客家族群“过番”南洋的共同历史记忆——以客家《过番歌》为探讨中心

Historical Memory of the Hakka Migration to Southeast Asia:A Study of the Hakka “Guofan Ge(Song of Migration Overseas)”

"过番",又作"来番"、"落番",是指"到南洋(东南亚一带国家)"。曾经一度广为流传于南洋社会和侨乡的《过番歌》,是过去各方言族群先辈们移民南洋时挥之不去的共同历史记忆;其所蕴含的充满血泪的丰富情感和史实价值自不待言。伴随着时光的流逝,"过番"的历史已渐为人们所淡忘;《过番歌》的大量流失也在情理之中。对时下的新生代来说,这些陈年老事犹如天方夜谭般的不可思议!职是之故,抢救流失中的《过番歌》成为刻不容缓的急务。通过组构《过番歌》的点点滴滴使其"还原"历史面貌和精神,更是我们这一辈人应尽的义务。限于文章的篇幅,本文拟从客家《过番歌》切入,探讨早期客家移民到南洋,特别是独立前的马来亚(包括新加坡)的艰辛经历和以血泪编织而成的共同历史记忆。

Guofan, laifan or luofan refers to ＂going to Nanyang＂ （Southeast Asian countries today）. ＂Song of Migration Overseas＂ （Guofan Ge ） used to be popular in Nanyang and in the qiaoxiang in China. These rhymes contain unforgettable historical memory, including of bitter diasporic experiences of the Chinese of different speech groups loo- king for greener pasture in Southeast Asia. With the passage of time, the memory of ＂going to Nanyang＂ has faded, so is the Guofan Ge, especially among the younger gen- eration. It is thus necessary to make effort to preserve the songs. Through studying the songs, this article will describe the the Hakkas＇ memory of migration to Southeast Asia, especially to pre -war Malaya including Singapore.