前殖民時期的臺灣地理知識：日人材料的初探

Pre-Colonial Geographical Knowledge on Formosa: Preliminary Study Based on Japanese Cited Materials

本文旨在探討前清時期西方人建立之臺灣環境知識的特性。雖然日人對臺灣島的認識多根源其自身進行的探險和調查，但統治初期的官員和知識分子並不因此忽略西人在條約港設立後（即1860年代開始）逐步建立的近代地理知識的重要性。為說明以上論點，本研究針對地理或環境認識的面向，依序重建西人知識形成的網絡。文章主要包含三個部份，首先，本文指出天津條約簽訂後條約港的開放使歐美人士（尤其是不列顛人）較便利進入臺灣，並將本島介紹至近代地理知識的體系中；其次，文章聚焦在這些西方先驅者如何探索和表現臺灣的環境；最後，本文歸納出上述人物形塑出之環境知識的特性。透過現存西文資料的爬梳，本研究發現當時西方人所建立的臺灣環境知識，其地理範疇局限於島嶼西半部的平原和丘陵。他們的興趣多集中在自然特徵、原住民生活和產業的景觀。然而，此種由西方人建立的片面、不完整地理知識卻是日人領臺初期據以認識本島自然和人文的基礎，並間接催促殖民者進行更廣泛深入的地理調查。

The purpose of this article is to feature the Western conceptions on Taiwanese environment, as it had the profound influence over the initial Japanese impressions of this island. It is wise to explore the Western literature which the Japanese intellectuals and officials inherited and based, although the Japanese knowledge was also constituted by themselves through undertaking a series of fieldwork explorations and To demonstrate this, my research traces successively the formation and operation of western knowledge-producing networks, with reference to the geographical or environmental perceptions. It is divided into three parts, including the Treaty Ports and the Influx of Westerners, Travelling Topology Modelled by Native Networks, and Restricted Spatial Extent and Lateral Geographical Images. It firstly explains that the influx of Europeans in the latter decades of nineteenth century, mainly the Briton, initiated the development of modern geographical knowledge relating to Taiwan. Second, this article examines the personnel of participating individuals and teams involved. It investigates the methodologies used by these pioneers and enthusiasts for perceiving and representing Taiwanese environments as well. Finally, it features the formatting knowledge produced by these official or leisure tours. An examination of the materials shows that the spatial extent of these Westerners’cruises was highly restricted to the west part of the island, specifically the hills and plains. It also shows that their interests focus mainly on physical characteristics, aboriginal inhabitants, and industrial landscapes. However, the lateral and partial geographical knowledge constructed by Europeans eventually prevailed before the commencement of Japanese administration.