主要在於良好的教育及發達的經濟。美國之行，應具有強化和激勵林獻堂持續追求民主自由的理念，爭取臺民參政權利的作用，而受到梁啟超的影響，其一貫採循文化抗日的策略路線，故他在返臺後仍熱切而積極地投入相關組織的運作，致力於文化推廣和地方自治運動。林氏藉由傳播媒體的刊載，將在美國的見聞以遊記的方式呈現，引介給臺灣人民認知自由民主的普世價值和臺灣現代化的進步空間，也提醒高度文明發展可能帶來的問題，冀能廣開民智，實現理想。該見聞錄對當時臺灣殖民社會發展所提供的借鏡和反思，可謂是其價值所在。

Gentry Lin Hsien-Tang, born in the famous family at Wu-Feng in the central part of Taiwan, travelled the Global for a year from May 1927 to May 1928, for fulfilling wish and avoiding Taiwan's troubles in during Japanese occupation. The articles which he wrote the formative records during travel period, were serially printed in Taiwan Min Pao and Taiwan Shin Min Pao. Those are also the content of the book of Voyage around the World. The studying is desired to discuss the images of America and their meanings which Lin Hsien-Tang represented by analyzing the U.S.A. record of the Voyage around the World. The article is focused on political system of American democracy and freedom, landscape of modernization and urbanization, and thought in development of great-power state. Based on the understanding of Lin Hsien-Tang to American independent history, experiences of the life at modern cities, and observation of civilization characteristics and the daily behavior of American citizens, Lin concluded that the education and economics were the causes of a country to be powerful and prosperous. Lin's travel notes representing what he saw and heard in the United States were introduced to the Taiwan people under the Japanese colonial by publishing. Promoting the democratic and developmental cognition of Taiwan society is to be expected and it is maybe the core value of those notes.