我一直以為我們是住在牛皮之上
雖然上帝已經讓我把我的血，尿
大便，和這塊土地混在一起
用十五匹布換牛皮大之地？
土人們豈知道牛皮可以被剪成
一條一條，像無所不在的上帝的
靈，把整個大員島，把整個
福爾摩莎圍起來。我喜歡鹿肉的
滋味，我喜歡蔗糖，香蕉，我喜歡
東印度公司運回荷蘭的生絲
上帝的靈像生絲，光滑，聖潔
照耀那些每日到少年學校學習拼字
書法，祈禱與教義問答的目加溜灣
與大目降少年。主啊，我聽到他們
說的荷蘭語有鹿肉的味道（一如我
在講道中不時吐出的西底雅語）
主啊，在他里霧，我使已婚女子及
少女十五人能為主禱告並會使徒信條
十誡及餐前餐後之祈禱，在麻豆使
已婚年輕男子及未婚男子七十二人能
為各種祈禱，並會聖教要理，且閱讀
亦藉宗教問答之懇切教授與說教，開始
增廣其知識－－－　 啊，知識像一張牛皮
可以摺疊起來放在旅行袋，從鹿特丹
旅行到巴達維亞，從巴達維亞旅行到
這亞熱帶的小島翻開成為吾王陛下的田
上帝的國，一條一條剪成二十五戈
東西南北繞出一甲繞出三張犁五張犁

在熱蘭遮街，公秤所，稅務所與戲院
之間，我看到它飄揚如一面旗，遙遙
與普羅岷西亞城相微笑。啊知識
帶給人喜悅，一如好的飲食，繁富的
香料（我但願他們知道怎麼煮荷蘭豆）
柑大於橘，肉酸皮苦，但他們不知道
夏月飲水，取此和鹽，搗作酸漿入之
其滋味有甚於閨房之樂者。在諸羅山
我使已婚年輕女子三十人能為各種祈禱
並會簡化要項，在新港，使已婚男女
一百零二人能閱讀亦能書寫（啊，我
感覺那些用羅馬拼音寫成的土著語聖經
有一種用歐羅巴薑料理鹿肉的美味）
華浦蘭語傳道書，西底雅語馬太福音
文明與原始的婚媾，讓上帝的靈入
福爾摩莎的肉－－－　 或者，讓福爾摩莎的
鹿肉入我的胃入我的脾，成為我的血尿
大便，成為我的靈。我一直以為我們是
住在牛皮之上，雖然那些拿著鉞斧大刀
乘著戎克船舢板船前來的中國軍隊
企圖要用另一張更大的牛皮覆蓋在
我們之上。上帝已經讓我把我的血
尿，大便，像字母般，和土人們的
混在一起，印在這塊土地
我但願他們知道這張包著新的拼音
文字的牛皮可以剪成一條一條，翻成
一頁一頁，負載聲音顏色形象氣味
和上帝的靈一樣寬闊的辭典

一九九五．四

註：目加溜灣，大目降，他里霧等皆平埔族社名。西底雅語，華浦蘭語皆平埔族語（西底雅即西拉雅）。熱蘭遮街為荷據時期(1624-1662)荷蘭人在大員島（今台南安平）所建之市街。普羅岷西亞城（在今之台南赤崁樓）亦為荷蘭人所建。據說當初荷蘭人以十五匹布向原住民求借牛皮大之地，許之，乃「剪皮為縷，周圍里許」（連橫：《台灣通史》）。戈為荷人計量單位，等於一丈二尺五寸，四邊各二十五戈為一甲，五甲為一張犁。關於荷蘭教士在台傳教之描述，參閱 （附錄於《巴達維亞城日記》第三冊，村上直次郎日譯，程大學中譯，台北，一九九一）

——————————————————————————–
Formosa, 1661

I’ve always thought that we are living on the cowhide
though God has granted that I mix my blood, urine
and excrement with this land.
Exchange fifteen bolts of cloth for the land as large as a cowhide?
The aboriginals wouldn’t possibly know a cowhide can be cut
into strips, and, like the spirit of omnipresent
God, encircle the whole Tayouan island,
the whole Formosa. I like the taste of
venison, I like cane sugar and bananas, I like
the raw silk shipped back to Holland by the East Indian company.
God’s spirit is like raw silk, smooth, holy and pure.
It shines upon the youngsters from Bakloan and Tavacan
who come daily to the youth school to learn spelling, writing,
praying, and catechism. Oh Lord, I hear the Dutch language
they speak smell of venison (just like the Sideia language
I utter from time to time in my sermon).
Oh Lord, in Dalivo, I have taught fifteen married women and
maidens to say Lord’s prayer, the Gospel, the Ten Commandments,
and prayers before and after meals; in Mattau, I have taught
seventy-two married and unmarried young men to say
various prayers, to know the main religious doctrines, to read,
and by sincerely teaching and preaching catechism, to start
enlarging their knowledge－－－　　 oh, knowledge is like a cowhide
which can be folded and put into a traveling bag to carry
from Rotterdam to Batavia, from Batavia to
this subtropical island, and be unfolded into our Majesty’s agricultural land,
the Lord’s nation, cut into strips of twenty-five ges,
which length squared forms one morgen, and then three and four zhanglis.

In Zeelandia, between public measurement office, tax office,
and the theater, I see it flying like a flag, smiling remotely
at Provintia. Oh, knowledge
brings people joy, just like good food and various
spices (if only they knew how to cook Holland peas).
Oranges, with sour flesh and bitter skin, are larger than tangerines. But they don’t know that
in summer the water tastes even better than love-making when
mixed with salt and smashed oranges. In Tirosen,
I have acquainted thirty married young women with various prayers
and simplified key items; in Sinkan, one hundred and two
married men and women are taught to read and write (oh, I
feel those Romanized Bibles in aboriginal languages
taste of the venison flavored with European ginger).
Ecclesiastes in the Favorlang language, the Gospel According to Matthew in the Sideia language:
the marriage of the civilized and the primitive. Let God’s spirit
enter the flesh of Formosa－－－　　 or, let the venison of Formosa enter my
stomach and spleen to become my blood, urine and
excrement, to become my spirit. I’ve always thought that we are
living on the cowhide, though those Chinese troops are approaching
on junks and sampans with large axes and knives
attempting to cover us with another bigger
cowhide. God has granted that I mix my blood,
urine, and excrement with the aboriginals’
and print them, like letters, on this land.
How I wish they knew this cowhide, in which new spelling
words are wrapped, can be cut into strips and thumbed into
pages, a dictionary loaded with sounds, colors, images, odors
and as broad as God’s spirit.

1995. 4

　 Author’s Note: Bakloan, Tavacan, Dalivo, Sinkan, Tirosen, and Mattau are names of communities of the Plain Aboriginals in Taiwan. The Sideia language and the Favorlang language are dialects of the Plain Aboriginals (Sideia is also called Siraya). Zeelandia was a city built on Tayouan island (now called Anping, in Tainan) by the Hollanders during the Holland Occupation times (1624-1662). Provintia was a fort built by the Hollanders. It is said that the Hollanders offered to exchange fifteen bolts of cloth with the aboriginals for a cowhide-large piece of land. Being accepted, they ‘cut the cowhide into strips and encircled a land more than one kilometer in circumferenc.’ (See Lien Heng: A General History of Taiwan).
‘Ge’ was a unit of measurement used by the Hollanders, equaling about twelve feet and five inches.
Twenty-five ges squared equals one morgen. Five morgens makes one ‘zhangli’.