消逝的边陲：老越周边华人聚落的变迁 A Fading Frontier: The Transition of the Chinese Settlement around Lawas, Sarawak

Abstract

东马来西亚砂拉越州最北端的小镇老越（ Lawas) 有着独特的地理位置和极具潜能的发展条件，多年来虽然发展相对缓慢，不过也逐渐获得政府的关注，前景乐观。早年的老越由福建安溪廖姓华人群体奠定了经济基础，后来与广东、客家、海南以及福州华人一同为老越的经济发展做出具体贡献。老越周边有多个马来人与土著聚落，其中六处都可见华人的生活定居与商业经营，尤其是早期以水路联系的村落，华人的板屋商铺成为当地的地标，一度繁华热闹。陆路交通改变了老越一带的经济结构与商业形式，相关聚落的华人生意也受到挑战，有者转型、有者保留、有者离弃，现在几乎都步入迟暮之年。寻访老越周边这六个聚落的华人老商铺，即是为了记录百年来华人在北砂村落乡区的活动与作用，也是为了描述在交通系统提升与城镇化过程中，人口迁移和资源集中导致聚落生态变化之际，在地华人如何面对挑战求得自保，以解释华人群体在当地社会变迁过程中的社会影响和族群角色。

Lawas, the Northernmost town of Sarawak, with its unique geographical location, has extremely promising conditions for development. The slow development in the last couple of years has gradually gained the attention and support of the local government. In the early years, different clans of Chinese, especially from Fujian-Anxi, had made important contributions to the economic development of the settlements. Lawas and the various indigenous communities nearby have maintained progressive economic activities and have established a harmonious relationship among them. Transportation along with the development in infrastructure has changed Lawas' economic structure and its business model, which in turn have brought challenges as well as opportunities to the Chinese communities. With the new economic structure and business model, some communities stayed, others transformed or left. A study on the six old Chinese settlements around Lawas is not only a record of different activities and functions of the Chinese communities and villages over the past hundred years, but also a description of the process of significant transformation brought forth by changes in transportation system and urbanization. The migration and concentration of resources that led to ecological changes, how the local Chinese faced the challenges and seek self-protection help to explain the Chinese influence and role in the process of local social changes.