被忽略的「前史」：從《使信月刊》看英國長老教會對臺傳教之開展（1844-1875）

The Neglected Beginning in The Messenger (1844-1875): The "Pre-history" of Presbyterian Church in England's Mission in Taiwan

于天恩(Yu Tien-en)

指導教授 ： 林欣宜

國立臺灣師範大學/文學院/歷史學系/碩士(2022年)

https://doi.org/10.6345/NTNU202200312

摘要

本論文認為，過去對於英國長老教會（Presbyterian Church in England, PCE）在臺傳教之研究視野，大多只關注1865年入臺後開始之發展，不僅沒有討論該會在華傳教之脈絡，也未對該會為何來臺傳教深入探究。英國長老教會約150年前來臺傳教，1941年和北部的加拿大長老教會合併之後，改名為臺灣基督長老教會，今日已是臺灣最大的教派，信徒遍布全島各處，影響力也觸及政治、社會等各領域。長老教會擁有悠久的歷史和多元發展，與之相關的研究成果豐碩已能大致掌握1865年至今的教會發展，及其與臺灣社會的互動。
然而，過去的研究較少考量到英國長老教會在臺灣傳教之開展，與來臺前的傳教經驗有密切關連。英國長老教會於1844年成立，並在1845年成立海外宣道委員會（Foreign Mission Committee, FMC），負責安排傳教經費和人力開始向海外傳教；1851年，在華傳教總部於廈門成立，負責向外拓展和支援新的傳教地，並與海外宣道委員會共同主導在華之傳教決策，包括來臺傳教之決策。
1858年，廈門的宣道師杜嘉德（Carstairs Douglas, 1830-1877）提出「占領說廈門話地區」之計劃，讓英國長老教會開始注意到臺灣，但杜嘉德選擇優先穩定廈門之傳教工作，使得向臺灣傳教遲遲無法成行，直到太平天國中斷廈門的傳教活動，馬雅各（James L. Maxwell, 1836-1921）才於1865年正式來臺。
馬雅各來到臺灣之後，同時受惠於海外宣道委員會將醫療傳教制度化之過程，以及廈門已建立起之白話字系統，得以藉醫療吸引臺灣居民，再教導其閱讀白話字聖經。1870年以後，向原住民傳教的成功，使得臺灣一地的信徒快速增加，甚至超越廈門和汕頭兩地。隨著臺灣之重要性提升，英國長老教會對其之想像亦不斷改變，使得在白話羅馬字、醫療傳教及隊原住民傳教等策略制度化之前的過渡期漸漸受到隱沒，進而被塑造成一個強調臺灣特殊性的傳教成功範例。

關鍵字

英國長老教會 ； 宣道師 ； 臺灣 ； 廈門 ； 基督教在華史

並列摘要

Previous studies focus only on the development of the Presbyterian Church in England (PCE) in Taiwan since 1865, and have not discussed PCE's mission work in China, nor have they explored in depth why PCE came to Taiwan. PCE came to Taiwan about 150 years ago, and after merging with the Canadian Presbyterian Church in northern Taiwan in 1941, it was renamed Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT). PCE has a long history and diversified development, and the abundant research findings, allow us to grasp the development of the church and its interaction with Taiwanese society from 1865 to the present.
However, hitherto studies have neglected the fact that the development of the PCE's mission in Taiwan is closely related to its missionary experience before coming to Taiwan. PCE was founded in 1844 and began its foreign missionary work in 1845 when Foreign Mission Committee (FMC) was established to arrange missionary funds and manpower; and in 1851, the mission in China was headquartered in Amoy to expand and support new mission fields. These two bodies also jointly guided missionary decisions in China, including the coming to Taiwan.
In 1858, Amoy missionary Carstairs Douglas proposed a plan to "occupy the spoken Amoy colloquial area," which marked PCE’s attention of Taiwan for the first time. However, Douglas prioritized work in Amoy in those years, and postponed the mission to Taiwan. It was not until the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom hindered missionary activities in Amoy that James L. Maxwell consequently came to Taiwan officially in 1865.
After Maxwell arriving in Taiwan, he was able to benefit from the institutionalization of medical missions by the FMC and the promulgation of Amoy dialect Colloquial Romanization system, and was able to attract Taiwanese residents through medical treatment and then teach them to read the Bible. After 1870, the success of the mission to the plains aborigines led to a rapid increase in the number of believers in Taiwan, surpassing even Amoy and Swatow. As the importance of Taiwan grew, the imagination of PCE changed, causing is transition period before the institutionalization of missionary strategies to be gradually overshadowed, and Taiwan to be portrayed as a model of missionary success.

並列關鍵字

Presbyterian Church in England ； missionary ； Taiwan ； Amoy ； history of Christianity in China

參考文獻

一、 檔案史料

Compiled by Anony., China, Treaties with Great Britain, Russia, United States, and France. 1858, print at the Foreign Office, 1858.

The Missionary Herald (1806-1861), Boston: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, （http://earlyushistory.net/missionary-herald/）.

The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal (1868-1912)（《教務雜誌》）, Shanghai: The Chinese Recorder.

《使信全覽》，臺南：臺灣教會公報社，2006。