屏北平原「臺灣菸草王國」之形成

Abstract

屏北平原在20世紀初納入日治政府專賣政策下的菸草產地。菸草，即為原料菸葉;菸草產地意指種植菸葉並進行初步薰烤加工的區域。臺灣的菸草產地在1930年代末大致形成五大菸產區之規模，其中，屏北平原的幾個鄉鎮在日治時期隸屬高雄州菸區，而後進入國民政府時期則為屏東菸區之一部分。屏北平原早期以雪茄種菸草為主要推廣作物，至1930年代由於日人於下淡水溪河埔新生地設立菸草專業移民村，香煙的主要原料－－黃色種菸葉於此引進屏北平原，同時吸引周圍鄉鎮競相爭取契作菸葉。其中，屏北平原的主要菸葉種植鄉鎮，包括美濃、高樹、里港、杉林、六龜一帶，在60年代之後以優異的菸作表現，形成了以美濃為中心的相當密集的菸葉樹直區，構成特殊的菸作文化地景區域，尤以美濃鎮，更有臺灣菸葉王國之稱。屏北平原在臺灣菸葉種植史上的興起過程，其原因不僅在於地理與氣候上相對優勢條件，也受到不同時期國內外政經環境背景的牽動，以及臺灣島內都市化對區域發展的推拉效應。這個過程在歷經27載、共308期的《台菸通訊》中，提供了許多背景資料。《台菸通訊》為一菸農團體所發行之刊物，其內容夾敘夾議，同時反映政府與民間觀點，從中亦可看出專賣菸葉契作種植的特性及其與社會文化結構之選擇性鑲嵌。

Northern Pingtung Plain was cultivated as tobacco fields under the monopoly system which prevailed during the Japanese colonial period in the early 20th century. In the late 1930s, there were generally five tobacco growing areas in Taiwan, among which some townships on the Northern Pingtung Plain were chosen by the Japanese government as the Kaohsiung-Pingtung tobacco growing area. In earlier times, cigar tobacco was the staple of the Northern Pingtung Plain. From the 1930s on, "brightleaf", which is also known as Virginia tobacco, was introduced here as the Japanese authority established an immigrant village upon the alluvial land beside the Kaoping River, a policy that appealed to the nearby townships for tobacco contract farming. The main townships that planted tobacco on Northern Pingtung Plain included Meinong, Gaoshu, Ligang, Shanlin, and Liugui, where are the Hakka accumulation area in southern Taiwan. The blooming tobacco industry after the 60s even led Meinong to become known as the "Taiwan Tobacco Kingdom", featuring the wide-spreading tobacco fields that formed a special cultural and economic landscape. The prosperity should not only be ascribed to Meinong's geographical and climatic advantages, but to the domestic and international political and economic environments, as well as Taiwan's urbanization which also had a great impact. Such a history is much referred to in Taiwan Tobacco Newsletter, which altogether lasted for 27 years with 308 issues. This journal was published by an association of tobacco planters with the narrative andexpository contents reflecting the perspectives of the government and the public as well as the characteristics and social embeddedness of contract farming.