「余，臺灣人也」－－論連雅堂先生之鄉土認同

I am a Taiwanese : An Essay Concerning the National Identification of Mr. Ya-Tan, Lian

連雅堂先生在台灣歷史上扮演重要角色，他著作多，經歷也不少，一生中以兩大抱負作終身職志，也告誡家族及臺灣人民，一是做為臺灣人，不可不知臺灣史，二是做為臺灣人，不可不說台語。他的具體貢獻是出版《臺灣通史》及《臺灣語典》。另外難能可貴的就是他屢次重述且強調「余，臺灣人也！」誓不作清國臣民或日本國民，充分表現出臺灣人的義氣與志節。不過，連氏也參加過清帝所辦的科舉而落第；他的著作倒受日本朝野稱頌，更令人疑惑的是，在「國家認同」上，他晚年卻不願其子孫作個「臺灣人」卻願作個「中國人」。因此當中國取代了日本來統治臺灣時，他及他的後代都享盡榮華富貴。本文係依史料來剖析連氏「余，臺灣人也」此句話之複雜意涵！

Mr. Lian was a characteristic scholar especially manifests himself at the aspect of Taiwanese identification during his lifetime in the Chin Dynasty, Japanese colonization, and K.M.T.'s control over Taiwan. Two things he struggled & devoted his whole life, the one was to study & apprehend the history of Taiwan, and to understand the Taiwan native language was the other. All the works he wrote, these two areas were remarkable historically. Judging from his current environment, political and ideological, Mr. Lian's identification of Taiwanese was vague & ambiguous to a certain degree. While he argued very much he was neither a subject of the Chin Dynasty nor a surrender of alien country（Japan）, he emphasized and repeated to took the saying "I, am a Taiwanese" as a proud maxim and warned his younger generation to follow it, but he embarrassed to attend and failed the civil examination held by the Chin Dynasty, in addition, his command of Japanese language was quite excellent. After the defeat of Japan in 1945, no sooner than K.M.T. took over Taiwan, Lian quickly changed his insisted identification, he substituted "I, am a Taiwanese, and also a Chinese" for "I, am a Taiwanese", the former was approved and appraised by the K.M.T.'s government. And his immediate son and grandson have occupied the vary important position in politics as the consequence of this alternation. This topic deals with the complicated issue of Lian's identification of Taiwanese, many historical documents, information, correspondences, diaries, whatever material relevant to it appears in this paper. Criticism and judgment accompany it also.