文、攝影／曾凱暄
我想要告訴你一個關於卓肇昌如何成為城隍的故事。卓肇昌童年時，受到父親的影響，決定參加科舉考試。他於1740年成為一名秀才。隨後在1750年，他通過考試，成為一名舉人。通常舉人可被指派擔任縣官。然而，由於當時舉人人數眾多，無奈之下他只能成為屏山書院的院長。
I would like to tell you a story about how 卓肇昌 became the Saint protector of the city. In his childhood, he was the one that was deeply influenced by his father to take the examination and became one cultivated talent in 1740. Later in 1750, he passed the exam and was therefore a first-degree scholar. What’ more, the government back then designated him as a county magistrate. Nevertheless, due to the fact that there were too many of them, he had no choice but to be an official at Ping-Shan Academy.
上任之後，他經常往返自家和屏山書院之間，路途上會經過蓮池潭。他頗有天賦，因此寫許多首詩，描述南台灣的風景、歷史和傳說。
Since he was in position, he had came to and fro from his house to Ping-Shan Academy for countless times. Along the way, it’s inclusive of the Lotus Pond. Besides, he himself was gifted enough to compose several poems and verses. They all featured the landscapes, history, and the legends that took place in southern Taiwan.
卓肇昌是怎麼變成城隍的呢？
How 卓肇昌 became the Saint protector of the city:
據傳他在前往廍後的路上撞見一名賣菜小販。卓肇昌告訴小販自己即將到梓官上任，請他幫忙通知家人。語畢，他立刻策馬而去。小販回到廍後的家中，才知道卓肇昌早在前一天晚上就去世了，享年54歲。就在這個時候，梓官出現一起棘手的土地糾紛，就連知縣也無法解決。城隍親自審理此案，在他的巧妙處理下，案件獲得圓滿解決。卓肇昌去世時，適逢梓官城隍廟的神像開面，因此廍後一帶的居民都認為，梓官城隍其實就是卓肇昌過世之後所化身的。
It was even said that a vendor selling vegetables bumped into him on his way to Buhuo. 卓肇昌told him that he was then about to take office in Zihguan and asked him to notify his family of this. After that, he rode his horse away immediately. It was not until the vendor arrived at his house in Buhuo that he knew卓肇昌had already passed away the night before. He was only 54 years old then. In the meantime, there was also a tough case in regard to the land in Zihguan, and it couldn’t be resolved by the county magistrate. Therefore, it was later examined and scrutinized by the Saint protector of the city. For the Saint protector of the city excelled in this, the case itself was finally resolved at ease. After 卓肇昌 kicked the bucket, the deities’ faces in Zihguan Saint protector of the city Temple happened to be deified as well. Hence, the residents in Buhuo all reckoned that the Saint protector of the city was actually卓肇昌’s transformation.
屏山書院位址就在舊城東門內
Academy is located in the East Gate of Old Town
左營城隍廟
Saint Protector of the City
