ISBN：9786269688821
小時候生了一場大病，多虧台北馬偕紀念醫院的醫治，才總算健康地長大。直到去年搬家入籍淡水，通勤往返間常看到淡水馬偕醫院，也注意到淡水老街裡有一條幽靜小巷叫馬偕街，便興起了想多了解馬偕博士的念頭。我找到這本《馬偕牧師：從加拿大到台灣斜槓人生的冒險與創新》童書，以淺顯易懂的文字，描寫馬偕一生對北台灣土地的熱愛與貢獻。
雖然這是由教友執筆而成的傳記，卻能秉持平實、不浮誇的文字，不帶傳教色彩地向青少年學子傳達馬偕不平凡的人生。在清末時期，台灣人多數仍在窮山惡水的環境中為生活奮鬥，即便有些大戶人家過著平順安穩的生活，但絕大多數的市井小民生活條件相當貧困。此時，遠從加拿大來的基督教長老教會年輕牧師，不知是天意還是巧合，選中了台灣作為他終其一生傳教事業的落腳地，真可謂天佑台灣。
當時南台灣的台南和高雄較早開發，已有外國傳教士設立教會，因此馬偕毅然決然地朝北台灣的淡水港作為傳教基地。以此為中心，他向外擴展教會版圖：東向宜蘭，南向桃竹苗。可以說，北台灣長老教會的根基，都是彼時馬偕一步一腳印地在荒郊野嶺「走」出來的。早期他甚至透過替民眾免費拔牙來吸引人潮講道，也真的讓許多原本飽受牙痛之苦的人受洗入教，或成為傳教過程中的助力。
馬偕博士對北台灣的貢獻多不勝數。除了前述一生替人拔牙兩萬顆的壯舉外，影響最大的，應該就是成立北台灣第一家西醫院偕醫館，原址就在淡水的馬偕街上。之後，更由長老教會出資成立了眾所周知的馬偕紀念醫院，成為北台灣的重要醫學中心。另一項許多台灣人可能不知道，但影響日常生活甚深的義舉是，馬偕曾從外國引入九種蔬菜種子，以改善先民因長期營養不良造成的易病體質：高麗菜、花椰菜、豌豆、紅白蘿蔔、番茄、西洋芹、大頭菜和甜菜。未來在菜市場看到這些蔬菜時，應會感念馬偕的恩惠。
此外，現在已改制為真理大學的理學堂大書院（又名牛津學堂），是當時北台灣第一間西方學校，甚至打破男尊女卑的封建思想，開設了第一間女子學校淡水女學堂，原址在今天的淡水純德小學。馬偕領先時代近百年地推行女性應有的平等受教權。建設這些醫院、學校的資金，都是遠從加拿大長老教會信徒奉獻而來。可以看見理想型的宗教組織，小則移風易俗、安定人心，大則造福社會、扶弱濟貧。
個人淺見，雖然近年來台灣瘋媽祖等民俗活動逐漸受到重視，投入了大量人力物力舉辦，但多半仍侷限於信仰層面的益處，無法對大眾民生產生具體、積極的幫助。若台灣佛道教能將對神明的誠心與力量，轉化為促進社會向上提升的具體行動，如同台語俗諺講的「要神也要人」，將是台灣之福。
When I was a child, I suffered a serious illness, and thanks to the treatment I received at Taipei Mackay Memorial Hospital, I was able to grow up healthy. It wasn’t until last year, after moving to and registering in Tamsui, that I frequently passed by Tamsui Mackay Hospital during my commute. I also noticed a quiet little alley in the old street called “Mackay Street,” which sparked my curiosity to learn more about Dr. Mackay. I found this children’s book, Pastor Mackay: From Canada to Taiwan – A Slasher Life of Adventure and Innovation, which uses clear and accessible language to depict Dr. Mackay’s lifelong love for and contributions to northern Taiwan.
Although this biography was written by a fellow believer, it maintains a straightforward and unembellished style, conveying to young readers the extraordinary life of Mackay without any missionary agenda. During the late Qing Dynasty, most Taiwanese people were still struggling to survive in harsh and remote environments. While some wealthy families lived relatively stable and comfortable lives, the vast majority of ordinary people faced severe poverty. At this time, a young pastor from the Presbyterian Church in Canada—whether by fate or coincidence—chose Taiwan as the place to devote his life to missionary work, truly a blessing for the island.
Southern Taiwan, particularly Tainan and Kaohsiung, had been developed earlier, with foreign missionaries already establishing churches there. Mackay, therefore, resolutely chose Tamsui Harbor in northern Taiwan as his missionary base. From there, he expanded the church’s reach eastward to Yilan and southward to the Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli regions. One could say that the foundation of the Presbyterian Church in northern Taiwan was built step by step by Mackay, literally carving out a path through the wilderness. In the early days, he even attracted crowds to his sermons by offering free tooth extractions, which truly helped many people suffering from dental pain to receive baptism or become supporters of his missionary work.
Dr. Mackay’s contributions to northern Taiwan are innumerable. Beyond the feat of extracting 20,000 teeth in his lifetime, one of his most significant achievements was establishing the first Western-style hospital in northern Taiwan, the “Mackay Clinic,” originally located on Mackay Street in Tamsui.
Later, with funding from the Presbyterian Church, the well-known Mackay Memorial Hospital was founded, becoming a key medical center in northern Taiwan. Another act, perhaps unknown to many Taiwanese but profoundly affecting daily life, was Mackay’s introduction of nine types of vegetable seeds from abroad. This initiative helped improve the health of local people who had long suffered from malnutrition: cabbage, cauliflower, peas, red and white radish, tomato, celery, rutabaga, and beetroot. Seeing these vegetables in the market today, one should remember Mackay’s generosity.
Furthermore, the “Lixuetang College” (also known as the “Oxford College”), now transformed into Aletheia University, was the first Western-style school in northern Taiwan. It even challenged the feudal mindset of male superiority by establishing the first girls’ school, “Tamsui Girls’ School,” whose original site is today’s Tamsui Chunde Elementary School. Mackay was ahead of his time by nearly a century, promoting women’s right to education. The funding for building these hospitals and schools came from Presbyterian Church believers in Canada. This shows how an ideal religious organization can, on a small scale, improve customs and stabilize people’s minds, and on a large scale, benefit society and support the disadvantaged.
In my personal view, although in recent years Taiwan has increasingly focused on folk activities such as the “Mazu Festivals,” which involve large investments of time and resources, they mostly remain confined to faith-based benefits and do not produce concrete, practical improvements for the general public. If Taiwan’s Buddhist and Taoist communities could transform their devotion and energy toward the gods into concrete actions that promote societal progress—just as the Taiwanese saying goes, “serve both gods and people”—it would be a true blessing for Taiwan.
