台灣人第一位在美獲哲學博士
林明志
林茂生是一八八七年十月三十日出生台南。父親林燕臣牧師是前清秀才，母親郭寬是前清舉人之女。因此，林茂生幼年時期即深受漢學薰陶，加上自幼聰穎，博聞強記，滿二歲就能背誦詩詞，五歲時曾在台南地方官員仕紳前朗誦詩詞而獲獎。
一九零四年，進入其父林燕臣牧師執教之長老教會中學就讀，因為成績優越，校長請他擔任地理與算術的老師。因為他同時是學生又是老師，所以同學們都戲稱他為「半先」(就是半個老師)。
一九零七年，林茂生自長老教會中學畢業後，受教會保送到日本留學先在京都同志社念一年後，考入京都第三高等學校的文科。京都第三高等學校畢業後，林茂生順利考上日本最負盛名的東京帝國大學，主修東方哲學。
旅日期間，林茂生與當時留日台灣青年關係密切。一九一五年，留學東京的台灣留學生成立的「高砂青年會」(後來改名為「東京台灣青年會」)，強調「涵養愛鄉心情，發揮自覺精神，促進台灣文化的開發」，就是由林茂生擔任第一任會長。
一九一六年，林茂生自東京帝國大學文學部哲學科畢業，成為日本統治下台灣人第一位文學士。畢業後他隨即返台，在長老教會中學擔任教務主任並教授英文，另外他也在台南師範及台南商業專門學校教課。
返台後，除了擔任教職外，他也關心台灣人及台灣文化的發展。一九二一年由蔣渭水及當時台灣知青及社會菁英所組成的「台灣文化協會」也曾由林獻堂出面邀請林茂生擔任評議員，多次在台灣文化協會舉辦的夏季學校及講習會裡講論哲學、西洋文明史等課程。
一九二七年年初，林茂生以公費赴美留學，進入哥倫比亞大學 Teacher’s College就讀，在教育哲學家杜威(John Dewey)及門羅(Paul Monroe)門下先於一九二八年取得文學碩士，後再攻讀博士學位。一九二九年十一月，他以「日本統治下台灣的學校教育：其發展以及文化問題之歷史的與分析的研究」為論文題目獲得哲學博士學位，是台灣史上獲得哲學博士的第一人。
旅美求學期間，他住在紐約市的國際學舍。適逢當時美國富商洛克斐勒出資興建的河邊教堂正座落在紐約國際學舍的旁邊。教會邀請住在國際學舍的國際學生以各國文字書寫「上帝是愛」並將之鑲嵌在教會的彩色玻璃上。林茂生當時受邀以中文題寫，他所寫的這四個漢字至今依然在紐約河邊教堂的彩色玻璃上。
自美返台後，林茂生受聘為台南高等工業學校教授，擔任英語科及德語科主任。二次世界大戰終戰後，林茂生受聘為台灣大學教授，並代理台灣大學文學院院長一職。另外，他也受邀成為台灣戰後第一份民資創刊報紙，「民報」，的社長。之後，林茂生在一九四七年的二二八事變中無辜受害，是二二八事變中眾多台灣菁英受難者之一。
The First Ph.D. of Taiwanese
Translated by Ming-Chih Lin
Dr. MoSei Lin was born in the City of Tainan in Taiwan on October 30th, 1887. His father, Pastor Ian-Chen Lin was a scholar certified by the Ching Dynasty government and his mother, Koan Kuo, was a daughter of a scholar certified by the Ching Dynasty government. As a result, he was raised up and well trained in a family rich in traditional Chinese literature. He was smart and eager to learn. When he was two, he was able to memorize poetry and literature and, when he was five, he even received an award for reciting poetry before local governmental officials.
In 1904, he went to study in the Presbyterian Church High School where his father taught. Because of his outstanding performance, the Principal of the high school invited him to teach geography and arithmetic. For he was both a teacher and a student, his schoolmates gave him a nickname “half-teacher.”
In 1907, after Dr. MoSei graduated from the Presbyterian Church High School, he was sent by the church to study in Dashisha in Japan. After a year, he passed the entrance exam and started studying liberal art in the Third Higher School in Kyoto. After he graduated from the Third Higher School, he was admitted into the most reputable college in Japan, Tokyo Imperial University, and majored in Eastern Philosophy.
During his stay in Japan, Dr. MoSei was very close to young people from Taiwan. In 1915, Taiwanese oversea students started an organization later called Taiwanese Young Men Association in Tokyo, highlighting “Enrich homeland love, honor the spirit of self-awareness, promote the development of Taiwanese culture.” Dr. MoSei Lin was the first chairman of this association.
In 1916, he graduated from the Department of Philosophy of the Liberal Arts College in Tokyo Imperial University and became the first Taiwanese to receive the Bachelor of Liberal Arts. He returned to Returned to Taiwan immediately after his graduation and started his teaching career in the Presbyterian Church High School and, also, in Tainan Normal School and Tainan Higher Commercial College.
In addition to teaching, he was also very concerned with the future development of Taiwanese people and culture. The Taiwan Culture Association established in the Year of 1921 by Mr. WeiShui Jiang and other Taiwan intellectuals and leaders also invited Dr. MoSei Lin to be the Councilor through Mr. Hsien-Tang Lin. He taught philosophy, western civilization, and other subjects in many of the summer schools and symposiums hosted by Taiwan Culture Association.
Early in Year 1927, through government funding, he went to study oversea in the Teacher’s College in Columbia University in the United States of America. He studied under Dr. John Dewey and Dr. Paul Monroe. He first received his Master degree in Liberal Arts in 1928 and continued to study his doctoral degree. In November of 1929, he received his Ph.D. degree with his thesis on “Public Education in Formosa under The Japanese Administration: Historical and Analytical Study of the Development and the Cultural Problems.” He was the first Taiwanese to receive the degree of Ph.D.
During his study in the U.S., he lived in the International House of New York. It so happened that Riverside Church New York was under construction by Rockefeller, the rich merchant. This church was right next to the International House of New York. The church invited the international students who lived in the International House to write “God is love” in their own language so they might be printed on the stain glass of the church. Dr. MoSei was invited to write in Chinese and the four Chinese characters he wrote are still on the stain glass of Riverside Church today.
After he returned to Taiwan from the U.S., he was invited to be a professor in Tainan Higher Technical School and be the deans of the departments of English and German. After World War II ended, Dr. MoSei Lin was invited to be a professor in Taiwan University and be the Acting Dean of the Liberal Arts College in Taiwan University. In addition, he was invited to be the President of Taiwan People News. Afterwards, he was innocently killed in the 228 Incident in 1947, one of the many Taiwan intellectuals victimized in that tragic event.
林茂生博士與博士論文合影
林茂生博士在紐約河邊教堂的留字
Source from 林明志
Posted in 01/2021
