重返1940年代台灣──甘耀明《殺鬼》中的歷史傳奇

Revisiting 1940s Taiwan: The Historical Romance in Gan Yaoming’s The Ghost Slayer

客籍作家甘耀明的小說《殺鬼》（2009） 將背景定在1940年代，從太平洋戰爭爆發到二二八及其後，也就是曾被戒嚴時期國民黨政府視為禁忌的一段台灣歷史時期。然而其書寫方式，卻有別於鄉土寫實傳統的悲情，糅雜魔幻寫實、鄉野傳奇、童話和卡通，可說跌破大家的眼鏡。1972年生的甘耀明，遠離日治時期以及二次大戰，為何重返這段歷史？為何採取此一書寫方式？他是為誰而寫？對誰而寫？本文將討論《殺鬼》中的歷史傳奇。我認為小說藉由魔幻寫實、鬼故事、童話、卡通等手法，將歷史傳奇化，呈現四○年代台灣的種族、族群和世代乃至殖民與被殖民的矛盾對立以及文化融合。甘耀明藉由火車進入關牛窩，並貫串全書，帶入現代性以及四○年代歷史事件的衝擊，於是環繞著火車與鄉土的二元對立，形成火車傳奇與鄉野傳奇，兩者構成本書歷史傳奇的主要部分。然而火車傳奇逐漸併入鄉野傳奇。小說並透過歷史傳奇反思日本軍國主義、美軍轟炸、二二八、認同的變化以及文化的混血。本文第一部分為前言，第二部分將探討火車傳奇與鄉土傳奇及其所代表的意義，第三部分將探討歷史反思與文化混血，第四部分則是結論。 Hakka writer Gan Yaoming’s novel The Ghost Slayer is set in 1940s Taiwan, from the outbreak of the Pacific War to the Feb. 28, 1947 Incident and its aftermath, a his-torical period which had been a taboo subject to the Kuomintang government under martial rule. Nevertheless, the novel departs from the sad realism characteristic of the Taiwanese hsiang-tu tradition by using instead magical realism, rural legends, fairy tales, and cartoon. Given that Gan was born in 1972, away from the Japanese period and World War II, one may wonder: Why does he revisit this history? Why does he opt to write in this way? For whom and to whom does he write? This article delves into the historical romance in the novel, arguing that Gan romances the history to present racial, ethnic, and intergenerational conflicts and strife as well as cultural syncretism between colonized and colonizer in 1940s Taiwan. By depicting the train’s entry into Guaniuwo and the centrality of the train to the plotline, the novel highlights that the train brings in modernity and repercussions of historical events. Legends about the train and rural legends and the dichotomy between them constitute the major part of the historical romance, although the former gradually merge into the latter. The novel also reflects on Japanese militarism, the US bombing of Taiwan, and the Feb. 28, 1947 Incident as well as identity crisis and cultural hybridity. The first section of the article is the introduction; the second section discusses legends about the train and rural legends; the third section deals with historical reflection and cultural hybridity; the fourth section is the conclusion.

Hakka writer Gan Yaoming’s novel The Ghost Slayer is set in 1940s Taiwan, from the outbreak of the Pacific War to the Feb. 28, 1947 Incident and its aftermath, a his-torical period which had been a taboo subject to the Kuomintang government under martial rule. Nevertheless, the novel departs from the sad realism characteristic of the Taiwanese hsiang-tu tradition by using instead magical realism, rural legends, fairy tales, and cartoon. Given that Gan was born in 1972, away from the Japanese period and World War II, one may wonder: Why does he revisit this history? Why does he opt to write in this way? For whom and to whom does he write? This article delves into the historical romance in the novel, arguing that Gan romances the history to present racial, ethnic, and intergenerational conflicts and strife as well as cultural syncretism between colonized and colonizer in 1940s Taiwan. By depicting the train’s entry into Guaniuwo and the centrality of the train to the plotline, the novel highlights that the train brings in modernity and repercussions of historical events. Legends about the train and rural legends and the dichotomy between them constitute the major part of the historical romance, although the former gradually merge into the latter. The novel also reflects on Japanese militarism, the US bombing of Taiwan, and the Feb. 28, 1947 Incident as well as identity crisis and cultural hybridity. The first section of the article is the introduction; the second section discusses legends about the train and rural legends; the third section deals with historical reflection and cultural hybridity; the fourth section is the conclusion.