本研究旨在藉由《叻報》當中的地名,討論19世紀末至20世紀初華人大量移入馬新地區,與不同文化接觸之後,對於該新環境地理知識的形構過程。《叻報》是19世紀末至20世紀初本區最重要的中文報章,總部在新加坡,廣泛發行至馬來半島及其周邊地區。該報新聞內容大多牽涉東南亞各地,而當時許多地區也正處於大開發時期,許多今天為人熟知的地名,對當時的華人而言,仍算是新的接觸,因此不可避免地會牽涉到各種外來語的證釋及標準化過程,因此創造出許多新的地名。為此,本研究將針對《叻報》所出現的地名進行蒐集,輔以其他地名材料,討論這些地名在時間軸上的標準化過程以及空間分佈趨勢,從中了解早期南來華人地理空間觀的形塑與變遷。
Through a close study of the place names in the "Lat Pau", this article aims to discuss the formation of the geographical knowledge among the Chinese immigrants between the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lat Pau was the most influential Chinese daily newspaper during the time. It was headquartered in Singapore and widely distributed in the Malay Peninsula and its surrounding areas. Most of the newspaper's content is related to various parts of Southeast Asia, including many of the newly-opened regions. Many of the place names that are well known today were still fresh for the Chinese at that time. Thus, the Chinese immigrants were inevitably involved in the process of interpreting and standardizing those foreign place names, and many new place names were therefore created. Having collected the place names appearing in the Lat Pau and supplemented with other place-name materials, this article discusses the standardization process and spatial distribution trends of these place names and shows the formation and changes of the early Chinese immigrants' geospatial view.