臺閩間的明清古船――臺灣海峽史之一

Ancient Ships of the Taiwan Strait during the Ming and Qing Dynasties: History of the Taiwan Strait, Part One

本人極度關注臺灣四周環境及古今人文互動的議題，此議題之探討應先理解臺、閩關係，而最重要的臺閩互動關係，厥為連接兩岸的臺灣海峽，又欲渡海峽者，必須依靠船隻。因此本文從臺閩間的古船入手，解決長久以來的疑問，即為何臺灣與福建這麼近，兩千年前中國早已遠至南洋，而跨越臺灣海峽的漢人卻僅在最近三、四百年才來到臺灣？古船的科技因素到底在其中占有多少重要性？就船隻的構造而論，中國海船船底的設計，至宋以下雖已發展到新的階段，但最後並沒有出現十八、十九世紀歐洲之尖底、中U型、尾收縮平底的飛剪船形式。且在船帆的設計上，中國沒有改進為使用四方型與斜三角型帆轉動運的帆船。清廷規定臺閩對口港口為：廈門←→澎湖，泉州←→鹿港，福州←→淡水，原因是取其直線最近距離。但臺閩間大部分時間的季風方向為由北而南或由南而北，此種風向對帆船造成了90度橫風角度，因此而增加帆船航行時的困難度。在明清之際，福建到東南亞可沿著海岸線南下，其安全度遠勝橫渡臺灣海峽，這可解釋十七世紀以前福建移民至臺灣的人不多的原因。至清廷擁有臺灣後，一般仍將航行於臺閩海峽視為畏途，一旦來到臺灣後，回鄉之途更為困難，這也影響福建人來臺的意願，而定居於臺灣者就成為入臺後的開基祖。 I have taken considerable interest in the surrounding environment of Taiwan and the human interactions that take place in both ancient and modern times. The issue of human interactions concerns the relationship between Taiwan and Fujian, the Taiwan Trait that lies between them, and what ships were used to cross the Taiwan Strait. This paper examines the ships that sailed the Taiwan Strait. One lingering fundamental question is why the Chinese did not migrate to Taiwan until recent centuries, while they were able to sail to the South China Sea two millenia ago? How much of this late arrival to Taiwan was predicated by seafaring technology? In terms of ship design, Chinese seafaring ships reached a new milestone in the Song Dynasty. Yet, they never advanced to the next level of design typical of European clippers in the 18th and 19th centuries, which had s-shaped bottom, u-shaped hull, and a transom stern. Chinese rigging also did not evolve into the square and lateen riggings. The Qing Dynasty sanctioned three routes – Xiamen to Penghu, Quanzhou to Lugang, Fuzhou to Tamsui – for maritime traffic across the Taiwan Strait, based on the minimum distance principle. Yet, monsoon winds between Taiwan and Fujian are mostly southward or northward, which would create 90 degree angle to sailboats and increase the difficulty of sailing. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the main conduit from Fujian to Southeast Asia was coastal. This coastal route was less perilous compared to crossing the Taiwan Strait, and could explain why there were only few Fujian migrants in Taiwan in the 17th century. Following the annexation of Taiwan in the Qing Dynasty, the crossing of the Taiwan Strait was still considered as a journey of no return, and this also affected Fujian migrants, in the sense that they settled instead of returning to their origins.