將動、植物在文學書寫中透過諧音、象形、比興、比喻等修辭方式逐漸賦予並疊加豐富的涵義,使這些動、植物逐漸轉化成文化符號,從而構成社會群體約定俗成的交流密碼,是文學符號化的一種規律。文章從文學研究領域出發,以文本分析為主要方法,運用文學符號學的理論找尋人們將當歸、榴槤塑造成文化符號的演變脈絡,並企圖探討在這種意義的積澱和符號化過程中,當歸這種成熟的文化符號體現的移出地引力與榴槤符號形成過程中體現的在地引力之間的相互作用、在這種相互拉扯的作用力下表現出的中國和南洋兩個區域對南洋華人(指長期居住、工作在南洋的華人)的集體記憶,以及獨特的南洋華人本土化過程的特徵。
In the history of human culture and civilization, animals and plants are always symbolized by some strategies, such as homophony pictograph, metaphor, and other rhetorical methods in literature, fine arts, music, drama, opera and so on. These symbols graduaIIy become the special communication codes for specific social groups. This article traces the symbolization history of Chinese angelica and durian, and attempts to explore the accumulated significance of both Chinese angelica and durian. It is found that angelica this mature cultural symbol reflects the cultural gravity from China, which acts on the Chinese migrants in Nanyang area for summoning them back. At the same time, symbols of durian were shaped graduaIIy from late Qing by Nanyang Chinese migrants. In durian's symbolization process, the interaction between the cultural gravity from China and the local gravity reflects the coIIective memory and the unique characteristic of localization of Nanyang Chinese.