本文主要從清代後期以來竹塹地區關於「開臺進士」鄭用錫（1788-1858）功成名就的風水聯想，及其對陰、陽宅風水或是堪輿地師的態度，來探索傳統士紳與民俗信仰之間的互動情形。從道光5年（1825）淡水廳儒學之風水庇蔭鄭用錫科考有成的說法問世起，鄭用錫的一生即與「風水」結下了難分難捨的文化因緣。民間社會關於他的各種風水傳聞，也逐漸成為竹塹人士共享的歷史記憶。相形之下，鄭用錫本人對於風水之說的質疑與批評，與大眾視其為境域風水靈氣之應驗者的社會氛圍之間則互有出入。這項個案研究的結果，使我們體會到官紳階層如何透過傳統的風水文化與地方社會產生連結，以便形塑出一種利益共同體的集體意識；與此同時，也讓我們見識到傳統士紳與民俗文化之間，存在著一種看似複雜卻又有跡可循的離合關係。

This paper explores the interaction between the traditional gentry and popular belief. In doing so, it focuses on the successful career of the pioneering Taiwanese Chin Shih Cheng Yung-hsi (1788-1858) and his association with Feng-shui (geomancy) in the Chu-ch'ien area (modern day Hsinchu) since the late Ch'ing Dynasty and on Cheng's attitude towards the Feng-shui method of determining residences of deaths and living persons as well as his attitude towards practicing geomancers. Ever since 1825, when word spread that Cheng Yung-hsi's success in the imperial examination was allegedly due to the fact of protection by the favourable Feng-shui of the official Confucian school in Tamsui T'ing that he had attended, Cheng Yung-hsi's life became inexorably intertwined with the culture of "Feng-shui". The stories passed on within the populace regarding his merits in geomancy gradually evolved to a generally shared historical memory among the people of Chu-ch'ien. By contrast, Cheng Yung-hsi himself proved to be doubtful and critical of the theory of Feng-shui, which stood in discrepancy with the social climate that attributed his success to the favourable effects of Feng-shui. From the results of this case study, we can gain an understanding of how the gentry class established links with local society through the traditional culture of Feng-shui and thus shaped a collective identity of a certain community of interest. Furthermore, it also allows us to gain a deeper insight into the relationship between the traditional gentry and popular culture and to understand that there exists a complex though indeed traceable relation of divergence and convergence between the two.

風水;民間信仰;集體意識;新竹鄭家;士紳階層

Feng-shui (Geomancy); Popular Belief; Collective Identity; Cheng Family of Hsinchu; Gentry Class