吧城華人公館檔案：《公案簿》之婚姻案件探析

Abstract

本文以跨越18、19世紀的吧城華人公館檔案之《公案簿》為研究對象，分析其中的婚姻案件。吧城華人公館檔案又稱「吧國公堂檔案」，為現存「唯一」的海外華人自治與司法檔案，而它數量最多、年代最久、保存最完整的三大特點，堪稱「海外華人檔案之最」。這批文件裡，《公案簿》佔了總數的四分之一，是檔案中最主要的部份。 婚姻的締結，是各種社會關係的基礎，本研究依據《公案簿》一至十二輯的檔案內容，探討華人社會中的婚姻案件。藉由案件紀錄所呈現的婚姻糾紛、審理結果，進一步了解18世紀末至19世紀中期，吧達維亞華人的婚姻制度、婚姻糾紛的原因，以及訴請離婚的成立與否。吧城華人社會所施行的婚姻制度，融合原鄉中國傳統的結婚禮俗與荷蘭當局下的婚姻法律概念。婚姻糾紛的敘述，最普遍可見於訴請離婚的案件，離婚訴請人男女皆有，以女性居多。申訴離婚的原因通常是丈夫無法負擔家計、丈夫羞辱或毆打妻子、夫或妻在外另結新歡等。而公堂的審理婚姻案件的依據，本於《大清律例》及華人社會習慣法，並參照荷蘭殖民政府的法規作出判決。雖有「勸和」結案，但判決分離的案件愈至後期有逐步增多之勢。從夫、妻在審判過程扮演的角色，公堂上審案官員所考量的因素，及判決結果等等，對照當時清廷統治下的中國社會，吧城華人可謂掌握了較高的婚姻自主權，在落地生根異鄉後，發展出獨樹一幟的海外華人風貌。This paper is to analyze the marital affairs during the 18th to 19th century in Batavia recorded in the Gong An Bu of the Chinese Councils of Batavia archives Series. Marriage is the cornerstone of all kinds of social relationships. By examining their institution of marriage, reasons of the marital dispute, and the factors that had influenced the ruling of divorce applications, this paper aims to provide a better insight into the values and beliefs held by the Chinese in Batavia in the late 18th century to the mid-19th century. The marriage practices of the Chinese in Batavia combined the Chinese wedding traditions with the legal concepts of marriage implemented by the Dutch colonial authorities. This paper finds that from the description of marital disputes, the number of women who filed for divorce is higher than that of men. Husband unable to support the family, husband humiliating or abusing the wife, or either husband or wife committing infidelity were all the common reasons for divorce. Although there were cases closed with the judges dissuading the couples from divorce, the rate of divorce determination escalated especially in the later period of time. It is indicated that the Chinese in Batavia had a relatively higher degree of autonomy in matrimony compared to those Chinese mainlanders ruled by the Qing Dynasty, and it also shows that as a result of living separate lives, the Chinese in Batavia had developed a unique culture of their own by blending the Chinese culture with the Indonesian culture under Dutch rule.