「福爾摩沙」是個葡萄牙字，當然，在詩意的想像中，那艘葡萄牙船永不停駛地通過我們豐鬱的島嶼，我們仍然聽得見那些驕傲發現者的叫喊聲「Ilha Formosa!!」（美麗的島嶼！）。這個歷史事件發生於1517年，或其實是在1542年，還是可能在1544年，或是更晚？試著找尋這段故事的學術證據，而想像會自此消失無影。其實，根本就沒有任何準確或值得信任的來源存在，而學術，我擔心，將永遠找不著福爾摩沙的「發明家」。這何其美好！神秘性因而留住了。一定曾經有某個人將福爾摩沙命名為福爾摩沙吧？到底是何時、為何、如何？就讓我們來「虛構」一個故事吧！
的確，身為一個外來物種，我不能自稱是台灣島上居留最久的住民，然而三十年——從未間斷——也算不壞了。相較之下，魯賓遜可也只在二十八年後，就離開了他那虛構的荒島。
《魯賓遜．克魯索漂流記》封面(1719)。
．
你們還記得《魯賓遜漂流記》吧？還有，您當然一定也記得魯賓遜曾經造訪過台灣（福爾摩沙），對吧？我在開玩笑，是嗎？嗯，如果您不相信我，就請讀讀下面這段文字：
當航向大洋時，我們持續朝著東北方，就像要駛往馬尼拉或菲律賓群島般 ; 我們如此做是為了避免進入任何歐洲船隻之航道；然後我們轉向北方，直到抵達緯度22度30分之處，如此就直接到了福爾摩沙島。我們在此拋錨停下，以便補給水源和新鮮食物，那裏的人們態度非常友善，熱心供給我們所需，並正直而準時地遵守所有承諾和交易。這是在其他地方看不到的，可能是由於荷蘭基督新教傳教士曾經在此耕耘而餘留下來的基督教影響，而這也是我經常觀察到的證據。無論是否能有拯救靈魂之效，但凡接受之處，基督的宗教會開化人民，並改善他們的禮儀。
為什麼這段歷史小插曲如此不為人知？理由顯而易見：它並未被放在我們熟悉而著名的《魯賓遜漂流記》裏，而是被收錄在鮮少人知的續集《魯賓遜．克魯索再次探險》中。由於《魯賓遜漂流記》意想不到的成功，因此狄福（Daniel Defoe）又寫了兩冊續集。第二冊的《魯賓遜的嚴肅自省》，算是一本較有關於基督教教義道德的散文選集而非小說，然而《魯賓遜．克魯索再次探險》一書，告訴我們魯賓遜延續下去的生活和旅程。他再次造訪位於加勒比海、自己如隱士般居住了二十八年的小荒島。之後並繼續前往巴西、馬達加斯加，還有——你猜對了，中國。在駛往中國途中，他下錨於福爾摩沙。在由南往北穿越中國後，經由西伯利亞回到了歐洲。
《魯賓遜．克魯索再次探險》一書出版於1719年，描述1693年至1705年間的虛構事件。而1815年的版本中，收錄了《地理註解》，還有一幅由《海軍編年史》水道測量部（Hydographer of the Naval Chronicle）所提供的福爾摩沙地圖。
狄福《魯賓遜．克魯索漂流記》（魯賓遜．克魯索的生活和奇異驚奇歷險記） (1719)。
1
魯賓遜是第一位拜訪福爾摩沙的虛擬角色嗎？如果他是，我也不會太驚訝。當然早期許多關於某個神秘小島的虛構報導，有可能是福爾摩沙島。在路多維其．亞里奧斯托 (Ludovico Ariosto) 出版的《瘋狂的奧蘭多》（Orlando Furioso ）一書中，1516年，奧蘭多的堂兄弟、英國騎士亞斯多福，從羅吉斯塔島駛向波斯灣。有些推測認為這個島可能就是福爾摩沙，但這只歸猜測。在1544年，一艘葡萄牙船船上水手們看見一個 「美麗的島嶼」（Ilha Formosa！）之前，福爾摩沙不論是名稱或其想像都尚未存在於所謂的文明世界中。
從1661年至十九世紀中葉，並沒有多少歐洲人能成功造訪福爾摩沙島。1787年，法籍探險家貝胡斯伯爵 (Jean-François de Galaup comte de La Perouse) 在前往澳洲途中，於台灣府（台南）外海下錨，然而在遠征開始之前，他相當神秘地永遠消失了。我無法在烏托邦奇妙文學裏找到福爾摩沙島的名稱，除了，或許寫過《回憶與旅行記錄》的貝尼奧斯基伯爵，他又名班耶夫司基、班約夫斯司基、班喬夫斯基、班約夫司基、班尼歐夫司基和班諾夫司基，他是位匈牙利人，波蘭裔和斯洛伐克籍。也許他根本就不是個伯爵，然而他卻是個真正的福爾摩沙王子，而且，據愛伯司漢（Habersham）所說，是德國皇室（Munchhausen）的血親。這位高貴探險家漫長的旅途所到之地，幾乎都是每一個「魯賓遜再遊」踏足之處，巴西、馬達加斯加、福爾摩沙、中國、西伯利亞，只是順序顛倒了過來。1770年他在俄國以叛徒身分被捕後，被流放至堪察加、西伯利亞，之後和獄友越獄，攻陷總督堡壘、總督千金的芳心和一艘俄國戰船。他乘著戰利品開始了他的探險之旅，並於1771年8月抵達東福爾摩沙。
而這個福爾摩沙是多麼不同！原住民花潑王子以壯觀的皇室禮儀接待貝尼奧斯基：
大約八點鐘，我看見軍隊行列，最後王子到場。他們出場的順序如下：首先是六位手持類似旗幟之物的騎士；緊跟著一隊手握長矛的步兵；在此之後有三十到四十位騎士，還有另外一隊手握弓箭的步兵；一整團以棒棍和斧頭武裝的軍隊接著來到。最後王子現身了，伴隨他的是十二到十五位騎在小而美駿馬上的軍官。
實在讓人難以相信，在1771年的台灣東海岸，就有一個具備步兵和騎兵的王國，然而想像力永遠不會背棄我們的伯爵：
「這位將軍的服裝」（一位 Bamini 或是花潑王子的將軍）是一件紅色長褲，中國式半統靴、白襯衫，和一件背心；黑色的，還有一件紅色法衣，或是有著些嵌上黃金珊瑚紐扣的外衣。他的頭上戴著一頂斗笠，非常尖，而尖上末端是染紅的馬鬃裝飾。他的裝備是一柄劍、一支長矛、一把弓、和一袋裝有二十五支箭的箭筒。伴隨著他的隊伍全部裸體，只用一塊小藍布纏住正中間，他們的裝備是長矛和弓箭。
伯爵並和將軍一起嚼檳榔，這點我「十分」確定（嚼的不是將軍而是檳榔）：
在此次交談之後，他以豐盛的茶葉和煙草款待我。並同時起意將檳榔送給我，加進少量的石灰，放在一起咀嚼，讓我感到糟糕透了。
當花潑王子抵達時，他馬上意識到貝尼奧斯基王子的神聖使命：
於此王子補充道，毫無疑問，我就是那位曾由先知預告將要來臨的人。先知預言了一位陌生人會與壯丁到來，此人將從福爾摩沙人首中國之軛中解救：結果王子下了堅定決心要拜訪我，並表示願意以所有的權勢和武力來支持和遵從我。（註：拯救台灣人脫離中國之軛，自十七世紀以來，常有這樣的歐文紀錄）
在激戰之後——當然，貝尼奧斯基幫助花潑戰勝了花潑的敵人——哈帕辛個（Hapuasingo）。貝尼奧斯基玩弄著在福爾摩沙建立一個歐洲殖民地的可能性，甚至提出了一個包括了十二條箴言、七項要求和四條約定的計畫。
在1772年，貝尼奧斯基建議法王路易十五世，在馬達加斯加或是福爾摩沙建立一個法國殖民地。非常不幸地，至少我認為，路易國王選擇了馬達加斯加，並指派貝尼奧斯基為馬達加斯加的總督。假使當初法王選擇了福爾摩沙，那麼我們所有人現在都會住在一個貝尼奧斯基王國裏。而莫理斯港——他英勇地將抵台的港口以自己名字命名——將會是我們帝國的首都。取而代之的是，在馬達加斯加的本地國王於1776年選出貝尼奧斯基作為他們的「皇帝」（Ampansacabe）。在許多作為之中，包含了他為馬達加斯加文引介拉丁文稿本。最終而且英勇地，他以他的王國之名，對歐洲勢力宣戰，並在1786年與法軍大戰時，以馬達加斯皇帝身分陣亡。馬達加斯並未遺忘這位高貴的恩人，在當地首都中仍然能夠找到一條「貝尼奧斯基大道」。
在1856年3月，英國自然科學家史溫侯 (Swinhoe)，坐上一艘中國帆船前來福爾摩沙探察樟腦業，他留給了我們一段造訪福爾摩沙島的記行，以及對台灣鳥類的重要記載。他發現了史溫侯藍腹鷴、史溫侯水鹿，並隨即成為英國領事，以及普魯士王國、丹麥和萄萄牙的在台代表。
當年坐船旅行是充滿著危機，特別當船長還是位老鴉片煙槍時，唯有最勇敢的探險家才能在暴風雨時，讓一群最迷信的船員們掌舵而仍保持冷靜。這事件發生於1860年的蘇格蘭商人必麒麟（Pickering）身上，當他嘗試著將樟腦從大甲運到台南府，途中快要被狂浪吞噬之際，漢人船員們開始祈禱「媽祖婆」之助援，並誓願：「媽祖婆要求多少隻豬，就供奉給祂多少隻。」這時有一人瘋狂跳下甲板，被狂怒的巨浪瞬間淹沒，從此再也沒人見到他。然而，媽祖婆還是不理會：
……船員們陷入絕境，放棄得到
媽祖婆伸手援助的一切希望。
「 沒希望了」他們哀嚎痛哭，「我們完蛋了，劫數難逃即將毀滅 !」
樟腦商懇求船員們一起來求他的神，不論老天爺或是天公玉皇大帝，大家都嚎啕大哭、淚水直流，樟腦商領著大家祈拜：
「啊！天公伯啊！老天爺啊！難道您不認識我了?您不記得嗎？您忘記住在您廟邊的善男信女？去年我不是才從我辛苦賺來的積蓄裏捐了二十五圓給您修廟?我一直都是好人，從來就沒做過壞事。你為什麼要這樣懲罰奉獻於你的奴才?也救救這些跟我一起可憐人的生命吧。救救我們！啊！老天爺，讓我們安全上岸，我會永遠信你！」
哭泣和要命的惱怒情景讓人驚嚇。不管費多少力乞求，狂風暴雨仍絲毫未減。濤濤巨浪時時讓我們閉口無言，並忙著白費力氣地掙扎。
樟腦商又再一次呼喚他的神明。
你睡著了嗎，啊！老天爺啊？你走開了嗎？你怎麼了，重聽嗎？難道你忘了我為你做過的事？假如能活著上岸，我一定要把錢捐給另外一座廟。
我的僕人也加入哀號。船上唯一無動於衷的，是那個年輕番人。他從未到過海上，也還沒有意識到我們身處情況的嚴重性。他高興地對船上漢人狂熱的舉動和胡言亂語笑著，一點都搞不清狀況，只是喝著海水。
聽這些人胡言亂語，我差點瘋掉，樟腦商的禱辭並未得到滿意答覆，他開始用最下流的言語咒罵老天爺，然後開始祈求另一位道教神明，就像對佛教神明一樣的的承諾、一樣的祈求——全都無效，然後他精疲力竭地退卻……
最後，必麒麟自己向耶穌禱告。他感到寬心，然而風暴一直延續到第二天早晨才緩和下來。船員們全都驚恐呆滯，必麒麟只好用一隻舵柄毆打他們直到傷痕累累。在安全抵達打狗（高雄）旁的小港口之後，漢人船員們全都跪下來感謝必麒麟之前對待他們的方式。
《 海軍編年史》水道測量部所提供的福爾摩沙地圖（《魯賓遜．克魯索再次探險》1815年版本)。
2
“Formosa” is a Portuguese word, of course, and in our poetic imagination that Portuguese ship is forever sailing past our lush island. We still can hear those shouts of the proud discoverers: “Ilha Formosa!!” This historic incident happened in 1517. Or was it actually 1542, 1544, perhaps, or maybe much later? Search for scientific evidence of this story and the image will fade into nothingness. No accurate, no trustworthy source exists and science, I am afraid, will never find the “inventor” of Formosa. And this is quite nice because the mystery remains. Somebody must have named Formosa. When, why, how? Let us invent a story!
Certainly, as a foreign subject, I may not claim the longest residency in Taiwan, but 30 years—no parole—is not too bad. In comparison, Robinson Crusoe left his fictional island after only 28 years.
You do remember Robinson Crusoe of course. And, of course you do remember Robinson visiting Taiwan [Formosa], right? I am joking, right? Well, if you don’t believe me, read this excerpt:
“When we were thus got to sea, we kept on NE. [Northeast], as if we would go to the Manillas [sic] or the Philippine Islands; and this we did that we might not fall into the way of any of the European ships; and then we steered north, till we came to the latitude of 22 degrees 30 minutes, by which means we made the island of Formosa directly, where we came to an anchor, in order to get water and fresh provisions, which the people there, who are very courteous in their manners, supplied us with willingly, and dealt very fairly and punctually with us in all their agreements and bargains. This is what we did not find among other people, and may be owing to the remains of Christianity which was once planted here by a Dutch missionary of Protestants, and it is a testimony of what I have often observed, viz. that the Christian religion always civilizes [sic] the people, and reforms their manners, where it is received, whether it works saving effects upon them or no.”
And why is this little episode so obscure? The reason is obvious: It does not appear in the famous Strange and Surprizing [sic] Adventures of Crusoe but in a much lesser known sequel, the Farther [sic] Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. The first book having been extraordinarily successful, Defoe wrote two sequels. The second one, Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe, is a collection of moral essays on Christianity rather than a novel, but the Farther Adventures tells us the continuation of Robinson Crusoe’s life and travels. He revisits his remote little island in the Caribbean, where as a hermit he had lived for 28 years, goes on to Brazil, Madagascar, and—you guessed it—China. He anchors at Formosa on his way to China. Having crossed China from South to North he returns to Europe via Siberia.
《回憶錄與旅行》封面（1790）。
3
The “Farther Adventures” were published in 1719 and describe fictional events between 1693 and 1705. A later 1815 edition of Robinson Crusoe includes a “geographical annotation” as well as a map of Formosa by the “Hydrographer of the Naval Chronicle”.
Is Crusoe the first great fictional character to visit Formosa? I would not be surprised if he is. Of course there are earlier fictional accounts of mythical islands that may have been Formosa. In Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, 1516, the English knight Astolfo, a cousin of Orlando sails from Logistilla’s Island to the Persian Gulf. There is some speculation that this island could have been Formosa. But speculation it is. Formosa existed neither by name nor in the imagination of the so called civilized world before 1544 when sailors on a Portuguese ship saw an “Ilha Formosa”.
[...]
Between 1661 and the 19th century not many Europeans managed to visit Formosa. The French explorer Jean-François de Galaup comte de La Pérouse dropped anchor outside of Taiwanfoo [Tainan] in 1787 on his way to Australia before his expedition, quite mysteriously, disappeared forever. I have been unable to find the name Formosa in utopian fantastic fiction, with the exception, perhaps, of the great Memoirs and Travels of Count Maurice de Benyowsky (also spelled Benyovszky, Benyowszky, Benjowsky, Benyowski, Beniowski. and Benovský), who was Hungarian, Polish, Slovak; he may have been no Count after all, but certainly a Prince in Formosa and—according to Alexander Habersham—evidently a blood-relative of the Münchhausen family. The places this noble adventurer visited on his epic journeys are almost all the places that Robinson Crusoe visits in the Farther Adventures—Brazil, Madagascar, Formosa, China, Siberia—except in reverse order. Captured by Russians as a rebel in 1770 he was sent into exile to Kamchatka, Siberia, escaped with fellow prisoners, capturing the fort of the governor, the heart of the governor’s daughter and a Russian battleship in which he set out for a discovery journey. He arrived in eastern Formosa in August 1771.
And what a different Formosa this is! Benyowsky is treated like royalty with pomp and circumstance by Prince Huapo:
“About eight o’clock, I saw the troops march in, and at last the Prince arrived. Their order was as follows: First came six horsemen, with a kind of standard. These were followed by a troop of infantry with pikes. After these came thirty or forty horsemen, and another body of infantry with bows. A troop armed with clubs and hatchets came next; and last of all came the Prince, attended by twelve or fifteen officers, mounted on small, but beautiful horses.”
It is hard to believe that there were kingdoms, complete with cavalry and infantry, on Taiwan’s east coast in 1771. But our Count’s imagination never fails:
“The habits of this General [a “Bamini” or General of Prince Huapo] consisted of a long red pantalon, Chinese half boots, a white shirt, with a vest: of black, and a red surplice, or outer garment, which had some buttons of coral, set in gold. His head was covered with a bonnet of straw, exceedingly pointed, and the upper extremity was ornamented with horse hair, dyed red. His arms consisted of a sabre, a lance, and a bow, with a quiver, containing twenty-five arrows. The troops who attended him were entirely naked, except a piece of blue cloth round their middle, and their arms were lances and bows.”
He is chewing betel-nut with the General and this I do believe (about the betel-nut, not the General):
“After this conversation, he regaled me with tea and tobacco, at the same time causing betel and the areca nut to be presented to me, with a small quantity of lime, all which together I chewed, and found most execrable.”
When Prince Huapo arrives he immediately recognizes the divine mission of Prince de Benyowsky:
“To this he added, that he had no doubt but that I was the person whose coming was announced by the Prophets, who had foretold that a stranger should arrive with strong men, who should deliver the Formosans from the Chinese yoke: in consequence of which he had determined to pay me a visit, and make me an offer of all his power and forces to support and obey me.”
After having fought and—naturally—won a war on behalf of the Huapo against Huapo’s enemy, Hapuasingo, Benyowsky toys with the idea of forming a European colony on Formosa and puts forward a plan with 12 maxims, 7 demands, and 4 stipulations.
In 1772 Benyowsky suggested to King Louis XV that he should establish a French colony on Formosa or Madagascar. It is very unfortunate, I believe, that King Louis chose Madagascar and appointed Benyowsky as Governor of Madagascar. Had the French King chosen Formosa, all of us would live in Benyowsky-Land right now. And Port Maurice—he had gallantly named his arrival harbor after himself—would be the capital of our empire. Instead of this, local kings in Madagascar selected Benyowsky as their “Ampansacabe” (Emperor) in 1776. Among other things, he introduced Latin script for the Malagasy. Finally and heroically he challenged the European powers in the name of his empire and perished as Malagasy monarch in 1786 while fighting the French. Madagascar did not forget its noble benefactor and a Rue Benyovski can be found in the capital.
[...]
In March, 1856, the English naturalist Swinhoe visited the camphor districts of Formosa aboard a Chinese junk. He discovered Swinhoe’s Pheasant and Swinhoe’s Deer, left us a narrative of his visit and important notes on Taiwan’s bird species, and became the first consular representative in Taiwan for Britain, Prussia, Denmark, and Portugal.
貝尼奧斯基伯爵畫像。
4
Traveling by boat was dangerous in those days, especially if the captain was an old opium smoker, and only the bravest among adventurers would have maintained their calm in a crew of superstitious sailors during a storm. This happened to the Scottish pioneer William A. Pickering in the 1860s when he tried to ship camphor from Tai-kah [Dajia] to Taiwanfoo [Tainan]. About to perish in the waves, the Chinese sailors began to pray to “Ma-tsopo” [Mazu] and made liberal promises to her, including “as many pigs as her soul might desire”. One man dashed wildly overboard, the angry waves closed over him and they never saw him again. But Ma-tso-po did not care:
“[…] the crew sank down in despair, giving up all hope of Ma-tso-po’s assistance.
‘There is no hope,’ they wailed. ‘We are lost men! We are all doomed to perish!’
The camphor dealer then entreated them to join him in trying his god, Lo-t’ien-ya, or the Old Lord of Heaven [Yu Huang]. They all cried loudly, tears streaming from their eyes, whilst the camphor dealer led their prayers thus:
‘O, Lo-t’ien-ya! Lo-t’ien-ya! Dost thou not know me? Rememberest thou not? Hast thou forgotten the devout man whose house adjoins thy sacred temple? But last year did I not give twenty-five dollars of my hard-earned savings to repair thine abode? I have always been a good man. I have never done a bad thing in my life. Wherefore art thou thus punishing thy devote slave? Consider, too, the fate of all these poor fellows with me. Aid us, oh, Lo-t’ien-ya, to get ashore, and nothing will I deny thee!’
The weeping and frantic tearing of hair was shocking to witness. Moreover, in spite of all their entreaties, the storm did not lull in the least. The waves at intervals stopped all language, and occupied us in a struggle to keep our breath.
Again the camphor dealer invoked his god.
‘Art thou asleep, oh, Lo-t’ien-ya? Art thou away? What doest thou, thou god so slow of hearing? Dost thou forget all I have done for thee? If I ever get ashore alive, I will give my money to the other temple!’
My servant also was joining in the cries. The only unconcerned person in the boat was the young savage. He had never been to sea before, and did not appear to realise the gravity of our situation. He was laughing gaily at the impassioned gestures and wild utterances of the Chinese, which he did not understand, and drinking salt water.
I felt nearly crazy, listening to the incoherent words of the men, for as no favourable answer was vouchsafed to his prayers, the camphor dealer anathematised Lo-t’ien-ya in the vilest language, and began to invoke a Taoist god, using the same petition and promises that he had made to the Buddhist deity. All was in vain, and the man fell back exhausted. […]”
Finally, Pickering himself prayed to Jesus. He felt relieved but the storm only abated the next morning. The crew became apathetic and Pickering belabored them all with a tiller until they were bruised all over. After arriving safely at a little port near Takao [Kaohsiung], the Chinese crew kneeled down and thanked Pickering for the way in which he had treated them.
史溫侯（1872）。
