《鳳山縣采訪冊》街莊地名百年來的變化過程：以雅化為核心的探討

Abstract

「雅化」是描述地名變化的常用概念，但學界對「雅化」的定義卻頗有分歧。從歷來的地名研究可知「雅化」的知識系譜，但在1980年代以降定義被鬆動。為探尋「雅化」的內涵與定義，本研究以《鳳山縣采訪冊》的街莊地名為對象進行地名的貫時性比較，並以讀音是否相近作為主要的切入點，試圖與先行研究的「雅化」概念對話。清治末期到日治初期，地名尚未標準化，差異並非「改名」或「雅化」，而是哪一種寫法被記錄下來；日治初期到日治末期，「標準化」是地名變化的主旋律，將地名視為空間編碼的工具，並隨之有實質的「改稱」，這些改稱都可稱為「抽象化」──與地名原義疏遠；到了戰後，制度的催化下地名大量重新命名，符合嚴格「雅化」要件的地名變化很少，應以「抽象化」來描述這個時期的地名變化。本研究指出在個別地名案例上應區分「雅化」狹義與廣義版本，而廣義「雅化」（即抽象化）更可擴大用以描述整體的地名變化趨勢。在語言上，地名的抽象化未必以何種語言為中心，空間上亦無明顯集中，但在時間分布上，清治及日治雖有，但戰後初期才成為整體的地名變化趨勢。“Ngá-huà” (雅化, elegantization) is a frequently employed concept in the discourse on changes of toponyms; however, there is no consensus about its definition between toponymic researchers. Within the literature review, we could know the epistemological lineage of “ngá-huà,” yet its conceptual boundaries have become increasingly fluid, particularly since the 1980s. To elucidate the semantic scope and definitional contours of “ngá-huà,” this study undertakes a historical-geographic analysis of the village toponyms documented in the 1894 Hōng-suann-kuān Tshái-hóng-tsheh (《鳳山縣采訪冊》, Hongsuann County Gazetteer), with phonological correspondence serving as the primary analytical entry point. The objective is to engage critically with existing interpretations of the term and to reassess its applicability within the broader context of toponym change.During the late Ch’ing (as known as Qing) rule period and the early Japanese rule period, toponyms had not yet undergone standardization; discrepancies in toponyms during this phase were less indicative of intentional renaming or “ngá-huà” than of variations in orthographic documentation. From the early to the late Japanese rule period, the dominant toponymic dynamic shifted toward standardization, whereby toponyms were increasingly treated as instruments of spatial inscription. This process often entailed substantive renaming that may be more accurately characterized as instances of abstraction—a detachment from the original semantic or cultural referents of the names. After the WWII, the Chinese Nationalist authoritarianism rule period, systemic institutional forces catalyzed a wave of large-scale toponymic reforms. However, toponym changes that conform strictly to the narrow definition of “ngá-huà” were relatively rare during this phase. Rather, the prevailing mode of transformation aligns more closely with the notion of abstraction.This study thus contends that a nuanced distinction should be drawn between the narrow and broad interpretations of “ngá-huà,” with the broader sense—effectively equivalent to abstraction—proving more analytically productive in capturing the overarching trajectories of toponymic change. From a linguistic perspective, toponymic abstraction is not necessarily centered around any specific language, nor is it spatially concentrated. Temporally, while instances of abstraction can be identified during both the Ch’ing and Japanese periods, it is only in the early postwar period that this mode of transformation emerged as a dominant trend across the toponymic landscape.