华人佛教研究与马来西亚国家档案局的英文官方档案资料

Abstract

马来西亚华人佛教历史研究在学术界向来受到不同程度的忽略。虽然马来西亚佛教是一片有待开拓而内涵丰富的学术领域，但并未得到学者给予足够的关注。这很可能是第一手或原始资料太过贫乏所导致。为了填补资料的不足，发掘和参考马来西亚国家档案局收藏有关佛教的英文资料，未尝不可。马来西亚国家档案局的英文收藏包括政府公文、公函、土地记录、议会记录、报告、统计、地图、报纸等等。档案局的英文佛教资料大致上可分为战前、战后和独立后。梳理这些英文资料，从中能获取很多有关马来西亚华人佛教的实质性信息 — 如僧侣活动、佛教寺院及组织、商人/妇女/非华人与佛教的关系、社会经济需求与佛教等等。此文将对这些英文资料在马来西亚华人佛教研究中的应用，佐以研究个案作为实例，从而探讨及说明其两种不同的作用— 填补华人佛教研究因资料不足而形成的空白和启发新的研究问题、方向与视角。因此，学人若给予马来西亚国家档案局的英文佛教资料足够的重视，并加以发掘及采用，于华人佛教历史研究中当有更好的收效。

The study of Malaysian Chinese Buddhist history has often been overlooked. While Malaysian Buddhism presents a vast and rich field of study, it has yet to garner adequate scholarly attention. This is likely due to the scarcity of primary materials, which has made the related research particularly challenging. The English-language materials on the Buddhism in Malaysia kept in the National Archives of Malaysia are remarkably extensive. With proper exploration and effective utilization, they could serve as an important means to compensate for the lack of primary sources in Malaysian Chinese Buddhist historical research. As official records, these documents offer a high level of credibility, and in some areas, the recorded details reveal an impressive degree of precision. Thus, if these English materials can be systematically organized and analysed, they would provide two main benefits for Malaysian Chinese Buddhist history research: (1) filling in gaps of the history of Malaysian Chinese Buddhism, and (2) identifying new research questions, directions, and perspectives through archival sources. This article will examine the application of these English-language materials in Malaysian Chinese Buddhist studies, using case studies as examples to explore and illustrate these two main functions.