本文從海洋史的視角，考察後龍溪流域的客家文化，並討論其海洋性格的構
成與限制。就海洋移民史而言，現在的臺灣住民，無論是原住民、閩南人、客家
人、或是光復後來臺的所謂「外省人」、乃至於近年來日見增加的「新移民」，都
是海洋移民的後代或本身就是跨海遷居的移民。本文擬以「跨海和異鄉人相遇」
的海洋移民史角度，並對照筆者所主張「海洋文化」定義及其所含：人對海洋的
意識、跨海聯陸的空間格局、跨海移動的人文特性、依海營生的人地關係和生活
世界、因應人海主動的理性活動和科技發明等研究觀點，就清代溯源拓墾的時空
與族群特質、日本殖民文化衝擊、光復後外省人與新移民、留學移民與海外連結
等面向，檢視後龍溪流域客家人的「多元族際體驗」與「海外連結」特色，進而
討論臺灣客家文化的海洋性格是否有其顯隱交立的兩面性。

This article examines Hakka culture and discusses the construction and limitation of its oceanic characteristics in the Houlong Drainage Area from the perspective of maritime history. As the history of overseas migration is concerned, most residents of Taiwan are all either overseas immigrants or the offspring of them; and this includes the aborigines, the Holo, the Hakka, ‘Mainlanders’ (those arriving in Taiwan from China after 1945) and a growing number of recently arrived ‘new-inhabitants’. This article discusses this phenomena from the perspective of ‘encountering foreigners overseas’ and ‘oceanic cultures’ with an emphasis on oceanic awareness, spatial structure of linking overseas continents, human features of overseas migration, the man-land relationship in the living maritime world and the evolution of maritime technology. Besides the multiple-interethnic experience and oversea connections of the Hakka in Houlong Drainage Area, various historic areas are reviewed that include: reclamation in the drainage area which began in the Ching, the impact of Japanese colonialism and the multiple migration issues that emerged in post-war Taiwan. In addition, we also discuss the oceanic characteristics of Hakka culture in Taiwan from the dialectical facets of prominence and obscurity.