連屬公共性與跨域靈力：臺北市「大樹公」的存活之道

Articulated Publicness and Trans-territorial Magic Power The Ways of Survival of“Deified Trees”in Taipei City

隨著都市開發、農業聚落解體及族群遷徙，原為地方社群自然信仰的「大樹公」面臨消失危機。然而，迄今仍有少數具靈力傳說的老樹及相關信仰棲居於都市中，彰顯傳統元素在現代紋理中的韌性，以及自然物轉化進入都市生活的過程。筆者通過文獻分析、實地考察及訪談，探討臺北市賦有靈力傳說的大樹公如何在現代都市中存活，藉此理解傳統性與現代空間的共存方式。研究發現，大樹公的存活與再生有幾種不同情形，涉及「連屬公共性」和「跨域靈力」及其物質條件。連屬公共性乃指大樹公連結上公園綠地、老樹保護和鄉土文史保存等治理議題，成為新都市紋理的一環。跨域靈力牽涉大樹公信仰與傳說的跨時空連結，藉此正當化其實質或象徵性存在。大樹公挾著傳統性與現代性、自然與城市、靈力與理性的混雜，彰顯了「不止於人」的都市生活。

With urban development, the disintegration of agricultural settlements and the migration of ethnic groups, the“deified trees”(dashugong), which were originally natural belief of local communities, are facing the risk of disappearing. However, there are still a few old trees with magic-power legends and related beliefs living in the city, demonstrating the resilience of traditional elements in modern textures and the process of transformation of natural objects into urban life. Through document analysis, fieldwork and interviews, the authors explore how Taipei City’s legendary deified trees which are endowed with magic power survive in the modern city, thereby understanding the coexistence of traditionality and modern space. The study found that there are several different situations for the survival and regeneration of the deified trees, involving“articulated publicness”and“trans-territorial magic power”and their material conditions. The articulated publicness means that the deified trees are connected with the governance issues such as public park and green space, old tree protection and local culture and history preservation, and becomes a part of the new urban texture. Trans-territorial magic power involves the cross-temporal and spatial connection of deified trees’beliefs and legends, thereby justifying their substantial or symbolic existence. Deified trees demonstrate the“more-than-human”urban living with the mixture of traditionality and modernity, nature and city, as well as magic power and rationality.