臺灣近當代冥婚及其人鬼關係探論

Exploring Posthumous Marriage and Relationships between the Living and Dead in Modern and Contemporary Taiwan

中國古代即有各種冥婚的相關紀錄，有生者與死者的人鬼聯姻，或是雙方皆為死者的婚締嫁娶。在臺灣的冥婚儀俗則稍有不同，從清領時期以來，冥婚的紀錄和討論不斷，至今仍然持續存在、也備受社會關注；進入當代二十一世紀後，冥婚在報章傳媒上的公開紀錄更是大為增加，也與以往冥婚的意涵和敘述脈絡產生了變化。本文首先回顧臺灣冥婚的淵源、以及清領時期以來至二十世紀止的近代相關紀錄，並引述當代二十一世紀以來冥婚的公開報載，藉其敘事紀錄析論冥婚涉及的人鬼關係，反映臺灣社會大眾當代對於冥婚的心理觀感和價值：彌補未婚早夭的女性在傳統宗族體系中的缺憾，或是延續男女雙方的情緣締結，讓原生家庭得以延續藉由姻親關係建立的社會網絡等；並提出冥婚在現代社會環境與觀感改變之下衍生的問題，以此呈現冥婚此一傳統民俗在臺灣當代社會中呈現的敘述脈絡轉變暨其涵義變遷。

Various records exist of posthumous marriages in ancient China; some are of marriages between the living and the dead and others are of those between two deceased people. The practice of posthumous marriage has existed in Taiwan since the Qing period, and it continues to be practiced and documented by people today. However, the manner in which it is practiced and how it is perceived by people in contemporary Taiwan have changed. This paper begins with a discussion of the origin of posthumous marriage and records of it throughout the course of history, from the Qian Dynasty to 20th century Taiwan. Then, documents of posthumous marriage in 21st century Taiwan are investigated to examine the relationship between the living and the dead in these narratives and to discuss how the public perceives this social practice. This paper reveals that the purpose of posthumous marriage is either to compensate for the untimely death of a woman in the traditional family system or to establish a larger social network by building a marital relationship between two families. Finally, this paper addresses how people have revalued the significance of posthumous marriage in contemporary Taiwan and discusses the transformation of values regarding posthumous marriage today.