1888年猶太裔德籍植物學家Otto Warburg的臺灣之旅與民族學標本採集活動

The German-Jewish Botanist Otto Warburg’s Exploration of Taiwan in 1888 and His Ethnological Collection from There

19世紀在亞歷山大．洪堡（Alexander von Humboldt, 1769-1859）以及達爾文（Charles Darwin, 1809-1882）的影響下，自然科學研究與實證主義結合，帶有科學實驗性質的探險之旅在世界各地展開，歐洲各領域的博物學者對此趨之若鶩。臺灣自1860年代開港以來，再度吸引了歐美帝國暨殖民主義列強的目光，這座位於東亞與東南亞之交的小島，不僅具有經濟戰略的地位與地緣政治的價值，由於被北迴歸線貫穿，氣候橫跨熱帶與副熱帶，在高山上甚至具溫帶特徵，島上的動物相與植物相豐富，此外漢人與南島民族比鄰而居的現象也引起西方學者的注目。
本文的研究對象是一位在上述歷史背景下，於1888年初造訪臺灣的德籍猶太裔的植物學家Otto Warburg（1859-1939），他訪臺的主要目的是觀察當地植披並採集植物標本。這個時間點臺灣恰逢一個重要的轉型期，臺灣設省後在劉銘傳的主導下，島上政治及經濟重心北移，各項現代化建設逐漸起步。這位Warburg為時代的見證者，回國之後他立即在「柏林地理學會」針對其臺灣之旅發表演說，而他所採集的植物標本現存於柏林植物園暨植物博物館。此外Warburg還接受柏林民族學博物館的委託，在臺灣採集了一批文物，現存於該館。
本文將根據Warburg發表在學會刊物的講稿與他採集的文物，佐之以其他相關文獻，來闡述他與臺灣的各項連結，並在文末附上演講稿的中譯，試圖完整地呈現這位植物學家對當時臺灣的觀感。

Influenced by Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and Charles Darwin (1809-1882), research in the natural sciences became integrated with empiricism. Scientific expeditions were carried out across the world, attracting naturalists from across Europe. When Taiwan was opened to international trade in the 1860s, the island drew the attention of Europeans for the second time. Taiwan is located at the crossroads of East and Southeast Asia and is therefore of strategic and political importance. The Tropic of Cancer runs through the middle of the island, which means that both tropical and subtropical climates prevail there. Above a certain altitude, there are even characteristics of temperate climates. Taiwan’s fauna and flora are therefore diverse. The fact that Han Chinese and Austronesian peoples populate the island at the same time made it of interest to ethnologists.
Against this historical background, a German-Jewish botanist, Otto Warburg (1859-1939), visited Taiwan in 1888. The main purpose of his stay was to observe the vegetation and collect plant specimens. At the time, Taiwan was undergoing a period of transformation. After Taiwan became an independent province, the economic center was moved to the north under the leadership of Governor Liu Ming-Chuan劉銘傳. Various modernization measures were undertaken. After his return to Europe, Warburg reported on his experiences in Taiwan at the Berlin Geographical Society. He donated his botanical collection to the Berlin Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum. In addition, he was commissioned by the Ethnological Museum in Berlin to collect utensils used by the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, which are now housed in the museum.
Based on the manuscript of Warburg’s speech published in the journal Zeitschrift für Erdkunde zu Berlin and his ethnological collection, the following work presents his observations of Taiwan, analyzing them in light of the relevant literature. Finally, an annotated Chinese translation is included to provide a comprehensive representation of the botanist’s views on the island in the late phase of Chinese rule.