〈Take You Back to the Upper Reaches of the Liwu River〉

∕Chen Qufei

Take you back to the upper reaches of the Liwu River
to find a river terrace, the relic spoken of in the elders’ legends.
My son, come sit beside me,
and listen as your father speaks in detail.

Two or three hundred years ago, the Atayal people migrated en masse,
from their original homeland in the upper reaches of the Zhuoshui River, crossing the Central Mountain Range,
entering Hualien, contending for territory within the Liwu River basin.
In the upper reaches, the emerald-green stream winds, as the years flow murmuring past;
among the sand mounds, slate rocks lie exposed—ascend along the stone steps,
and at the platform is an open ground, surrounded by the foundations of houses.
The terrace is flat and open, with an excellent field of vision.
This place is KalaPao, a necessary passage along the Hehuan Cross-Mountain Historic Trail.
Nearby lies the Toporlo settlement, a relic of an Atayal tribal village.
Once it was densely populated, with birds gathering at dawn and dusk to forage in flocks;
flowers bloomed, bustling richly with the breath of life.
At the source, high mountains encircle the land, where fir forests take hold;
collared scops owls, crested serpent eagles, kestrels, and flying squirrels often appear.
At mid-elevations grow patches of deciduous maples, whose leaves turn red at the turn of autumn and winter.
That terrifying blood-red hue is an unceasing flame within the fierce wind.
The unyielding souls of the tribespeople burn silently between heaven and earth (Note 1).

From Bilu to Tianxiang, the river’s meanders are carved and chiseled;
the river course twists and coils, the gorge deep and magnificent.
Tianxiang was the site of the Atayal Tupido settlement.
Here, the Taci Jili River and the Dasha River converge, forming a river terrace.
To the east lies marble strata formed through intense metamorphism.
Potholes and collapsing cliffs bear witness to the stream’s courage in challenging nature.
Wenshan Hot Spring lies close beside the Dasha River; it was once a battlefield where the tribespeople resisted the Japanese.
Hot spring water emerges from cracks in the rock walls; here the warriors washed their wounds, their machetes, and their bloodstained clothes.
After passing the turning bend, the warriors still frequently looked back into the distance,
their tribe already engulfed in the flames of war, unable to restrain their wild howls and cries.
At times, macaques wail mournfully through the valleys, their echoes lingering without end (Note 2).

Take you back to the Liwu River, my son,
lie down with me, leaning against the slate rock.
Feel the tribespeople’s incomparable calm and steadfast wisdom slowly seeping into your body.
Listen to the heroic and stirring war drums before the warriors set out.
The Liwu River is the umbilical cord that connects our bloodline, our shared origin.
Gaze across this beautiful water system, where mountain ranges join hands in succession;
the surging sound of water rushes through our veins.
Open the genealogy and return to the first page of history’s vicissitudes.
Return to the source of the stream, and clasp hands tightly with time.
Together we drink a ladle of farewell millet wine.
The wind howls, surging among the cliff faces; kestrels circle without leaving.
The Liwu River, once boiled by the fires of war, now gathers smoke at the valley’s mouth into clouds;
it seems that with every turn, there comes the sound of gunfire,
faintly advancing, concealed, from behind us….

---

(Note 1) Taroko War: More than three hundred years ago, the Seediq people, originally living in what is now Nantou, began an eastward migration in search of broader farmland and hunting grounds. They crossed the Central Mountain Range, moving gradually eastward along river valleys and terraces, establishing their homeland, and eventually reaching the island’s eastern coast, where they called themselves “Taroko people.” After the Japanese took control of Taiwan, they regarded the un-subjugated indigenous peoples as a constant threat, and launched a series of punitive campaigns. Among them, the “Taroko Subjugation Campaign” of May 1914 lasted the longest and was the largest in scale. It was the largest war in Taiwan in that century, with heavy casualties on both sides. However, the Atayal people also paid a grievous price in this conflict. Thereafter, the Japanese initiated forced relocation policies, compelling indigenous peoples to move from the mountains to the plains.

(Note 2) Buluowan is about 9 kilometers from Taroko, located at the 180-kilometer mark of the Central Cross-Island Highway. It was formerly the site of an Atayal settlement. “Buluowan” is a transliteration from the Atayal language, meaning “echo.”

This poem was published in the supplement of Taiwan Daily on February 6, 2003.

〈帶你回到立霧溪上游〉

∕陳去非

帶你回到立霧溪上游

找一處河階台地，長老口中傳說的遺跡

我兒，來我身旁坐下

聽為父細說

 

二、三百年前，泰雅族人大舉遷徙

自原居地濁水溪上游翻越中央山脈

進入花蓮，逐鹿於立霧溪流域

上游碧綠溪蜿蜒，歲月淙淙流過

砂丘間石板岩裸露，沿石階上去

平台處是廣場，周圍屋基環繞

台地平坦開闊視野極佳

這裡是卡拉寶(KalaPao)，合歡越嶺古道必經之地

附近的托博闊(Toporlo)部落，泰雅族人部落遺址

曾經人煙稠密，鳥類於晨昏成群覓食

花朵綻放，紛繁熱鬧著生命氣息

源流處高山環抱，盤踞冷杉林

常有領角鴞、大冠鷲、紅隼等猛禽和飛鼠出沒

中海拔間雜部份落葉槭樹，秋冬之交葉子便會轉紅

懾人的血色，是勁風中不息的火燄

族人抵死不屈的魂魄在天地間靜寂無聲地燃燒（註1）

 

自碧綠至天祥間掘鑿曲流

河道曲折迴繞峽谷深邃雄偉

天祥，泰雅族人塔比多(Tupido)部落所在

塔次基里溪與大沙溪在此匯流形成河階地

以東是經高度變質作用的大理岩層

壺穴崩壁，見證溪水挑戰自然的勇氣

文山溫泉緊臨大沙溪，是族人抗日戰場

溫泉從岩壁縫中冒出，戰士們在此洗滌傷口、腰刀和血衣

過了迴頭彎，戰士猶頻頻回頭遠望

部落已陷於烽火間，不禁狂嘯吶喊

山谷間時有獼猴悲鳴，回音縈迴不去（註2）

 

帶你回到立霧溪，我兒

與我一塊躺下，背倚石板岩

感覺族人無比冷靜堅實的智慧緩緩透入體內

聆聽戰士們出征前，雄壯激昂的戰鼓

立霧溪是臍帶連接我們的血脈，我們共同的最初

放眼這片美麗水系，山脈牽手相連

滔滔的水聲在血管裡奔騰

翻開族譜，回到歷史滄桑的首頁

回到溪流源頭，和歲月緊緊握手

我們共飲一瓢餞別的小米酒

風嘯迭宕崖壁間，紅隼盤旋不去

曾經被戰火煮沸的立霧溪，谷口處煙硝凝結成雲

似乎每一次翻身，便有槍砲聲

隱隱，自身後掩行而來…….

 

（註1）太魯閣戰役：三百多年前，原居於南投境內的塞德克族群，為了尋找更廣闊的耕地與獵場，展開了東進的旅程。他們橫越中央山脈，沿著河谷及台地，逐步東遷，建立自己的家園，最後抵達島嶼的東岸，他們叫自己「太魯閣人」。日人統治台灣後，對不肯歸順的原住民一直有芒刺在背的感覺，先後發動多起討伐戰役。其中以1914年五月的「太魯閣征討軍事行動」，歷時最久，規模最大。這是本世紀台灣最大的戰爭，雙方死傷慘重，然而泰雅族人也為此次戰役付出慘痛的代價，此後日人展開強制遷移行動，迫使原住民自山地移往平地。

（註2）布洛灣距太魯閣約9公里，位於中橫公路180公里處，昔為泰雅族部落所在的布洛灣係泰雅語音譯，意指『回音』。

 

本詩發表於台灣日報副刊2003年2月6日