在客家意識重構的過程當中,客家飲食文化被視為客家認同的重要指標之一,而食材中醃漬品的多樣性凸顯了客家人在食材儲存上卓越的技術。眾多的醃漬食材中「福菜」─是大家所認知的傳統客家代表性食材。過去對於客家醃漬文化之研究仍多論述過去原鄉經驗的形塑過程,卻忽略了傳統的醃漬食材已由家庭私領域中躍升為地方特色產業的形態,技術上的適應更是我們該要放視的重點。因此研究者以素有「福菜之鄉」聲譽的苗栗縣公館鄉為研究場域,以文化生態之觀點來瞭解在地客家族群與環境交互影響下的福菜產業如何透過製作技術上的適應而呈現現今的風貌。再者討論福菜之鄉的建構對公館當地居民的意義。 研究結果發現,台灣在進入工業化社會後,公館當地小農落入了全球性的發展軌道,以致瓦解地方原有的勞動結構,間接影響家庭所原有的分配性活動,促使當地農業婦女走向鄰近的工廠。為適應勞動力出走後所導致福菜產量不足的情況,公館地區開始走向資本結構式的生產方式,在政府政策推動下,改變生產工具與技術,由手工的方式到部分借用機器,讓公館受到侷限的技術獲得舒展。地方農民能在工業化的過程中在文化與環境間尋求一個平衡點,透過環境來尋求資源,而透過技術來改變文化,促使公館形塑出當地文化地景的特殊性。在全球化的浪潮中,本土意識的構築成為各國政府所放視的重點,文化活動的地景再現成為了建構地方意象的重要活動,「福菜之鄉」標語的豎立,經由地方菁英、媒體、雜誌報紙、文化活動的灌輸之下,在地居民成為了一個文化的想像共同體,藉以區分他者,達到地方文化產業的自我認同。
In the process of reconstructing Hakka ideology, Hakka food culture plays an important role in Hakka identity. Hakka people have outstanding technologies for preserving foods, as can been seen in their variety of pickled foods. Monochoria, for instance, is a well-known traditional cuisine that represents Hakka culture. In the past, many researches on Hakka’s pickling culture deal with the shaping of the town. They, however, overlooked the fact that traditional pickled foods have already left the households and become a part of local characteristic industry. Instead, we should be focusing on the shift of technology. Therefore, this study examines the area of Gongguan Township, Miaoli County – known as the “hometown of monochoria” – to understand the monochoria industry under the effects of Hakka people and environment from the point of view of culture ecology. We investigate how the technology has evolved to adapt through time and the significance of constructing the hometown of monochoria for local residents. In our research, we find that local farmers in Gongguan have subjected to the trends of globalization as Taiwan became an industrial society. This has broken down the original structure of labor, indirectly influencing the original household activities, forcing local women in agriculture to work at neighborhood factories. To cope with the diminishing harvest of monochoria due to the lack of labor, this area has adopted capital-intensive production. Under government policy, the tools and technology they use have changed. Gongguan have been trending towards mechanization, instead of the use of human manpower, to break through the limitations. Local farmers could find a balance between culture and environment during the process of industrialization. They could seek resources from the environment, and shape culture with technology, resulting in the unique local culture landscape that is today. In the waves of globalization, governments in each country are emphasizing on indigenous ideology. By establishing the sign of “hometown of monochoria”, and the promotion from local elites, media, magazine, as well as cultural activities, residents form an imagined community could achieve self-identity with local culture industry.