消失的荷苞嶼潭：嘉南平原的水域治理與湖泊之商品化經營（1640s－1910s）

Vanished Hâ-pau-sū Lake: Water Governance and Commercial Management of Lakes on Jianan Plain (1640s-1910s)

本文聚焦於嘉南平原上一個已經消失近百年的湖泊──荷苞嶼潭，探討二十世紀初期以前嘉南平原的水域治理模式──包贌制度，以及在此模式下人們對於這個湖泊的經營與改造過程，並從中分析導致它後來消失的結構性因素。雖然荷苞嶼潭是在1920年代嘉南大圳工程興建後才正式消失，但長期以來政府與贌商對於嘉南平原湖泊的治理與經營方式，早已為其不幸的遭遇埋下伏筆。從本文的分析可見，在水資源缺乏的嘉南平原，靜態的湖泊水資源一直居於重要的地位，人們利用湖泊進行捕撈、灌溉、畜牧、養魚等多元經濟活動，湖泊也在住居、交通，乃至生活信仰等方面發揮各種作用，無論在農業發展或生活住居上皆有其重要的意義。但自十七世紀以來，包括荷苞嶼潭在內之嘉南平原的許多港汊、湖泊，皆受包贌制度制約，以至於包贌商人竭盡所能從湖泊經營過程中羅致最大的利益，從而對湖泊進行各種改造。從荷苞嶼潭的例子顯示，贌商的商品化經營不僅系統地影響大潭的生態和地貌，也改變了周遭居民與大潭之間的多元關係。日本殖民統治臺灣後，荷苞嶼潭收歸官有，包贌商人除了包贌制度上的優勢外，更有來自殖民統治者的治理權威撐腰，因而得以更全面性地推動商品化經營，在總督府大力推動現代化糖業政策下，將大潭的經營方向，從養殖漁業轉向為土地開發與甘蔗栽培，預示了大潭在1920年代將面臨的悲劇。

Focusing on Hâ-pau-sū Lake that had vanished for nearly a century, this article discusses the franchise system adopted for water governance on Jianan Plain before the early 20th century. Examining the impact of this system on how people managed and transformed Hâ-pau-sū Lake sheds light on factors leading to its disappearance. Although Hâ-pau-sū Lake finally vanished in the 1920s upon construction of the Jialan Great Ditches for irrigation, water governance and commercial management had long sown seeds for its eventual doom. On the water-stressed Jianan Plain, static lake water has always been a precious resource. People use lakes for different economic activities such as fishing, irrigation, animal husbandry, and aquaculture. Lakes are also important to human settlements, transportation, and even beliefs. Hence, lakes are of great significance in agricultural development as well as life and living. However, since the 17th century, many lakes and shallow waters along the coast of Jianan Plain, including Hâ-pau-sū Lake, were controlled under franchise. To maximize commercial profits and benefits, franchised merchants introduced transformations to the lakes. Take the case of Hâ-pau-sū Lake, the commercial operations of franchised merchants not only had negative impact on its ecology and landscape, but also jeopardized its diverse relationships with the surrounding inhabitants. After Taiwan came under Japanese rule, Hâ-pau-sū Lake was taken over by the government. In addition to their competitive advantage, the franchised merchants also had the support from the authority of the colonial rulers, and were thus able to promote more wide-ranging commercial operations. In line with the government policy of modernizing the sugar industry, their commercial strategy shifted from fishery and aquaculture to land development and sugarcane cultivation, foreshadowing the tragic disappearance of Hâ-pau-sū Lake in the 1920s.