Page 36 - 芒花拾穗_十年全記錄

4 虎字碑 The Tiger Inscription

相傳是清同治6年間，臺灣總兵劉明燈出巡噶瑪蘭，大轎行經此處，突然霧迷前山，方向 This is also a level three national historic site. The legend goes that during the sixth
莫辨，一陣狂風將轎頂吹落，劉明燈心中一震，下轎察看，屈指算來，不覺驚恐，隱約 year of the reign of Emperor Tong-zhi of the Qing Dynasty, Chief Commander Liu
山魔作勢噬人，為了行旅的安全起見，乃取易經「風從虎、雲從龍、聖人作而萬物睹」 Ming Deng and his troops were once again traveling for an inspection, this time
之意，便以芒花為筆，就地揮毫，書此「虎」字，命其屬下刻於巨石上，以鎮山魔，果 to Gemalan. Again they encountered a very strong, peculiar wind. Liu immediately
然風平浪靜，安全通過。依現代科學知識來看，草嶺風勁與地勢有絕大關係。 inscribed the word Tiger (quoting from The Book of Changes: the Wind Shall Follow
the Tiger) making the way safe for people traveling through the area. It is also said
相傳劉明燈的虎字碑，全臺最少有兩塊以上。其用意可能不是為了鎮蠻煙，而是和 that Chief Commander Liu inscribed at least two other Tiger inscriptions on the
「泰山石敢當」有相同的作用。蓋中國古代武官大多喜書虎字以提軍威，清光緒乙末 island. Besides Liu Ming Deng, other military officers in Chinese history, such as Liu
年在臺抗日的名將劉永福，也是喜書虎字大手筆，但並未見他在臺勒石題碑。 Yong Fu (during emperor Guangxu’s reign in the Qing Dynasty) liked to write the

word Tiger, but did not necessarily make it into inscription.

Profile
碑身：砂質硬岩、坐北朝南
外圍：寬7尺，高4尺 歷史探照燈 劉明燈筆下的「立虎」由來
芒花 草體：虎字寬40公分，高1公尺 The Legend of the Silver Grass
Inscription: on arenaceous rock, facing south 據聞劉明燈之所以喜勒虎字碑，是由於一位幕僚的勸告。這位幕僚姓李，福建泉州人，生平善相
‧ 拾穗
Inscription Width: 7 meters 法，他常私下對劉明燈說：「你的生肖屬虎，如今來到臺灣，正是如魚得水，如虎入林，應該表
Inscription Height: 4 meters 現一下你的威風，暗地立下一些虎字，以資鎮壓；而且臺灣自來缺虎，你更應在山上立些虎字，
Calligraphy Word Width: 0.4 meters 這才顯出你的威風來，說不定來日風虎雲龍，搖身一變，而成為閩臺之尊呢！」
36 Calligraphy Word height: 1 meter 37
自此劉明燈便信此不疑，雖在戎馬倥傯之際，也必須抽出一些時間來，練習寫他的大虎字。有一
山海間的古道記憶
天，他把寫好的大虎字，挑了幾張認為稱心滿意的一一掛了起來，並且請來他的李姓幕僚，要
他不必恭維，照實批評指教一番。這一來，李姓幕僚開口了：「你寫的虎字渾厚有餘，卻精神不
足，因為你所寫的完全是一些姿態蹲坐的老虎。在這蠻荒的山上，坐虎到底是守勢，是被動；不
如來一個抬頭遠望，獨立不撓的立虎，正像一隻金雞獨立似的，進可以攻，退可以守，威風凜
凜，精神十足昂揚著，這才可收嚇阻作用啊！」
─ 草嶺古道尋幽行
劉明燈聽了，不停的點頭，不禁佩服萬分。從此以後，他所練習的，一律都改為立虎了。故今日
在臺灣所發現劉明燈的虎字碑，無一不是獨立擘窠的大虎字。不但如此，連他的名字「明燈」字
也是立腳的，看起來氣勢磅礡、雄偉無比，只要望上一眼，無不為之動容。

十年精彩全紀錄 Memories Beyond the Mountains and the Sea: Past, Present, and the Future of the Caoling Historical Trails
Dr. History: the Standing Tiger of Liu Ming Deng
Some say that the reason why Commander Liu was so fond of writing the word
Tiger was due to an aide's advice. The aide, surnamed Li, was very good at reading
physiognomy, and once told Liu that since his zodiac animal was a tiger and
since tigers were relatively rare in Taiwan, he should write more Tiger inscriptions.
Commander Liu was convinced and started to write the word Tiger whenever he
had free time. Later, the aide Li gave him more advice after taking a look at his
numerous Tiger calligraphic renditions. He told Commander Liu that his handwriting
was like a crouching tiger, dispirited and passive. Instead of that, he should write the
word Tiger with an up- standing and high-spirited pose. Since then, Commander
Liu’s calligraphic Tiger efforts were transformed into a standing tiger style. Therefore,
today in Taiwan, the remains of Liu’s tiger monuments are held in high esteem.