Collections, Culture and History: the Granite from Kinmen in Erkan Traditional Museum, Penghu County

• Main Authors: Chang, Yun-Ching, 張芸菁
• Other Authors: Sung-Sang Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/n58s5h

碩士 === 國立臺北藝術大學 === 博物館研究所碩士班 === 97 === Objects are indispensable media for communications between museums and visitors. As one form of cultural representation, museum objects are closely linked to the socio-cultural experience they have. By means of researches on material culture, people manage to have a better understanding of certain socio-cultures. The study focuses on the “Erkan Gung-Tuo” which is made of Kinmen granite, and currently preserved and displayed at the Erkan Traditional Museum in Siyu Township of Penghu County. The study tries to explore the correlation between socio-cultures and museum objects by looking at the transformation in both significance and value of the “Erkan Gung-Tuo” before and after preserved by the Museum. As interpretations of one museum object always involve the socio-cultural context, the study also includes other cultural objects and relevant exhibitions which are closely related to the Erkan Clan for the sake of a comprehensive discussion. The study adopts ethnographic fieldwork technique, especially participant observation and in-depth interview, as its major research methods. The author conducted a long-term fieldwork from February 2007 to April 2008. From both synchronic and diachronic perspectives, the study not only examines the socio-cultural values of the “Erkan Gung-Tuo” to cultural exhibitions related to the Erkan Clan, but also probes into the history of the “Erkan Gung-Tuo”. According to the findings, museum objects interpreted by local knowledge are not only bearers of different socio-cultures, but also ways to help people to re-learn the past. Through the recontextualized “Gung-Tuo”, Erkan villagers have new perception of the relationship between their ancestors and the hometown in Kinmen. Preserved at the Museum, the “Gung-Tuo” is regarded as the guardian treasure of the Clan, which involves not only the lineage perception that the Erkan Clan is a community, but also the community identification of Erkan villagers. Furthermore, different histories originate from different cultures; the historical consciousness embedded in the Penghu culture is exactly the background of cultural representation for the whole Erkan culture. A comprehensive collection of objects related to the Erkan Clan and exhibitions thereof are based on its unique history and culture, and further contribute to an elevation from an unvalued and unknown small clan to the representation of the traditional Penghu culture.