1918年1月4日，從上海開往溫州的普濟輪，在吳淞江口與英商新豐輪對撞，左舷被撞斷後沉沒，船上約有三百名的旅客與職工葬身大海。當時上海跟溫州之間並沒有固定的船班，往往是好幾天才有一班，因此多有溫州地方政商搭乘此輪，其中最重要的死者是辛亥革命後擔任溫州軍政分府的徐定超(1845-1918)。此一災難對溫州地方打擊甚鉅，當地文人張棡等人日記記載，船難後溫州出現多起扶乩問事，希冀招來亡靈，詢問其對身後事包括家族內與地方政治權力分配的處理，其中還出現徐定超的靈魂照相並廣泛流傳的現象。透過此一個案的分析，本文計畫討論以下三個問題：首先，普濟輪海難與徐定超之死對溫州地方政治產生什麼樣的衝擊？第二，溫州地方菁英如何運用扶乩與靈魂攝影來撫平這樣的衝擊，並對船難後的溫州地方權力進行重組？第三，透過對此案過程的重新耙梳，我們可以對二十世紀初期的東南沿海地方政治產生哪些新的觀察？

On January 4, 1918, the Puji ship, en route from Shanghai to Wenzhou, collided with the British-owned Xin Feng ship at the mouth of the Wusong river. The collision struck the Puji on its port side, causing it to sink. The accident resulted in the death of approximately 300 passengers and crew members, whose bodies were lost at sea. At the time, there was no fixed passage between Shanghai and Wenzhou; often people had to wait days for one crossing. Thus many politicians and businessmen from Wenzhou were on board the fateful journey. Among the most notable victims of this maritime disaster was Xu Dingchao (1845-1918), the leading political figure in Wenzhou following the 1911 revolution. 
The accident made a profound impact on Wnzhou’s political landcape. According to various diary records, spiritual writing sessions became common after the shipwreck, as people sought to communicate with the deceased spirits and inquire about how to handle posthumous affairs, including questions of power distribution. This period also saw the widespread circulation of spirit photography, with images allegedly depicting the spirits of Xu Dingchao and his wife. Through an analysis of this case, this addresses three questions: First, how did the Puji shipwreck and Xu Dingchao’s death influence political developments in Wenzhou? Second, how did Wenzhou’s local elites use spiritual writing and spirit photography to reorganize political power following this disaster? Third, what new insights can this case provide into early 20th-century local politics in coastal southeastern China?

靈魂攝影; 徐定超; 扶乩; 民初地方政治; 浙江溫州

spirit photography; Xu Dingchao; spirit writing; local politics in the early Republican era; Wenzhou, Zhejiang