论《海岛逸志》的史学价值

A Probe into Anecdotes on the Sea Island

王大海为漳州府龙溪县人,乾隆五十六年撰成《海岛逸志》六卷。该书作者在清代闭关锁国之际,居于海外看世界,录其见闻为书,对国人了解海外情势有不可估量的重要价值。《海岛逸志》介绍了印尼诸岛的航路、风土人情,以及荷兰殖民者在巴达维亚一带的风俗、政教等情形,还为华侨立传,颂扬了华侨在传播中华文化方面的贡献。作为一部华侨亲自撰写的海外见闻录,该书反映了18世纪末南洋荷属殖民地的社会状况,揭露西方列强在东南亚的扩张,叙述当时华侨、华人的生活状况,使国人开一眼界,亦是研究南洋、研究海洋文化之典籍。但对这一珍贵的海交专著,国内较少专门研究。

Wang Dahai, born in Longxi County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, lived between the reign of Emperor Qianlong and Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty. On the forty-eighth year of Qianlong, he went to Java and became the son-in-law of the head of the overseas Chinese organization. Ten years later, he came back to China and wrote six-volume Anecdotes on the Sea Island and some poems. The book was finished at the time when the the Qing government closed the country to the rest of the world. As the author observed the world in a foreign country and wrote down what he saw and heard, the book is invaluable for the Chinese to know about the overseas conditions. It also covered the customs, politics, and the religion of Dutch colonists in Bataafse. It is one of the masterpieces that opens Chinese eyes as well as a precious gem on ocean culture.