走揣關帝爺的跤跡
In Search of Guan Gong
作者：邱 傑
繪者：黃子彥
暑假作業老師指定的功課是以信仰為主題的深度研究，阿源和利仔一同選了關公做題材，兩人先在網路及圖書館中做足準備，今天決定騎上鐵馬實地走一遍關老爺在桃園的各個駐蹕大廟。
桃園人很崇拜義薄雲天的關聖帝君呢！
啊虎頭山頂有一間明倫三聖宮，規間大廟全全是以關公做主題：門跤口有關公騎馬的雕像，看起來活躘躘閣威風，閣有古錐型的關公，上珍貴的是鎮殿的一尊開基關聖帝君神像，佇彰化員林已經服侍幾若十冬，昭和9年（西元1934年）予信眾請來桃園中正路服侍，民國56年閣徙來虎頭山頂拄開創無偌久的明倫三聖宮，到今已經超過規百冬的歷史矣。因兩个恭恭敬敬共參拜、參觀有一睏仔才離開。
Minglun San Sheng Temple sits on the top of Hutoushan, and the whole estate is Guan gong-themed. Here A-Yuan and Li-a find a statue of him riding a horse and also a chibi figure of him. The most important and precious of all the statues, however, is the one present at the foundation of the temple in 1967.
That statue is over a hundred years old, having been moved from Yuanlin, Changhua, to Taoyuan in 1934. A-Yuan and Li-a solemnly worship at the temple, and take a tour of it before leaving.
前往普濟堂的路頭遠囉囉，佳哉半中站有七𥴊仔店通小歇喘。利仔講著伊查的資料：關公是三國時代蜀國五虎將之首，姓關名羽，字長生，後來改做雲長。少年時行俠仗義，遵守禮節。佮劉備、張飛佇「桃園」結拜做兄弟。後來，關公追隨劉備出生入死，平定西蜀，帶領軍隊去荊州相戰，破曹軍，義氣傳千年，忠義名聲留青史。
It is a long way to Puji Hall; fortunately, there is a convenience store en route. Li-a shares what he knows about their topic: Guandi, or Enzhu gong, is a deferential name people use when mentioning Guan Yu, a historical figure during the Three Kingdoms period. As a young man, Guan Yu had a reputation for chivalry and decorums. He swore brothers with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, and followed the former in his bid to claim legitimacy from Cao Cao, who controlled the court of the Han dynasty in its final days. Over his lifetime, Guan Yu proved his loyalty, righteousness, and integrity, and became the foremost of Liu Bei’s Five Tiger Generals.
拜拜了後，兩个人涼勢涼勢共鐵馬牽咧去踅老街。大溪老街自清朝尾、日本時代到今，攏足繁華的，遮主要是咧經營木器家具佮尪架桌、閣有在地食品產業。大正7年（西元1918年），配合日本政府「市區改正」的計畫，共街路拓寬閣整理竹篙厝、綵樓的門面，店頭厝攏修整甲華麗無比止，主要是因為改造的時，足濟店頭攏聘請咱臺灣傳統廟寺建築一粒一的師傅來做，共廟寺建築的傳統文化典故用「灰批」的手法囥起去西洋建築面頂，成做漢文化圖騰佮歐洲建築特色透濫的、獨一無二的「大溪式建築」，嶄然仔有欣賞價值。
Back on the Old Street, A-Yuan and Li-a pull their bikes along. Notable for its woodworking and food industries, Daxi Old Street has been thriving since the late nineteenth century. It was widened in 1918 in accordance with colonial urban planning.
Most of the townhouses were also rebuilt around this time and given gorgeous facades. Temple-building masters were hired by the merchants to design the new homes and the new shops, so they incorporated traditional Chinese elements on the requisite European Revival architecture by way of plaster sculpture. The fusion style became sui generis and is now regarded highly.
二四彼工天光，各地社頭佮廟寺團隊透早就敲鑼擂鼓，來到普濟堂共關聖帝君請安，綴關帝爺出巡繞境，各陣頭就閣再表演，輪流上場弄龍弄獅。大溪老街的神龍組上少有九尾龍，弄獅組定定提著全國頭名，同齊做伙表演起來，真正予人看甲目睭無轉輪，閣呵咾甲會觸舌。
At dawn on the twenty-fourth, the clubs gather in Puji Hall again to wish Holy Emperor Guan good health and to start the parade. One by one, they perform dragon and tiger dances to the full. The dragon dances of Daxi boast at least nine dragons, while its tiger dance teams are usually ranked the best in the country. When they perform together, one simply knows not where to look.
龍陣的逐尾龍上少愛有十五个人做伙弄，沿路只要有人放連珠炮，龍隊著愛隨表演一段蛟龍滾絞的龍舞。舞九點鐘落來，金光閃閃的巨龍不時氣勢萬千佇老街捙跋反，神龍組的組員根本就是為著表演咧痟狂矣！
Each dancing dragon is draped in sequins and operated by at least fifteen people. For nine hours, they must stop to do their weather-churning moves every time a line firecracker is set off. Such is their devotion and zeal to the art.