建於乾隆 45 年（ 1780）的屏東市聖帝廟，修建時發現一塊磚契，原埋在關聖帝君座下。契文除了載有「天運庚午年二月」，還提到座落在「福建省臺灣府鳳山縣下淡水港西里阿緱街」、「向武夷王請買地基」等內容。此類文物民間稱「磚契」，又稱「買地券」，流行於中國的漢代至清代，其功能是向掌管土地神靈稟告陽間地權的契文書，以墓葬為主。至於臺灣發現的磚契，主要是民間祠堂、寺廟安座儀式所使用，盛行於離島如金門、澎湖與中南部廟宇，屬買地券一類的安座奠安儀式。

屏東市聖帝廟磚契從外形來看，即民間所稱「尺二磚」，清代到日治時代建築中常見此類扁磚；其次，磚契上「福建省臺灣府鳳山縣下淡水港西里阿緱街」，即今日屏東市舊稱，日治時代以後雖改稱阿緱廳，但自清代乾隆以後，阿猴、阿緱已有通用現象，顯示「阿緱街」也不排除是清代的可能性；最後，磚契貨幣單位為「大金壹百二十四錠」，非日治時代常用「圓」或「 円」計量單位，使用清代官方貨幣稱呼。昭和 4 年（ 1929） 10 月《臺灣日日新報》提及昭和 4 年屏東街武廟重修，同年 15 日正殿舉行鎮座儀式；換言之，磚契上「庚午」年便須排除 1930 年，因為鎮座已於前一年舉辦。如此來看，可推測聖帝廟的庚午年款磚契，以清嘉慶 15 年（ 1810）或同治 9 年（ 1870）為可能年代。

透過本文分析發現，此為臺灣本島已知傳世磚契中可被確認屬清代文物，是研究臺灣早期民間關於土地買賣所有權行為如何反映在宗教信仰中的重要物證。

In "Sheng Di 聖帝 '' temple of Pingtung which was built dated back to the 45th year under Emperor Qianlong's rule (1780), there is a brick title deed found originally buried under the throne of "Djuni 帝君 ''. According to the text written thereupon, in addition to the information mentioning "in February of the year tianyun gengwu 天運庚午 ", other facts about the location and the land purchase etc., were recorded such as "fujian sheng (Fujian province) taiwan fu (Taiwan Prefecture) fengshan xian (Fengshan County) xia danshui gang (Tamsui wharf) xili a gou jie 福建省臺灣府鳳山縣下淡水港西里阿緱街 " and "the ground purchased from the king Wuyi ( 武夷 )". This category of brick artifacts was known as "brick title deed" or "land purchase voucher" which were popular in mainland China during the time from the Han dynasty through the Qing dynasty. The brick title deed was used as a reporting document to the land spirits for the purpose of proving earthly property ownership of the land. Most brick title deeds found in Taiwan were mainly used for the purpose of the seating ceremonies usually performed in ancestral halls or temples. Such bricks were once very popular in outlying islands such as Kinmen and Penghu as well as in southern Taiwan in the name of “land purchase vouchers” used for the ritual seating ceremonies.

To determine the age of the brick artifact, first of all, by judging from the appearance, this brick from “Sheng Di 聖 帝 ” temple of Pingtung, was like the so-called "chi er zhuan 尺二磚 " which flat type was often seen in architectures built during the period from the Qing dynasty through the Japanese rule. Secondly, in the brick title deed it was recorded "fujian sheng taiwan fu fengshan xian xia danshui gang xili a gou jie 福建省臺灣府鳳山縣下淡水港西里阿緱街 " which was an ancient place name referring to Pingtung city. Historically, it was during the Japanese rule when that place name was changed to "a gou ting 阿緱廳 " but in fact, earlier in the Qing dynasty, the place names, "a hou 阿猴 " or "a gou 阿緱 ", already were very commonly used; somehow most used the former. Finally, the currency unit as mentioned in the brick title deed "Dajin 124 Ding 大金壹百二十四錠 " was the "Ding" however that wasn't the currency in use under the Japanese rule, "yen ( 圓 or 円 )"; it actually refers to the money circulated in the Qing dynasty. Besides, according to a newspaper "taiwan ririxin bao 臺灣日日新報 " dated October 1929 (which was the 4th year of Showa) it was reported that a temple of "wumiao 武廟 " in "Pingtung 屏東 " street was restored and on the 15th October of the same year, the main hall held the seating ceremony. In other words, the Chinese calendar year "gengwu庚午 " contained in text of the brick title deed shall exclude the year of 1930 (under the Japanese rule), because the seating ceremony was held in a year earlier, meaning in 1929, according to the newspaper. In such a case, it can be assumed that the year "gengwu 庚 午 " probably shall be referred to 60 years earlier, meaning in 1870 or even 60 years further earlier dated back to 1810, respectively under the 15th year of Emperor Jiaqing’s rule and the 9th year of Emperor Tongzi’s rule during the Qing dynasty.

So far as known in the island of Taiwan, this brick title deed was confirmed from the Qing dynasty among other existing ones that were handed down from generation to generation. Besides, this brick is also an important piece of evidence for studying how the folk practice of sales and purchase as well as ownership of rights was reflected in religious beliefs in the early stage of Taiwan.

屏東市聖帝廟;磚契;買地券;下淡水港;阿緱街

Sheng Di Temple in Pingtung; Brick Title Deed; Land Purchase Voucher; Xia Dan Shui Gang; A Gou Jie